Inspiring Guitar Quotes

I thought it would be fun to start a post of inspirational guitar quotes! Quotes have always been motivating for me in general. When it comes to playing guitar, I find that a quote can sometimes have a big impact, expressing years of dedication, insight or feelings wrapped up in a succinct, small bundle of skillfully chosen words.

So, without further ado, here are some hand-picked guitar quotes for you that I found through BrainyQuote. I hope they provide you with a dose of inspiration as you develop your guitar skills!

Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you'll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you're gonna be rewarded.  ~ Jimi Hendrix

Besides being a guitar player, I'm a big fan of the guitar. I love that damn instrument.  ~ Steve Vai

One of my biggest thrills for me still is sitting down with a guitar or a piano and just out of nowhere trying to make a song happen. ~ Sir Paul McCartney
 
My guitar is not a thing. It is an extension of myself. It is who I am. ~ Joan Jett
 
I think maybe people see bands and musicians as some sort of superhero unrealistic sport that happens in another dimension where it's not real people and not real emotions. So, I grew up listening to Beatles records on my floor. That's how I learned how to play guitar. If it weren't for them, I wouldn't be a musician.  ~ Dave Grohl
 
I'm singing what I want to sing based on the emotion of what that day feels like. That's what comes out of my mouth and guitar. That impacts people. They know anything can happen.  ~ John Mayer

I had no aspirations to be a musician, but I picked up a guitar for two seconds and haven't put it down since.  ~ Slash

But that guitar is the perfect companion to the human voice. You rest it against your gut, against your heart, and when you strum it the vibrations go outwards for all to hear, but the vibration also hits you on your body.  ~ Jason Mraz
 
I have to practice to be good at guitar. I have to write 100 songs before you write the first good one.  ~ Taylor Swift

I don't read music. I don't write it. So I wander around on the guitar until something starts to present itself.  ~ James Taylor
 
But the guitar, when you think about it, is the most versatile, really. I mean you can pick it up and take it with you wherever you go.  ~ Eric Clapton
 
I tend to write on an acoustic guitar or the piano. I have kind of a rule: if I can't sit down and play this and get the song over, I don't take it to the band, because most any good song, you can sit down and deliver it with a piano or a guitar.  ~ Tom Petty

I picked up a guitar, and I knew what I wanted to do.  ~ Stone Gossard

Like, when I write a song, the song comes first before production. Everything is written on an acoustic guitar so you can strip away everything from it and have it be equally as entertaining and good without the bells and whistles.  ~ Taylor Momsen

Have you come across any inspiring guitar quotes? Please feel free to share them in the comments below!

Developing a Musical Style

I've been thinking about the type of guitarist I want to become. The great thing about music is that it's constantly evolving and I've been learning so much about playing guitar by listening to songs and artists that I enjoy. I find that I play guitar so much more often when I have a specific song I want to learn or a particular goal in mind. Without that focus it can sometimes be discouraging repeating the same old exercises and practice routines.

However, by improving your technique you can apply it to songs you love and help to make it "your own". There are so many terrific ways to spice up a song! Lately, I've been exploring finger picking (especially Travis picking), the Nashville Number system, shifting the key of a song, triads, chord progressions and harmonics. These are more advanced topics, but they are all so interesting to me and I love applying what I learn to my repertoire of favorite songs.  It's also fun to create your own songs using this knowledge. I hope to share these techniques with you in future posts and videos.

Currently, my favorite musicians are Jason Mraz, John Mayer and Jack Johnson. I would love to possess the vocal capabilities of Jason, the deep guitar fretboard knowledge of John and the "chill" rhythms and songwriting skills of Jack. These are my current influences, but I'm sure this will change over time. I really enjoy listening to songs from these artists and trying to replicate them on my acoustic guitar (and perhaps on an electric guitar in the future).

So to sum up this post, I encourage you to play the music you enjoy the most. Start with easier songs and then progress into harder selections. As you practice guitar exercises, think about how you will apply this knowledge into your songs. It can make a world of difference in your playing and enjoyment of this wonderful instrument known as the guitar. Have fun and enjoy the process!