What Keeps Me Interested in Playing Guitar
Updated: Oct 13
I've been playing guitar since I was seven, and there's still so much about it I want to explore. I think that's part of what I love most about music. You can spend years developing one part of your playing and still find something completely new that changes the way you think about the instrument.
Technique is fun, but it's not the whole point
I grew up really enjoying the shredders of 80s neoclassical metal. Players like Marty Friedman, Yngwie Malmsteen and Jason Becker have been big influences on me, and I still love pushing my technique. There's something pretty exciting about finally being able to play an idea that felt impossible a few months earlier.
At the same time, playing fast doesn't necessarily make a part interesting. A simple phrase with the right timing and emotion can have a much bigger impact than a complicated run. I think the fun is in developing enough control that you've actually got choices about what you play.
Improvisation and songwriting
Improvisation is a huge part of what interests me. I enjoy starting with a chord progression, finding a melody and seeing where it goes. Sometimes the best ideas are the ones you don't plan at all. Other times I'll get interested in a particular harmony or rhythmic idea and spend ages working out how to use it.
Songwriting feels connected to that. I'm drawn to the way a melody or even one different chord can completely change the feeling of a section. And when you're playing on somebody else's music, the interesting challenge isn't just what you can play. It's what the song actually needs from you.
There's always something to learn from another style
Alongside rock and metal, I've spent time with fingerstyle, classical, jazz, fusion and blues. I love hearing different approaches to phrasing and harmony, even when they're miles away from the music I first learned. I don't think you have to choose one style and stay there.
That's also what I like bringing into recording and collaboration. Having a few different ways of thinking about music makes it much more interesting to work through an idea with someone else.
Hear some of my playing
I've got guitar performances and covers on my portfolio if you'd like to hear the kinds of things I enjoy playing. And if you're working on a song that could use guitar, feel free to tell me about it.
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