I’ve been doing this blog for over a year now and I haven’t even told my story yet so without further ado this is the story of my guitar journey. This will be an intimate journey into why I started playing guitar and how it all began for me.

Some may have wondered how I got into playing guitar and if maybe it was just something that I picked up off the spur of the moment or if it was simply just a hobby. Rest assured, those musical roots go so much deeper; music is actually the blood that runs through my veins.
Growing up I was always surrounded by music as it ran in my family. My dad was/still is a bass guitar player who was in various bands while I was a kid, and I had two older brothers; the eldest was/still is a drummer and the youngest was a lead guitar player. As a trio, they would be practicing in my living room every weekend specifically for family reunions on my dad’s side that we would attend every five years on a farm in Manitoba. Most people don’t know this about me but I grew up on country music simply because that’s what my dad and two older brothers would be practicing. I was never into any of the other kind of music; not until I grew older anyway when I shifted into rock music. While listening to country music, I became fascinated with the guitar and it wasn’t until they started bringing the electric guitar into country music that I REALLY started getting into it. So I told my dad about my interest in learning to play guitar and asked if he had something that would help me. He gave me a couple of old books that he had when he was growing up and learning to play guitar and his acoustic that he had, which was a full-size acoustic guitar. at the time I was only roughly 8 or 10 years old and a full-size acoustic guitar on a very small frame 8 to 10-year-old boy didn’t work out so well. A full-size acoustic guitar was all my dad had and as a result, after trying a few times to learn

Most people don’t know this about me but I grew up on country music simply because that’s what my dad and two older brothers would be practicing. I was never into any of the other kind of music; not until I grew older anyway when I shifted into rock music. While listening to country music, I became fascinated with the guitar and it wasn’t until they started bringing the electric guitar into country music that I REALLY started getting into it.

So I told my dad about my interest in learning to play guitar and asked if he had something that would help me. He gave me a couple of old books that he had when he was growing up and learning to play guitar and his acoustic that he had, which was a full-size acoustic guitar. At the time, I was only roughly 8 or 10 years old and a full-size acoustic guitar on a very small frame 8 to 10-year-old boy didn’t work out so well. A full-size acoustic guitar was all my dad had, and as a result, after trying a few times to learn guitar with the books and guitar that he had given me, it just didn’t work out for me and I simply gave up.

By giving up, I was also giving up on a dream I had, which was joining my dad and two older brothers in the family band. Of course, little did I know at the time that 1995 would be the last time the family band would ever play together, as it was the same year a cousin was killed in a sea-doo accident. After that, my brothers went on their own journeys of family living by getting married and having kids.
Fast forward to February of 2011, and after having gone through a massive break-up in my relationship world the previous year, I bought an electric guitar for myself.
I spent the next two years learning off of YouTube videos and just picking up what I could. I can recall chatting with a girl from a dating site during this time who, knowing my age at the time, told me that I “needed to be realistic” and that I “would never become a rock star at my age.” My response was a deeply rooted and emotional one, not realizing myself, of course, that I was starting down my true path of calling; I had simply told her that she could fuck off. I ended up in getting to a point where I knew I needed a guitar teacher. I needed someone in front of me telling me what they could see I might be doing wrong, get me out of any bad habits I had and to break them before they really became ingrained, and to give me pointers on getting even better as a guitar player. I searched up ‘guitar teacher’ in Google and as they say, when the student is ready the master shall appear. That was in March 2013 and I’ve been with the same diamond-find guitar teacher ever since.

I ended up in getting to a point where I knew I needed a guitar teacher. I needed someone in front of me telling me what they could see I might be doing wrong, get me out of any bad habits that I might’ve picked up and to break them before they really became ingrained, and help me by giving me pointers on getting even better as a guitar player. I searched up ‘guitar teacher’ in Google and as they say, when the student is ready the master shall appear. That was in March 2013, and I’ve been with the same diamond-find guitar teacher ever since.

I even took an online beginners guitar course from the CourseERA site with an instructor from Berklee College of Music and received a certificate with a 94% grade; a very proud achievement in my guitar journey.

On June 19, 2014, tragedy struck yet again as the youngest of my two older brothers suddenly passed away of a massive heart attack at the age of 44 while playing soccer; only 2 days prior the great flood of 2014. I’ll never forget that day because I felt devastated never having had the chance to approach my brother asking him for help/guidance in learning to play the guitar or even to play alongside him and possibly bring the family band back together again, as my plan was to ask him at my nephew’s birthday party later that summer. I now know that he’s become my guide in guitar since his passing (stay tuned for that blog post).

My dream is to change the world through music by inspiring others; my precious gift to the world. This is my purpose, my passion, and my destiny. Never give up on your dreams!!!

Music Is My Life!

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