"Why do YOU want to play GUITAR?" (Instructor RANKS Top 9 Responses)

-"Why do YOU want to play GUITAR?" (Instructor RANKS Top 9 Responses)
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Thanks!!!

[@xyz8655]

If you have and play a guitar you will never be alone.

[@No1karez]

That's why I started a year ago

[@hashtag6188]

Exactly!

[@vincentmomont7538]

you too man 🤘🤘

[@Demiglitch]

When I play guitar everyone leaves me alone for some reason.

[@Fuzzybunny-ki1cw]

This is a certitude.

[@tahlulabang]

I love the guitar but could never afford a nice one so I basically taught myself how to build them and now I'm a luthier and I love it

[@xqzt5510]

Nice I’ve been thinking of being one too. Looks like a lifelong dream!

[@nuberiffic]

I've always wanted to build my own guitar, but buying all the tools seems way to expensive lol

[@ItsTothy]

That’s amazing

[@tattoo_suit6197]

Dude that’s so cool to be able to build your own instrument and knowing there’s not another one like that

[@nicksuson8877]

I'd love to hear your story on how you got there! Being a Luthier is my dream

[@Ottophil]

I play guitar because I’m autistic and I don’t feel I had a choice. Guitar chose me. It has a grid of numbers, i stim with it, it keeps my ears from hearing all the other noise of life. Its really the perfect special interest. I havent stopped playing for nearly 30 years. I am finally making good money doing it though

[@1Techdrawer]

That’s really inspiring story. Thanks for sharing and keep making others smile through your playing. You’re a true testament to staying consistent and bearing fruit because of it. Awesome.

[@lucyfer_the_bat]

big mood

[@thalamusDecimation]

i'm also autistic, picked it up because i wanted to get attention from girls. i honestly have no idea how i stimmed before i picked up the guitar, but ever since there has not been one single minute of my life when i'm not playing it, even if it's nowhere near me. it becomes inseparable, it's woven into what you are, forever.

[@jmart6750]

@@thalamusDecimationI think that’s how it starts for a lot of people. Playing guitar at gigs definitely has gotten me some attention from girls, but nowhere near what I expected. As time goes on though, playing guitar becomes something so much deeper than that.

[@DMSProduktions]

@@thalamusDecimation Girls are a MYTH!

[@colten2524]

I play because it's my favorite thing ever and I want to share music with everyone.

[@gaymansex7145]

🤓

[@Lucas-dm7xo]

@@gaymansex7145wtf is that username😟😟😟🤫🤫🤫

[@ttgmusic9096]

🤓

[@MysticCowboy-ef2yi]

@@gaymansex7145 don’t be a hater

[@trash-y-y]

@@gaymansex7145ain’t your username gaymansex 💀💀

[@LM-op8cd]

As a guy that just plays in our spare room. To me there is nothing better than sitting down with a guitar and forgetting everything going on around you. I took a five year break because life happens when I picked up the guitar again I couldn’t believe I gave it up.

[@blakemosses513]

I'm with u dude same thing best choice I made playing again

[@gort42069]

@@blakemosses513 same here

[@OutdoorOptimist]

Because I grew up in the 80's and loved the hair bands. Wanted to play guitar for admiration from women. Now enjoy playing for fun, relaxation, and the challenge of learning difficult riffs and solos.

[@revivedfears]

It's weird how much times of changed. Guitar is now viewed as kind of nerdy or old fashioned. Even back in the mid 00's just being in a band was enough to get girls interested. I don't think it's quite the same now.

[@joebloe9901]

You said exactly what i was going to say Amen.

[@OutdoorOptimist]

​@revivedfears i agree. From what I see, It seems like lead singers get the most attention nowadays, even if they play no instrument.

[@jaguarcarrera]

You never see many women at guitar virtuosos show anyway

[@KyleKalevra]

I started playing in 1984. I played in bands through the late 90s. Got married, twice. Had kids, built a career. Grew old. I still pick up the guitar, baritone/bass almost every single day. Whether it’s for 10 minutes just noodling around or for a couple hours on a day off, I play because I love it. I love music. I love learning. I love writing. The reason I play? I play for me.

[@kagenotatsumaki]

I would be a level 7. I'm constantly listening to music, or singing (when nobody is around lol) or have a song playing in my head. Music is literally what keeps me going some days when I get episodes of depression, I'll go outside and walk around alone for literally 5-6 hours and I have music playing from my phone, or a portable speaker, or headphones, whatever. So for me, my reason for playing guitar is just because it's fun. Drilling chords and scales? Not so much, but I'm at the point where I can take 2 chords and 1 scale shape and just play around with them, I've finally broke away from the mechanical playing stage and when I play some chords through a looper, or just look up a jam track on KZbin, and sit there and just improv whatever, it's the most fun thing I've ever done. Even if I don't play anything that good, it's just like a state of Nirvana (lol), where my mind just forgets everything and I focus solely on the music, good or absolutely horrendous. XD

[@nickbrouwer9643]

Totally recognize what you say!

[@joshuas8779]

I found when I started out I just wanted to play green day, nirvana, and foo fighters songs. Playing guitar led me to other types of music like blues and metal, which made me love music even more.

[@scsreaper]

I'm a 7.5. I've been surrounded by music all of my life and love to explore the instrument to find my own voice. My first inspiration was Randy Rhodes when I heard Crazy Train for the first time. Played, gave up, started again, and now I just play for myself. I love your content, dude!

[@vintagemxiron8390]

When I was about 9, there was a rock band that practiced in the garage just behind my backyard fence and I would lay in the grass and fell in love with the sound of guitar that I never really got to to see but heard atleast once a week. Then at about 12, I was at my Aunt's cousins house and their teenage son played the opening of stairway to heaven on an acoustic and I was in awe at how he was able to play a song, that I loved, so accurately. Then later that summer, I was at my friends house and they had a Marshall half stack and fender telecaster and I asked him if he knew how to play. He turned the amp on and slung the tele over his shoulder and ripped out the Led Zeppelin song Heartbreaker and my mind was blown. I was obsessed and later that year (1981) I got a Hondo LP and amp along with a Randy Rhoads tab lesson book and have loved playing and learning the guitar since.

[@nightswatch8659]

I always wanted to play. Then years later my 10 year old daughter wanted to start, so I started with her. I thought it would be fun if we learned together. She lost interest pretty quickly. I stuck with it for a while then i got real busy and just stopped playing. Then i started again about 3 years ago. I'm still playing semi regularly, I work a lot of hours. I love playing, I'm not really good but i have fun playing.

[@spaceknight793]

Simple. I gets me closer to the music I love. Playing old Kiss songs is as fun as listening to them.

[@thadjarvis9514]

That's a really good way to put it. It's magical to be able to do it like your heroes

[@shortfuse3776]

really deep question for me its a creative outlet

[@kylemoran4343]

started out drumming till I got my drivers license, and girl friend, then I stopped. When I was in my late 20's I got invited to a party were most of the peeps at the party brought their instrument, and they knew a lot of songs, and played them well. I was so disappointed in myself ! I was about 36 when I was invited to another party, were two guys I knew, brought out their guitars and played and sang for everybody. That next Christmas I received my very first guitar. I'm getting close to 70 these days and I play every single day because I enjoy it so much. I've learned tons of songs, so I'm ready if anybody wants to party.

[@HannahCope88]

A big question with multi faceted answers. I wish i'd had the opportunity to start learning earlier in life, but I didn't, something I still wrestle with today. For me, it is to find a voice so that I can speak without words. I think music can express things that words alone cannot. I'm a small amount of 3 and 5, but mostly what fits for me from these are levels 7 and 8. I've been jotting down lyrics and ideas for songs for a while now and I want to learn how to get them out and make them real, tangible, even if it's just for myself in my little guitar room, just to create and express. Congrats on 877k Subscribers!

[@crashboredom2]

For me, its changed over the years. When i was a teenager, i met a girl that played guitar and liked all the same music, i started playing to impress her. Over the years my love for it grew and my answer changed. I liked that it was challenging and made me feel accomplished. It can also be therapudic, if im sad or excited, i can put these emotions into sounds that represent how i feel. Also became a way that i met some of my closest friends and we still jam all the time.

[@laurateaho-white9654]

For me, it's because the guitar is a portable instrument that you can play anything, anywhere. You can play in any style, and you can play along with other musicians. It's a fun instrument that you can use to express yourself. So I'm a mix of 6, 7 and 8.

[@TheJprose]

Except for "I love music", my answer is different. Both of my parents had dementia and I wanted to keep my own brain as sharp as possible. Not coming from a musical family, I decided to try guitar, loving a challenge. Starting as a senior has its own challenges. Also, after my husband passed, I needed to create new memories with a new hobby. So wrapping up all those reasons, including that I always looked at guitars as cool, I decided to try. Fell in love with it from Day 1. I still feel lucky to have stumbled across Mike's site and signed up. It's been 3 years and the passion keeps growing, as does my gear collection. Thank you, Mike, for everything.

[@ogelsmogel]

Yeah, I might've been one of those level 9 schmucks, if I ever took lessons (which I didn't, I learned it by myself). But the first answer that popped up in my head was "because I have to". Not because it's a chore, more like an instant obsession. Once I got a guitar in my hands it was like.. oh shit, this is it, this makes so much sense. I'm in love. I never practiced, I just played. And 30 years later I'm still playing.

[@seanmckelvey6618]

I agree. The moment I got handed a guitar something clicked in my head and I never even considered not doing it since.

[@filthyrych]

I can't sing,i can't dance,I'm to ugly to be a front man and I'm to stupid to write good lyrics. And the guitar is awesome.

[@georgejohnson7591]

I'm with ya, I not only have a great face for radio, I have a great voice for instrumentals!

[@cjguitar.]

You should believe in yourself bro .

[@scrimpmster]

You considered bass? 😜

[@supernothing77]

What about the way that you walk Phil Collins?

[@Zharf]

"But still I know how to clap my hands" (Kingston Wall, check it out :D)

[@radiomindchatter7994]

It's been my constant companion for 47 years..a channel for whatever creativity I have.

[@zombieskurge2193]

Both of my parents are professional musicians, so I was forced into music at a young age. I played piano when I was 5, recorder when I was 8, french horn when I was 10. My dad also taught me bass guitar when I was around ten, and I learned a few of his favorite country songs, then sort of fell out of it. when I was 12, I got into Metallica, and decided to learn a few Metallica riffs using Songsterr. At one point, I decided to pick up my dad's fender squier, and I was hooked. a year later, I am a guitar addict. I practice in every shred of free time I have, and occasionally make original projects on garageband. I am 100% self taught, and I am currently trying to learn as many Lona Shore solos and Animals as Leaders and Polyphia tunes, in addition to learning some Slaughter to Prevail riffs to jam with a drummer I met through my orchestra. I guess this could be classified as level 9.

[@sirbaronvoncount4147]

I was adoptedr and grew up just knowing I had to play guitar. Nobody in my adopted family was musical and I wasn’t supported to pursue music but worked and saved money and began playing at 15 years old. This was in the 80s there was no internet just books and some magazines with tabs. Learned how to tune to a record and taught myself the basics. I never did music for a living (after a couple low paying gigs and sleeping in a van) but it has remained a passion and I play daily. Met my biological family when I was an adult and found out that I am from a very musical family. Some urges just can’t be denied.

[@jtyoung706]

I just found out my biological grandfather was a professional water-skier...I'm not trying that!

[@lordlemmun5216]

For bass, I was a 5. I was 12, My dad had played guitar at many points in his life but never truly got to a point where he could play more than barre chords and strum along with songs he liked. He wanted to play music with me and so, because he only had one guitar and one bass, he handed me the bass and the rest was history. Because of the experience I gained learning to play bass to impress my dad, I became a 9 for guitar. I was obsessed with becoming the best I could possibly be at it, because I didn't know whether there was ever going to be something that I wanted to express but couldn't because I wasn't good enough. I have been playing for 7 years and I can't imagine my life without it.

[@brainmushart561]

there was kinda just this guitar laying around growing up that my sibling never really and I always liked music, soo I just started fiddling with it, and I never really stopped.

[@Ryan_Wiseman]

For years prior to playing guitar, I had an Epiphone Hummingbird Pro I could never play due to the higher action and the fact that it is a dreadnought. It stopped me from playing, because I lacked a guitar that wasn't brutal on the fingers. It now so much fun to play after getting into guitar and getting my fingers used to the action because now, I play six stringed bass, and that is even more heavy action. After playing my friend's Ibanez with some very low action and a really good setup, I definitely fell into the level 9 camp and got a Telecaster only 6 months after that amazing experience. Now at that point, I had about a decade of prior music experience playing piano and producing music, so the obsession with guitar has lead to some amazing albums I've written over the years, especially with my newest one of '26'. The experience with other instruments prior helped, as I didn't need to learn music fundamentals on top of learning a new instrument. My reason for wanting to continue to play is that it is a tool of expression that I cannot find on any other instrument. I started getting into playing rock/metal/noise rock via pedals after years of cleaner guitar playing, and it's a new means of expression that I didn't even know was possible for myself and one I have yet to fully explore. I still am far off for being setup for gigging due to lack of a physical pedalboard, but I want to be able to play live in a year or two, and that is also why I still play guitar. It feels like I'm discovering a whole new soundscape that would be incredible to play live, and that level of awe I get from a few pedals or just simply one, is what I want others to feel. Because if that can help get more people into guitar, it can inspire some incredible music for future generations. I live in one of the best times to acquire guitar gear, to record my own ideas. It'll keep me a guitar player for life

[@andrewserdogman5458]

I think I was a mix of 7 and 9. Love to Nirvana led me to guitar but I ended up practicing 8hr/day to play solos like Alexi Laiho. Then I burned out. Now, 15 years after ai stopped practicing hardcore every day I still play guitar just for myself and to enjoy

[@WardHammond]

Great video. I love music and always have. When my son went to college he left his guitar at home so I picked it up. The resources we have today made it possible for me to do pretty well. I play every day. Songs I only dreamed of playing are now in my wheelhouse. I'm in my second year of earnest play. I've also picked my sax back up as well. I can't imagine my life without a guitar now. Thanks for all you do. Oh, yeah. I started a band too. LOL

[@orlowski2018]

I guess I'd be a mix of a few, I started playing when I was 11-12 years old and I remember the exact reason. I had recently started listening to rock music at that time and that's when I came across ACDC, I remember hearing Angus Young playing and I just loved the sound of his guitar style and knew I wanted to play like that.

[@CVFGuitars_]

Because it’s fun as hell to play and a great outlet for letting off steam

[@jlmenard7688]

A few years ago my parents asked me if I wanted to play guitar. I said yes and I started playing classical guitar I never got really into it but recently, my uncle gave me his old electric guitar as I was developing an interest in extreme metal music. So now I'm finally motivated cause I want to play grindcore and death metal

[@shootsnscores-cja]

As an old retired guy that's a guitar newbie, I'd say I maybe fit in the level 7 range - just love music. When I learn a riff of a song that I've listened to for years... the sound is magical, something I never thought I'd be able to do. BTW, I love the song lessons that you post on your website!

[@deano572]

For some reason your Minnesota accent is really popping on this video, usually I don’t notice it much. Were you drinking? 🍺 regardless, you’ve made one of the best channels on KZbin. All the best to you Mike

[@thereagauze]

reason #10 from me: I asked for a guitar and my father yelled at me that "I'm not wasting money on that you quit after 2 weeks!" so I washed dishes for months to get $215 to buy a guitar with my own money and 38 years later I'm still playing. Showed you, old man!

[@shayh.3556]

Tom Keifer from the band Cinderella made me want to play because his style was the perfect blend of blues and rock n roll mixed into the 80s rock scene and his songs were very memorable to me since he wasnt an EVH clone. Since then I've discovered the likes of Charlie Starr and a bunch of various great players from the past like 80 years and its a passion!

[@prestonmikel1]

His voice is very unique. One of my favorite frontmen

[@scenefiend420]

I would say I'm a 7. I started during the pandemic to keep my mind occupied, but really I had been wanting to learn for years. I played the sax, and started to learn guitar but never got anywhere. Bought a guitar and couldn't put it down, no matter how many blisters and cuts I got. Now it's a passion. I need to practice more, but playing some of my favorite songs is a big motivator to getting better. Thanks for your insight and help as well (your vids were the first I watched)!

[@CYON4D]

I think I am a combination of Level 5 (my dad plays guitar) and Level 7 (I love music). My father played guitar in a band when he was young and wanted to play for fun again so he bought a guitar when I was a kid. I always had access to that guitar but never really got interested in it until I started listening to a mix cassette tape that included songs from Nirvana and Metallica. I was hooked as soon as I heard Metallica. My interest in guitar started to grow as I listened more metal music. My elder brother was also interested in guitar and he knew a few songs that he learned from one of his friends. So I told him that I want to play the intro melody from Ungorgiven and he officially got me started on the classical guitar. Later we got an electric guitar and my interest kept growing. As I got better at guitar I started to appreciate and love the instrument itself. Now guitar feels like a part of my identity. I am glad I spent the time to really learn and enjoy this awesome and expressive instrument.

[@richardpierce7819]

I play because its my safe place. I always feel better about myself after I play a song that was difficult to learn. I dont read music , and dont understand tab so I use my ears. Playing by ear gives a sense of accomplisment and you actually play the song the way you hear it.

[@sodvar5047]

I'm not a "serious" guitar player, but I have owned (at least) one for the past decade and a half and consider it kind of like my version of a fidget spinner (lol). I just enjoy messing around with it. I go through phases where I maintain a more disciplined and practice-based approach to it, but other life obligations always end steering me away from taking the instrument too seriously, which is fine by me. If I can learn a chord or lick or even a full song at my slow pace, that's already great. All that being said, I did go through a tough time where I'd be having full-blown anxiety attacks, and guitar was one of the very few things that would calm me down and focus my mind away from a panic state. So that made me appreciate the instrument a whole lot more than I already had.

[@dinkalicious]

I wanted a “cool” skill because I wasn’t particularly athletic and I was already involved with music at school, and a guitar with a simple song book of cowboy chords wound up at the house and I just took to it. 40 years later I still love it. It’s fun, it’s good for your soul, and it’s like magic to people who don’t play an instrument.

[@SG-js2qn]

I wouldn't be a good student, but I play every day. I just want to explore it myself. I want to understand music better by playing it, and the guitar is one of the most versatile instruments. I also really like the sounds of various techniques, like the pull-off, bend, etc. Probably all I would have needed to get started was a session or two explain some essentials of playing music on a guitar, to clear up some basic questions about music, and to learn how to choose a guitar and care for it. But in this era, everything's online.

[@BeatlesCentricUniverse]

I LOVE music, especially rock'n'roll, from the Beatles forward. My mission in life is to play EXACTY what John George and Paul played on every Beatles record.

[@Johnnysmithy24]

For me, I look at it from a very fantastical way. My reason is because to me playing an instrument, specially the electric guitar, looks/feels like magic. When I look at super great players, I feel like I’m looking at a wizard/superhero who has this weapon/tool where they get a selection of infinite possible combination of sounds they can make and create these waves of electricity that sound incredible. It’s just something very special to be able to do, so meaningful. And I as a kid have always been obsessed with superheroes and people with special powers that can do things the rest can’t. So since I adore the sound of guitar, I want to feel like I have that superpower, I want to see the fretboard and feel that freedom and wonder of knowing I can come up with a lot of sounds, for me and anyone who wants to listen, it gives me purpose and something special to be proud of.

[@Zhorrua]

Havent watched the video, my number one reason: A lot of songs have cool riffs, but some notes or the tempo isnt to my liking -> I can play my own version of it. Other than that: Just improvising melodies, licks and riffs has been a major uplift in my life. Play the guitar kids, it is good for you.

[@brokehorizon6375]

I play because its fun. I want to play along to the songs i love and maybe create my own one day. The feeling of finally playing what ive been practicing gets me so excited and i watch my own videos over and over because i like seeing the progress ive made. My brother even used to take lessons at school and he would come home to teach me what he had learned a long time ago

[@adnsaurus]

I allways loved to sing and to listen to music, y used to figure out vocal harmonies at a young age, it was amazing! and the first time I saw someone at TV playing electric guitar I thought "that's cool, would love to do that" and I told my mum, even if I started with classical guitar whitch I didn't like at the time I fell in love with it and nowadays I can play other instruments by ear (Im not as good as I would like sometimes but I'll figure it out), now I can live making music and I recorded an album, Im very happy about it. Amazing video 😊

[@charlene2400]

had a stroke 10yrs ago, and it helps me keep some fine control. I'll never be good enough to do beyond some intros and riffs, but don't care. Otherwise, seeing how hard stuff is, makes me appreciate the artists' work that much more.

[@GarethHolt]

I played a bit in my teens, then not again until about 5 years ago - I’m 61 now. For me it’s for the love of music, so a level 7 I’d say. No major goals other than to enjoy it and steadily learn more and get better.

[@seanmckelvey6618]

I started because I loved music & thought electric guitar & rock music was cool, and I still play because I love music & think guitar in general is cool.

[@ThBraveBraveSirRobin]

I started learning in my early 50’s as I’d always wanted to play since I was a teenager. I went for a few lessons and to my delight, my son decided he wanted to come along with me and learn together. He tends to pick things up quicker than me (due to being a teen rather than 50 something) but we have enjoyed several years having lessons and learning together. It really brought us together. He’s left home now but still plays and when he comes to visit, still joins me when I go for my guitar lesson and we play together while he’s here.

[@nickbrouwer9643]

Because it makes me happy! When I go to bed at night I have at least one thing to look forward to: playing my guitar in the morning before going to work.

[@Elilaw911]

I play because I feel the need to have a lot of interesting hobbies. I started 2 and half years ago with no ambition and now I can’t live without it. I love guitar.

[@drankFoD]

R u in a band or

[@geoffpenton302]

Oh, many reasons. A love of music in the main and an admiration of various guitarists - Blackmore, Lynch, BB King, Van Halen & SRV - that became quite obsessive, then creative and then opened my appreciation of all forms of music. It's been a lovely journey. G x

[@jasonswitzer1748]

I was. The guy whose friends asked him to be in a band. But I was the drummer. But as the drummer, I learned guitar from my band mates. I also loved music and was a proficient violinist who started playing music at a young age (1st grade), so music was always something in my life. As a really young kid, violin wasn’t my passion or anything like that… my mom just thought it was important for me to know how to play music. But being in a punk band in the 90s was a decision I made for myself, so it was more impactful. Since I had a classically trained background, I always picked apart each instrument when listening to music and it has always fascinated me to understand the layering going on in more complex songs. Long story way too long, even after my band broke up because of life stuff (e.g., college), I still loved playing guitar. It allows you to be creative and make something out of thin air that is unique. Can’t beat it. I need to take some private lessons to step up my game. Moving on from power chords and the occasional open and bar chords to soling and hopefully incorporating more complex chords in the middle of my solos (see Cooper Greenberg demoing guitars on the Alamo Guitars KZbin channel… that dude can play).

[@jensbomholt4529]

Cooper Greenberg is SO cool! I agree from Switzerland

[@MedianNest]

I originally played guitar cause I needed a hobby and now I genuinely enjoy it

[@Platini_Panini]

Yknow, watching this video made me realize how much my reason for playing guitar has changed, at first it was probably in the first couple levels, I wanted to do something and I liked metallica and all them so I picked up the guitar, now though, I'm realizing that for a while I've been wanting to just learn to make my own music and express my own funky ideas but can't cuz for most of the time I wasn't putting 1000% effort in, I'm gonna do my best to try and learn as much as I can to bring my ideas into fruiting, thanks Mike! your channel ha always helped me out when struggling to do XYZ thing and seeing that you also struggled with those same little issues, I hope more people start turning to music again to just express themselves and their ideas because creativity is sorely needed nowadays

[@cuadroplastico4047]

Hi, Mike. I just simply love music. I started with classical piano (I am definitely better with keyboards), and now I went for the guitar to get to the next level (fingers crossed). Thing is, I am 61.

[@Zagi...]

I play ukulele because I need an instrument to express my emotions. After a while I discover I'm in love with rhythm and bass section too, so I start to play guitar because of a 'deeper' sound and it open new windows for me😊 Still in love with both.

[@jrlikeshockey]

I love guitar, I’ve been playing for a year and Metallica got me into it. I play outside my garage with a backing track and I just love the sound and feel when you play. ❤I love your videos Mike!

[@bengerberich2982]

I always felt it was meant to be. My sister played a fender strat as a kid, and i was obsessed with it but i wasnt ever able to touch it. flash foward 7 years and ive done nothing but play every day, it just feels like a part of me now

[@damonsdeliberatedetour492]

I have a student who really just wants to play and it shows. The other thing that it's doing for me is since I am self taught I'm needing to educate myself so it makes the lesson for her even that more exciting because it's new to me also!

[@louie2drinks]

For me, I’m learning guitar to play my favorite songs to expand and change them in different ways.

[@ShawnKibel]

Dude! I have watched so many of your videos over the past few years and just realized I haven't subscribed to your channel. Apologies for that. I appreciate your work! Problem solved. Newest member to your channel!

[@mtguitar5150]

I was in my single digits during the 80s, but I remember all the videos and the guys shredding, the lights, the people, I knew this was at least one thing I wanted to do. To this day, yes still stuck in the 80s

[@scottymontgomery1297]

I started playing at 5 years old. Have 3 uncles that played at a high level. Ranging from Chet Atkins to Jimi Hendrix and Sabbath. I had just got back from Nashville because my mom's husband was extremely abusive ,,,, best emotional release ,, started teaching professional at 13. Turned pro at 23 ,, only toured for 4 months , got into ALOT of stuff not to be proud of and walked away. Much appreciate you. Keep rockin. Cheers from Portland Tn. As Hendrix said , Live hard and rock harder

[@wooferdevlin3571]

My 1st love was drums, bass guy was broke, so I had to buy a bass rig. Haha. Been playing in bands for 4 decades-ish, and only made a living playing bass. Guitarists were not playing what i wanted to hear - so I had to learn. Now I am so into alternate tunings, I get lost in space and time. Playing music is my sweetheart, but we never argue. Must fight the guitar at times, but the intensity is the gauntlet to get at the relaxed and expressive place. Great episode, Mike, keep awn!! Ü ♫

[@renmusical]

I definitely fall into 7 or 8 with some aspects of levels 3-5 (especially when I was younger). I just love music so much and it's a part of who I am today especially the guitar. It's the one instrument where I feel the most natural with. Also, I just bought the same Jackson like yours but in the oxblood finish!

[@aleksej79novosibirsk]

13:06 that's the reason that sometimes I don't want to learn some of my favorite songs... :)

[@hugovillarreal4337]

I consider myself a level 7, when I bought my first guitar it was in mid-89 and well, just remember all the music that was coming out at that time, I really wanted to make music like that, although I never decided to take classes since I am self-taught. that´s the reason I pickup a guitar and never let go to this day

[@Cyb3rSynaps3]

I think I fit solidly in level 7. I just love music. When I was a teen just getting into rock/metal/emo music I had already been playing the piano for about 7 years and had gotten very bored and tired of it. I hit a wall on the piano and it turns out what I needed to learn to get better at the piano, was the guitar. I started playing, taking lessons, learning my favorite songs. I was never the most dedicated or committed. I wouldn’t practice scales for 2 hours until I could play them at lightning speed but I was always interested in learning new avenged sevenfold songs by ear.

[@chrisl4676]

It was 1966 and my mother bought it to keep me out of trouble. Then 1967 came along...but it likely did keep me from spending time in worse ways. Still playing. Still love it. But why can I still remember half the songs from Crown of Creation, and almost nothing I learned after 1976?

[@in2livinit]

Because 60's & 70's music spoke to me, and bc it allowed(s) me to channel the same language as my fav Axemen. It's creative, emotive, & therapeutic, so 7.5 🎸🎶😎

[@classic2354]

My brother got an electric guitar and I asked if I could play it, and he said yes and since that happened I have been loving playing guitar and it’s been my main hobby for over a year now.

[@bohemianvillage676]

Interesting video! For me, it was a bit of #5 and #7 coming into the mix. I‘d learned keyboard in an after-schools project for a few years and started trying to write songs from then on. By the time I was 18, I figured that most of my favourite bands were guitar-based, so naturally I thought the guitar was the „cooler“ instrument. Since my father had an acoustic guitar, the temptation was always lurking in the background (I think I didn‘t try it before, because he was often doing jazz-inspired improvisations, which seemed to difficult for me). Then I bought a bunch of guitar chord/tab books from some of my fav bands (including The Stone Roses and Blur) and started to teach myself the basic chords, which was easier for me, because I already had a basic music theory knowledge from learning keyboard. Seeing the inevitable coming, my father soon got me an electric guitar for my birthday, which I‘ve been using ever since. I eventually even played in bands many, many years later, but that‘s another story.

[@nicolaemihaila6036]

Very interesting video! Thank you a lot for the insight! I would say that I am a level 8 student. I always loved music a lot, but once I discovered guitar, I found myself making a lot of songs, not just riffs, but actual songs with a structure. When I learn something new, the first thing that I do is try to make a riff out of it or even a song. It's not something that I do consciously, but something that just happens. What got me into playing guitar was Black Sabbath and more precisely, it was an interview with Tommy Iommi. When I heard that despite his accident, he went on to become a guitar legend, I knew that I had to give the guitar a shot.

[@drsquishycakes3221]

I started playing because I only liked certain parts of songs and I got tired of skipping to the part where I could hear the riff or solo I liked, so I just learned those specific parts and gradually got more into actually playing guitar and not just being a riff jukebox for myself. I never really cared about impressing or playing for other people since I’m extremely introverted, but playing guitar by myself kind of just became therapeutic for me.

[@garfieldfan3892]

its fun and i want to be good and create something new

[@Katman718]

I don't know man but something about those old Randy Rhoads licks makes one feel alive 🤘

[@skintslots]

Excellent video but I think you missed my level Mike. I began only a handful of years back in my early 50s because it was something I always wanted to do since a teenager. Life and family got in the way and I finally took the plunge. When I was a young kid,say 7 or 8,we had school assemblies where the male teacher who was an old 60s era beatnik (this was the 1970s at the time) played a guitar at the school assembles and played Beatles classics,Bob Dylan,Janis Joplin and House of the Rising Sun regularly! Yes a Catholic Primary School( UK lower school from 5-11) with 7 and 8 year olds belting out those lyrics! Hilarious now I look back. There was also a female teacher who played guitar too and she also played a Mandolin,which I also love the sound of up to this day even though I have yet to play one. I would say 'Oldies who had a lifelong Passion' is another level.

[@kylemoran4343]

@skintslots: I suffered 13 yrs. of catholic school here in the states from early '60's to early '70's. You were very lucky ! The only time I remember ever hearing music in school besides church organ tunes, was in 1970 when the big rage was "Jesus Christ Superstar" and then it was only one nun taking a chance. Hahahahahaha So many moons ago. Oh and kudos for picking up guitar at 50 you rock

[@Jettblack98]

My brother's friend had a knock off SG and would show me some things and I immediately was just enamored with it. Then I started to get into Def Leppard and especially the hysteria album made me want to play those songs. Things just escalated from there. I've been playing for over 30 years now and I'm still learning new things and concepts.

[@JJvienneau]

I loved music alot and i was an only child, i would draw and read alot while listening to my parents vinyls and later my tapes. But I started to play so I would be cooler than the cool kids cause I was a nerd with nerd friends. I picked it up easily and i was playing my favorite songs!! So we started a band and I made the cool kids cry! (Not really) but 37 years later, I still play, in 2 bands! 🤟

[@davejpeck1]

At first I wanted to learn more to impress a girl who also played guitar but once I got some open chords down & found bar chords with the open E & b strings I started writing my own songs which led to me getting in my first band. Together with the singer we wrote many songs & was great to play them in-front of people with a good reaction 🎸👍

[@ziggy4465]

It’s just one of those things that brings me happiness, that’s why I play. I’ll never be “one of the best” and I’m okay with that. I just like playing and creating music. I’m currently in a band, but for 32 years…I was content to play in a room by myself. There is a different feel that you get performing for others, but if I just sit there and play (no particular song, just muddling around the fretboard)…it can often lead me to a place of contentment. That’s why I play.🤘🏻❤️🎶

[@ag3nt_green]

I started because my Dad played, I wanted to learn, and my cousin started so we could form a band. Played regularly from 14 - 19. Didnt pick up a guitar again until I was 40. This time around it went to obsession.

[@greymatters6015]

100% a '7.' I just loved music and I wanted to be able to play. Never got super great at it but it has for sure been a constant in my life for the last 35+ years and I can't imagine that ever changing.

[@ericnaylorguitar]

I always loved teaching the higher levels especially level 9s, because I always tried to treat everyone even levels 1s like they were a future level 6-9 who just needed to be challenged (which can be mentally exhausting as a teacher). I was never strict in that if they didn't practice that was up to them & I would tell them it's okay, but I was still going to correct their technique, quiz them on how & why they should be doing what they're practicing, & push them to compose/improvise even when they didn't feel comfortable doing so. anyways cool video 🤘

[@Taborius1]

I'd have to say I started learning for either level 7 or 9. I started later in life since I had my first instrument (drums) taken from me due to an injury. I was absolutely a level 6 for those. I wanted music and quickly became obsessed. I will say to level 5, sometimes your kids just don't want to learn from the parent. Age matters, but getting into those "rebellious" years (early teens) it just sometimes feels like they don't think a parent knows anything, or they clash because of everything else at home, and it's good to have an outside instructor where that is the only thing they know them for.

[@alexallen6286]

Nofx and rancid made me want to learn bass 20 years ago. I took bass lessons for about three years before I took up rhythm guitar. Since I already had practice playing with a pick, and had finger dexterity, my chord library grew super fast, and here I am. Bass made me want to learn guitar.

[@1Techdrawer]

I just started taking lessons in November of last year . I’ve had my guitar since 2019 but it just sat in a hard case In my room. I started playing to escape from work life and to find a community of people I could hang out with. Before my lessons I like to warm up for 30 to an hour before my lessons. The store owners and workers don’t care that I experiment with the Amps on sale. I’m 🥹 thankful that I found a supportive community and they don’t mind that I sound bad a lot of the times lol. Now on the weekends instead of spending time alone I go to my lessons and sometimes hangout after the lesson to rehearse what I learned because I really want to scratch that new itch that just formed from my lesson.

[@GreenBlueWalkthrough]

16:57 Yep that is how approach all of my hobbies I suck at strick corse but domate at solving problems... Like I still suck at guitar I can bearly play open notes but I can still add my playing into a song of all OG elements mostly synths and have it be good and use it in projects.

[@bottomkitchen250]

When i originally started i was 12. I didn't know how good i had it. I had a friend who played drums and the girl i liked played bass. I'd go over to the drummer's house sometimes but never hung out with the girl outside of school. What a missed opportunity. We could have, and probably should have been a band. I definitely remember thinking about what would happen if we all were jamming together. Even today i wonder where these two are now.

[@utubehound69]

because I saw Hee Haw as small child then I heard my sister copy of Back in Black then I knew I MUST Play guitar it took years to save up for my 1st strat & fender amp.

[@martyhafermann938]

My guitar obsession started when I heard The Road Warriors (wrestlers) coming to the ring with Iron Man playing. Had to play it! Crash course @ Smidt Music here I come. I'd pay what ever your fee for a lesson sometime, Mike. I really like your teaching style

[@lauscho]

I think I actually started off with that level 8 approach of "I just need to get these ideas out". Guitar wasn't my first instrument - I started with keyboards, but I was never good enough at playing them to get the kind of creative musical ideas I had in my head onto tape. From the very beginning of my journey in music, it wasn't so much about learning other people's songs for me as it was about creating my own music. I wrote my first composition (and in notation, having learned to read music first) long before I ever properly learned another musician's work. So when I first picked up the guitar and realized THAT was the sound I was looking for, it was just a matter of getting the mechanics of playing it down, then I was pretty much immediately starting bands with friends, writing songs, learning to play my favourite riffs from Metallica and Rush... I actually kind of wish I still had that creative drive today. I haven't been actively writing music since before the pandemic. That said, I have some other interests that have blossomed because of it as well, so it's not like my life is empty because of it, but I still kind of regret that I didn't make as much out of my peak period of creativity as I could have. I still love playing and I perform string bass parts for a local concert band ensemble, I was playing in an acoustic cover band for a bit, and I still just jam along to any prog or metal stuff I love today. I think it's only a matter of time before I get back into writing again.

[@johnc2956]

I think I'm level 7 and 8. I love music and I have ideas. I took your course for a year, but currently am taking a break before I resume. There's a lot for the apprentice level and beginning of the practitioner level in your program that is amazing and overwhelming, and you're right: enjoy the ride. As a martial arts teacher as well, yes: enjoy the ride, don't rush through everything.

[@ina.aaahhh]

I'm surprised you didn't mention anything about a student having a favorite guitarist, and got inspired by them to start playing guitar. I guess it kinda goes hand in hand with level 7, a student who just loves music and already has a bunch of bands that they like, but I think having someone as an inspiration can really motivate someone who's just starting out

[@ripple9954]

Me? I’m still only fifteen and have been playing for just shy of nine months. I LOVE music, and I LOVE the guitar. The first song I learned was Tornado of Souls by Megadeth. I’m already in the process of joining a little band. Aspects of music theory were always things distant to me. When I picked up the guitar and started learning how chord progressions and scales and lyrical writing worked, I became that level nine of obsession. But, I enjoy playing and learning things so much. I often play around with what I learn and show it off. I also appreciate everything you do on your channel. And my musical hero is Mary Friedman.

[@jamescandlish7097]

I used to work at a music studio with tutors that taught instruments, and group lessons were a popular choice for parents and their children, or siblings. Worked out less expensive for them too.

[@raimondibro]

I played guitar hero and watched school of rock as a kid. Those were definitely huge influences. But I had heard some metalcore melodies from killswitch engaged and parkway drive, and instantly knew I needed to learn to play my favorite riffs over and over. Just genuine love of music here

[@The-Atomic-Woodsman]

So, initially it was bc of Papa Het. Then went to i just want to play my favorite songs. Now it's bc I want people to hear my music. I am constantly learning new things from people like you Mike and just figuring things out. Thanks for the great content.