My Guitar Playing Style

I started playing guitar about 35 years ago. When I started playing, I didn't pay attention to the details about where my fingers were supposed to go, so my fingering on some of the chords is wrong and I have been playing that way ever since. I developed habits that stuck. Now, this does not affect the way I play but if I try to teach somebody how to play guitar, I have to try to place my fingers in the correct position so those errors are not perpetuated through somebody else. This is why I am sometimes reluctant to teach guitar lessons.

It feels uncomfortable for me to try to change those habits and I'm not gonna do anything to modify my techniques because it will interrupt my playing and seriously jeopardize my mojo. At this point of the game, I don't even think about playing the chords. It's as natural as breathing. My mind doesn't even process things like what notes or chords I am playing and if I start to think about it or if I become conscious about what my fingers are doing, I mess up. Some people refer to this as "muscle memory." This can be a good thing and a bad thing all at the same time. The good thing is that the details don't get in the way of our craft. We can just do it without thinking about it. The bad thing is that we tend to become complacent or get into a rut if we continue to do the same thing and never learn anything new. I have to purposely try to go out and develop new techniques, write new music or experiment by either modifying the things I already know or trying something that is completely different. When you go outside your comfort zone artistically, there are two possible things that can happen: 1) It doesn't work... sound's horrible or just doesn't have do anything. 2) Sometimes (and this is more the exception than the rule) the sound is fresh, unique and inspiring. So, in essence, with trial and error, there aren't any mistakes, just successes in finding out what works and what doesn't work. You eliminate what doesn't work and preserve what does work.

One of the things that I discovered a long time ago (concerning musicianship - particularly guitar) is that it is unfair to compare one guitarist to another. Now, there are some phenomenal players that can seemingly do anything on the guitar (though I am not one of them). I do feel, however, that every guitar player eventually develops a unique style, or voice. There are some guitarists that are so distinctive, that they can't easily be replicated. I can almost instantly recognize when I hear guitar riffs from Carlos Santana, Mark Knopfler or Edward Van Halen. I can also recognize which one of my children is playing the guitar. As a matter of personal opinion, I believe that we should work on finding our voice and developing that, rather than trying to emulate other artists. This could probably be applied with any musical instrument or voice. It could probably also be applied to any artistic endeavor. Find your voice... develop your style. Be unique and be a pioneer in your craft - that is, after you have learned the basic rules.