Meet and Greet

My name's Tim and the guitar is my early onset midlife crisis, I suppose.  I teach German language and literature at a small liberal arts college and have been obsessed with music  (especially what they now called classic rock) for as long as I can remember. I started when I was 45 and have  been playing for two years now and can't get enough.  I am the resident Beatle-maniac.

Also, deswegen heisst du "Musenfreund".  Ich habe mich immer gefragt.

Okay, enough German.  

My name is Mark and I started guitar in June.  I have a handmade Spanish nylon string that a friend gave me a few years ago that I had been carrying around with me each time we moved, even though my wife always tried to talk me into getting rid of it.  It has cracks in the body (but no vibrations and really great tone -- even a few acoustic guitar snobs have commented on how good the tone is -- everything is solid, no laminate) and a slight intonation problem on the high E.  But, I have managed to progress on it, so much so that my wife was impressed and got me a Taylor 314CE, that is my new toy.  Funny thing is, though, that even with playing the Taylor most of the time now, there are some things that I just like better on the nylon... but that's probably natch.

Other than that, on the non-guitar side, I studied Comparative Literature in Germany, lived for a while in Colombia, South America where I taught and translated, come back here and worked as a bilingual financial worker for the welfare office and am now a programmer, just to keep things different.

The styles I am working on: pop/rock, folk, Latin, classical.

My name is Helgi and I'm 41, from Iceland.

My favorite band back in '80-'83 was Fraebbblarnir, Iceland's first punk band.  I was their friend and served stints as roadie, manager, backing vocalist, yada, yada.  

The lead singer, Valli, later became my brother in law and when Fraebbblarnir broke up in '83, we briefly played together in a band, "The Fiddler on His Back".  I was on bass.  The guitarist, Kari Indridason, had taught me the basics while we worked together one summer and stayed in various hotels around the countryside.

After that fizzled out in '84, I didn't play guitar or bass for 17 years.  I would mention that I missed it from time to time, but never did anything about it.

Fraebbblarnir went through several name and lineup changes, but in 1996 went back to their original name.

In the summer of 2000, the rhythm guitarist, Tryggvi, announced that he would be leaving.  To my surprise, Valli approached me, asking if I would be willing to fill his place.  He felt it was more important to have someone the band liked and trusted than someone who was a great guitarist.  

I really didn't feel up to it, but after a bit of cajoling, decided that it would be fun and gave in.  It's better than golf, innit?  I borrowed a guitar and began practicing in Sept 2000.  

Around Christmas, however,  Ellert, the bass player announced that due to commitments, he would have to quit too.  I was moved to bass, where I felt much more confident and comfortable.  I still enjoy playing guitar though.

I played my first rehearsal in February 2001 and my first gig in June.  Both were traumatic occasions, but went well.  I have now rehearsed hundreds of times, played 22 gigs and co-written 7 songs that are on our current playlist and will be on our next CD.

This site has been an invaluable resource to me in learning to play and write songs.  

Ok...

My name is Dave, i'm 26 from the Chicago area.

I just started playing guitar about a month & half ago. It is a 6-string dreadnought steel string acoustic.
I am a fairly compentant piano/keyboard player and have always loved guitar, just never had the guts to try and learn it...until now. I don't really have any aspirations of playing in a band or anything like that. Just hope that someday i will be good enough to hear a song I like and be able to play it on guitar. I know it is a very long journey, but it will happen someday. And with all the help that i can get for all of you here @ Guitar Noise, will make that long journey much easier to get through.

Later  8)

Ok, my turn?

Im Thomas, but use the old ZC signature I have been using for years with computers. I live in Göteborg (just outside) in Sweden, with my wife and two sons (3 years and 1/2 year). Im 35, so it seams Im the right age for this forum:).I make a living out of being an IT consultant, and is in general a rather technical guy.

I have been playing guitar since april, but with a very slow and easy start, and no teaching. I mostly play the guitar cause I like the sound of it, and it makes me relax. I have no rock-n-roll dream, mostly play for my self. Think I will get a teacher some day, but I want to learn the basic my self.

I am realy not that much into music. I listen to it, but do not pay much attention to it. I do have som classical ones since I was younger that I realy like, such as Nazaret (No Mean City, my favorite), Pink Floyd, Waters, but when it comes to newer artists, Im usualy rather lost.

When I play, I mostly like to finger pick simple songs, such as Love me tender, Sound of silence, Suicede is painless (the Mash theme), and a lot of childrens song. I realy like to touch the strings while playing, it gives much more feeling. An I also want the melody in the guitar, as I do not sing.

I have been playing some drums when I was a kid, and tested out a variety of instruments for very short periods, such as flute, harmonica, trumpet. Drums had the advantage (I thought then) of not having to learn notes, as I considered myself a litle tone deaf. But since I picked up the guitar I have come to think differently. So I have a lot of theory to pick up, and all this chord stuff was realy all new to me :)

The reason I got into guitar is probably a bit unusual. A couple of friends had bought a cheap play toy guitar for their kid. It was rather well built, and seamed possible to tune. I plunked at it and liked the sound. So I decided to buy one for my older kid to play with, and I thought I could use it to do some basic stuff on it to see if I liked it. I did ;D. Well, for a kids playtoy its probably a high end one, but for real playing, it was not very god, especialy when it came to chords. So a couple of weeks ago I managed to get the money lose to by myself a Norman, which probably will be my guitar for a long time.

/zc

My name is Craig and I'm 29 from Ottawa, Canada.

I just bought an acoustic guitar this summer and took a brief set of beginner instructions (eight 1 hour sessions) with a great instructor and loved it!  I've been trying to teach myself some songs over the summer and to keep practicing and playing.  

I discovered this site when I stumbled upon a few other sites whose forums "lacked" many things.  Guitarnoise is great - everyone is friendly and willing to help, and it's proved to be a great resource for me.  The lessons by David Hodge with the mp3's can't be beat and are wonderful.  Plus, just browsing on the forums, you see many questions from beginners, as well as more experienced players.  It's great to see all levels here.

As a beginner,  one of the things I always ask when i start to practice a new song is "What is the strum pattern?".   Most people always just tell me "Just listen to the song and play it like it sounds".   To someone just starting out, our ears aren't trained enough to pick out a DDUUDU pattern.  I've been told that comes with time, and it's starting to become easier for me.  The lessons on this site that really spell out some strumming patterns really help.

Anyway, thanks to everyone involved with GN who makes this an amazing resource for all.

Hiya, I'm Arjen, 18 years old, living in Apeldoorn, Holland.

Somewhere during the summer holidays the family next door was about to leave on vacation. While talking with their son, he asked me what I had planned for the holiday. I replied that I was going to get some work, earn some money, and then do 'something'. When he asked what 'something' was, I replied 'buying a guitar or something, whatever.'.

So he hopped back into his house, and came out with an old vantage electric guitar and a small aria amp. I could try it for two weeks, while he was away, and if I wanted I could purchase it from him. When he came back, I took the guitar from him for 80 euros.

To my friends this was quite a funny story. After all, I wasn't well known for my musicallity, I was rather lazy, and hated every sentence with the words 'theory' and 'study' in them. But for some weird reason I was actually enjoying myself. I can play scales for over an hour without getting bored, I can read through pages of theory without losing attention. I started to learn some songs (frere jaqcue, and the dutch anthem).

Soon I was playing Am and E chords (hey, all you have to do is move your fingers down. Cool!). More chords followed, strumming patterns were added, and soon I could strum along with some cds.

Now, after a few months I can play all open chords plus many variations, I can, albeit rather slowly, play barre chords, and I can improvise a bit using scales. To add to the fun, one friend of mine plays bass, another just started the guitar, and a friend of this friend is about to start drumming. Fun times ahead :D

ps.
I have now rehearsed hundreds of times, played 22 gigs and co-written 7 songs that are on our current playlist and will be on our next CD.

:o :o :o :o

Hi, my name is Alan. I live and teach in Basildon, Essex in the UK. By day I am a Capital Markets Paralegal specialising in the documentation of Structured Debt - ships, aircraft, oil rigs - that sort of thing. I am 43, single and have two sons.

I got my first guitar for my 14th birthday. I could already read music having been taught to play the recorder when I was six. My first electric came along when I was 16, and my first gigs were with a local Christian group. Stints followed with "Mother's Ruin", and later with "Block A" as lead guitarist. We rocked - our gigs were advertised in the New Musical Express and we had a bit of an underground following in Romford, Essex.

Marriage all but killed off playing for anything more than fun, but I managed to keep my hand in. The guitar collection had grown somewhat by the time I found myself single again at 38, and having messed around with Classical at various stages of my existence I went completely over to playing Classical.

I spent the summer of 1999 playing garden parties and barbecues as I dated my second wife, and from 2000 to 2002 was to be found regularly busking in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. I came back to the UK in December 2002 and have started getting back into the Intimate Gig circuit playing garden parties and BBQ's again.

Although I play Classical through choice, I like Rush, Foo Fighters, Queen, and a little bit of Led Zep. My girlfriend, Kathy, and I spend a reasonable amount of time knocking back beers at local gigs watching local bands, and I put my first CD together earlier this year.

And that's about it, really. Not much to tell.

Best,

A :-)

hi everyone :)

my names dave, im 21 and a student. ive been playing for about 2/3 months now, when i finally took the plunge and bought myself a 2nd hand fender strat. been playing everyone since, trying to teach myself from books and friends.
so far i can play the open chords, major and minor fairly comfortable, barre chords if i slow down a little and im just about to begin with 7th chords.
i can play a few scales (maj and min) and am currently working on (and highly frustrated with) the "shuffle" method of blues guitar - trying to learn 'revoultion' by john lennon/beatles (?). its a simple up-down strumming, just trying to get the timing right, and then ill look at some of the lessons on the site and try to add some personal touches to it all.

musically i mostly listen to, quote grunge unquote. but since ive begun to learn guitar ive found myself wanting to play much much more than just that style. when i first started all i wanted to do was play nirvana and punk stuff, but now im more interesting in blues and hell even classical guitar :P dunno if that happenned to anyone else but its kinda suprising and kinda cool :)

thats all i think, look forward to learning with you all
waves
mord

oh and i never use capitals and i dont know much about puncunatation...or spelling :p

Hi, my names Allison, I'm married with three children.

I started learning guitar seriously again about a year and a half ago, but had lessons about ten years ago for about one year - work, marriage and children took pretty much all my attention during that time, as well as studying and teaching art.

I learnt mandolin for about 5 or 6 years as a child, being thought too small at that stage for the guitar, but never learnt much or any theory. I also took up the flute for a while, taking lessons as well. I'm playing the mandolin again now as well, and the flute about two to three times a week (sort of jill of several trades, master of none).

I like all types of music, I have several instructional videos and CDs, mainly celtic and blues.

Thanks to all taking part here, Allison

Sorry I just rewrote this all heaps of times, think I've finished getting it sensible now :oops: :oops:

Hi, my name is Bob, I am 37,I live in Camdenton, Missouri, with my 13 year old son...

I started playing about 6 months ago, have always wanted to learn how to play, but life takes us places we dont expect....LOL

Anyways, I practice every day, am picking up some stuff quickly and some stuff slowly, strumming and rythym are my hardest humps right now to get over...but I will keep trying..

I love music, I would rather listen to music than watch tv, or just about anything else...I like all different kinds, but I really want to learn some Jimmy Buffett, I am a big time Parrot Head, and so many people have told me his music is basic stuff, so we will see......

And "Night Moves".....I like have to be able to play that before I die...LOL.......

Well, I guess thats my story, thanks for having me aboard..

Bob

I'm Sam, 20 years old from Melbourne Australia. I'm currently looking for work (I don't care what area it's in, although I've been deemed almost unemployable), and in my spare time I play guitar, look decrepit, and make funny smells. I've been looking decrepit and making smells for most of my life, but I've only been playing the guitar for about 3 and a half years (and learning theory for just over one). I prefer playing jazz and punk, but the blues is fun too. I'm fairly asocial (I've rarely left the house in the last year) but I'm eager to start jamming. I spend most of my playing time improvising over cds and writing songs.

My first guitar was a Valencia acoustic... it sucks pootie. In June 2001 I got a Washburn WR-150 and it's pretty much stayed in one piece.

I listen to a fairly wide range of stuff... Steely Dan's my favourite at the moment (I can play most of their songs), the Clash aren't far behind but I haven't bothered learning a lot of their stuff (although I figured out an acoustic version of Rock the Casbah if anyone wants it), and I listen to other bands on and off like Ween, Raul Seixas, Os Mutantes, Anti-Nowhere League, Talking Heads, Big Audio Dynamite, Devo, Butthole Surfers, Larry Carlton... the list goes on.

Edit: DINSDALE!

Hello everyone,  Nick here.

I'm 42, married, two kids 4 and 7, drive a minivan.

I'm a professional cynic, specializing in sarcasm.  It helps that I was born and raised in England and now live in Washington DC.  Someone once described me as a cross between Doug and Dinsdale Piranha and Dave Barry.

I've been playing guitar seriously for just over a year.  There was a time in the late 70's when I played powerchord rhythm for a hair band, but since those synapses, not to mention hair, no longer exist, that doesn't count.

I'm Senior Editor here at guitarnoise, which is not as important as Lead Editor but looks much better on a business card.

I play almost entirely acoustic on my Breedlove SC20/Koa.

Nick

Hi Im also a Bob, 37 originally form Liverpool but now live in Bradford, West Yorkshire in the UK with my girlfriend Jo who puts up with my shrieking voice and, in her words, my plinky plonky guitar playing.  

Have been messing about with the guitar for over 20 years and showed no signs of improving until I did some of David's lessons and joined the Sunday Songwriters group.  I play an epiphone acoustic, an electric copy of a Gibson of one sort or another which I customised when I was 16 and hasn't worked properly since (although I'm now sorting that out) and I have an Aria Pro II bass which I attempt to play.

I have just started a new job as the ICT Development Manager for a local Grammar School after years of IT consultancy and general IT Management.  Couldn't be further away from the original plan of forest ranger but there you go.

I've been in two groups one when I was 16 doing mostly Beatles Covers - but then from Liverpoool wasn't everyone.  I played lead guitar - very, very badly. The second group was formed 15 years later with a guy I worked with, who wrote and performed his own songs, and another mutual friend - I played bass.   After two rehearsals the other two guys had irreconcilable musical differences and we never saw the light of day.

Play a lot for fun now and relaxation but do like to write my own stuff ( http://www.bobmothers.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk ) and try and record it on a Fostek 4 track analog tape recorder (that may change soon).

Theory baffles me but I'm slowly getting to grips with it thanks to this site.  Practice is harder to fit in with golf, cricket, heavy work schedule and the occasional social drink (or two).  

Favourite bands are Genesis (especially 70-77), Pink Floyd and Rush. Do tend to listen to an awful lot of stuff and enjoy it.

See you in the forum pages

Bob