Things Only Guitarists Know

When you play guitar, there are a lot of little nuances that only you, as a guitarist, understand. While not everyone can experience the highs and lows of guitar-playing, those who do know that these things are all too relatable.

You are constantly dealing with tangled strings.

There is no logical reason why the strings that were placed perfectly in your case earlier are now in a ball of knots, but here you are untangling your spare strings every other day.

Breaking a string is downright awful.

Whether a string breaks when you’re tuning your guitar or when you’re actually playing it, this is a sad moment for two reasons.

• One — it means you have to restring your instrument and take time away from practicing or playing.
• Two — it’s very painful when a steel cord snaps and whacks you on your hand, or worse, your face.

Calluses on calluses on calluses.

There’s not a single guitar player out there who doesn’t have a bunch of calluses on his or her hands. Between gripping the strings and running your hand up and down the fretboard, your skin is bound to suffer.

You have a strong dislike for people who just use guitars as decoration.

You are proud to play such a beautiful instrument, so if you see someone who has three guitars hung up on a wall but can’t play a single one of them, that really grinds your gears.

You are the savior of bonfires and outdoor hangouts.

There’s nothing like gathering around the campfire or sitting on the beach with an acoustic guitar, so you become everyone’s favorite person when you can bust out some tunes.

Not being able to perfect a riff is heartbreaking.

When you spend days, maybe longer, trying to nail a really hard riff, but still can’t manage to get it down pat, it can just about break your heart. (But don’t get discouraged! Keep at it, and you’ll eventually be able to play it perfectly!)

People always assume you’re John Mayer or Jimmy Hendrix.

Well, so to speak. So many people assume that, just because you can play guitar, you can instantly pick up any song and be able to play it perfectly. It takes all of your might not to say, “No, friends, that’s not how this works.”

If you’re interested in learning the guitar or improving the skills you already have, look no further than Grace Music School. We offer the best guitar lessons around Jericho and Plainview and always tailor our methods to meet the needs of each individual student. For more information or to schedule a lesson, call us at 631-239-6169 (Fort Salonga) or 631-470-9705 (Melville).