How old were you when you started playing guitar?

dreadnut

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I was 15 when I decided I wanted to play and sing. I really got after it - practiced several hours a day, to the detriment of my homework undoubtedly. First I had an old no-name classical guitar with steel strings on it, LOL. As soon as I could afford to buy a nicer guitar I bought a red hollow body Epiphone (made in Japan) I wish I still had that one.
 

GAD

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13. I'm not sure why, but i'm sure it had something to do with girls.
 

Stuball48

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Around age 15 or 16 (in the 60s) on my own-no lessons and my dad had played at community functions. He had an old 50s O'dell Vegas hollowbody with arch top. It played so easy and now I realize it was a really good electric guitar. I taught myself House of the Rising Sun and Wipe Out - then lost interest. Sports consumed all my spare time.
Just started lessons at age 69 about 7 months ago and love learning on Guilds.
 

dreadnut

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Haha, I still have to explain that to my wife, "I can't help it honey, this guitar is just a chick magnet!"
 

richardp69

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Age 12. My sister taught me a few chords on the way out west. We went to Nogales, Mexico and dad bought me an acoustic that cost him $45. I actually played it for several years.
 

Rich Cohen

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Age 12 also, inherited my sister's Martin classical...real easy to learn on...early 1960's totally into 'folk' music...Guthrie, Dylan, Paxton, Hardin, Baez, etc.
 

jcwu

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Was learning piano at age 10. Teacher liked to spank hands if I played the wrong notes. Quit piano. Parents said, "You gotta learn SOME kind of music instrument!" Say hello to the guitar....
 

The Guilds of Grot

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Eight


Me-02-24-67.jpg


Still have the guitar:

100_6413.jpg


Complete story here: http://www.guildsofgrot.com/history.html
 

killdeer43

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I was 27.
I was encouraged by a co-worker/player who I sang along with when he played. He thought my "timing and my ear were really good" and that it "would be easy for me to learn to play." I always sang and 'collected' songs so I considered the idea.
He showed up unexpectedly at my place the next day and said, "c'mon, you're buying a guitar today!"

Off we went and I came home later to make my fingers bleed on my brand new, '69 Gibson J45. Thanks, Pete! :tears_of_joy:

Joe
 

GardMan

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When I was 10, I told my parents I wanted to take lessons... My Dad had seen a small shop and studio on his drive to work, so that's where I started, on a used Harmony Stella my dad got me for $17.50. My teacher was "Andy" Anderson... Andy owned the shop, sold a few instruments and gave lessons, and played in some of the local bars and restaurants, but worked for the same major electronics mfctr to make ends meet. Andy was a chain smoker... to this day, the smell of stale cigarette smoke and coffee can sometimes "take me back" in time to Andy's small studio...

I took lessons for about 3 years, first playing that old Stella, and later a cherry red Harmony "Rocket" I got for my 11th birthday... then school and girls got in the way of practicing. But I never stopped playing, and bought my first Guild, the '72 D-35 in my signature, when I was 17.

About 10 years ago, I asked my Dad for Andy's address (tho' retired, my Dad ran a company outreach program for his former employers retirees)... I wrote Andy a not so brief letter thanking him for the "gift" of music that he gave me. I still have his reply sitting in the drawer of the table next to me.
 

Stuball48

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When I was 10, I told my parents I wanted to take lessons... My Dad had seen a small shop and studio on his drive to work, so that's where I started, on a used Harmony Stella my dad got me for $17.50. My teacher was "Andy" Anderson... Andy owned the shop, sold a few instruments and gave lessons, and played in some of the local bars and restaurants, but worked for the same major electronics mfctr to make ends meet. Andy was a chain smoker... to this day, the smell of stale cigarette smoke and coffee can sometimes "take me back" in time to Andy's small studio...

I took lessons for about 3 years, first playing that old Stella, and later a cherry red Harmony "Rocket" I got for my 11th birthday... then school and girls got in the way of practicing. But I never stopped playing, and bought my first Guild, the '72 D-35 in my signature, when I was 17.

About 10 years ago, I asked my Dad for Andy's address (tho' retired, my Dad ran a company outreach program for his former employers retirees)... I wrote Andy a not so brief letter thanking him for the "gift" of music that he gave me. I still have his reply sitting in the drawer of the table next to me.
Bet Andy has your "Thank You" letter, too. Hard to dispose of sincere feelings.
 

gilded

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At 19, in the fall of '72.

We had a not-too-good-sounding Baldwin baby grand at home when I was a kid, but my sisters (briefly) took lessons and I didn't want to compete.

I sang in an Episcopal Boys Choir for a couple of years. I had a 2 1/2 octave range and could hit the E over High C, if I remember correctly. The Choir leader was fantastic, plus I got used to the idea of practicing.

I played saxophone badly around 17-18 or so, but that was a wash.

I moved to NYC in '70 or so and my friends would have 'band' parties. I used to get pretty slammed back in those days and if there was an electric bass to picked up at one of those parties, I would do so, playing La Bamba lines with my thumb, which would always be blistered over the next morning.

At 19, I wound up splitting an apartment with a really fine guitar player who was quickly learning how to play mainstream jazz standards in 'chord-solo' style. He'd practice 8 hours a day. I was entranced with that music and I'd listen to him 8 hours a day if I could (I still would).

One day he said, 'do you want to learn how to play a guitar?' I told him about my La Bamba experience and he taught me some bass lines. Then, I got the first three Butterfield Blues Band albums and started listening to those bass lines. I bought a Guild JS II fretless and practiced a lot. I got pretty good at rock and blues, but never put a dent in Jazz stuff.

I switched primary focus to guitar about a year later, because I missed the higher melody notes that I used to sing in choir.
 
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davismanLV

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Oh wow, these stories are great!! I'll try to keep mine brief as possible. Piano lessons from 8 until 13 when I got my first horse then I disappeared up into the hills and quit piano. When Don and I got together 40 some years ago, he had two guitars I started playing the Martin D35, but the Goya was easier for me to play. He gave me a book of chords and helped me some. Then in 1994 when my job as Hospital Medical Records Administrator ended (those were bad years for health care folks) I took my severance bundle and decided it was time to have my own guitar. I know I've told this story before but I'm sure I can't find it here. Went to Guitar Center and was sold on the best sounding guitar I'd ever played!! My Guild D65S!! Then I wussed out and thought "I'm out of work, I can't pay $1,100 for a guitar!!" So I took home a Guild D4. I remember putting it on a stand downstairs and then when I woke up the next morning and walked down the stairs I looked at that plain and simple D4 and thought, "That's not the guitar that's supposed to be there!!" Had my coffee and packed up the D4 and went back to GC. The sales guy said, "You want the nice one, huh?" I said yes, and took my D65S home. And that's when I got more serious about playing. I was 41 then. So you could say I got a late start......
 

Quantum Strummer

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I learned my first guitar chords from an older cousin when I was 7 but didn't get a guitar of my own 'til I was ~14. In-between I started playing trombone at school and taking piano lessons. My first guitar (an acoustic) was a piece o' junk I got at a long-gone department store. Don't even remember the brand. It didn't stay in tune very well but the action was just good enough to keep me from giving up on it. :)

-Dave-
 

JohnW63

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I pretended to play a bit to my parents records when I was younger, with my Dad's Kay nylon guitar, and they ponied up some money to get me lessons at the private 1 room school I was going to, once a week, when I was in 7th grad or so. My instructor was a young lady, who I thought was kinda' cute anyway, she being in her early 20s and I in my early teens, so I didn't mind. She taught me the tune Vincent, I recall. Her Dad was both a Boston Red Socks player and Boston Celtics player.
 

dreadnut

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My piano teacher told my Mom she was wasting her money on lessons when I was about 9 or 10 yeas old. "He won't learn to read the music; he just memorizes everything." I'd play my recital pieces just fine, but I wasn't looking at the sheet music, LOL.

I still play "by ear" to this day; works fine for me. Of course, not reading music has its limitations too - I need to know how the melody goes in order to play a song.


Great stories - keep 'em coming!
 
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Stuball48

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I pretended to play a bit to my parents records when I was younger, with my Dad's Kay nylon guitar, and they ponied up some money to get me lessons at the private 1 room school I was going to, once a week, when I was in 7th grad or so. My instructor was a young lady, who I thought was kinda' cute anyway, she being in her early 20s and I in my early teens, so I didn't mind. She taught me the tune Vincent, I recall. Her Dad was both a Boston Red Socks player and Boston Celtics player.
Gene Conely was one of the early rare atheletes who was allowed to and skilled enough to play 2 pro sports. Just had the very question on a trivia game 2 weeks ago.
 

walrus

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Around 10, but really did not take it too seriously until college. Then really got into it again about 12 years ago.

walrus
 
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