The Purchase

I vividly remember purchasing my first guitar ten-plus years ago. It was for sale as part of a roadside garage sale in my hometown, collecting dust and being blatantly disregarded by people passing by.

Even still, I knew I had to have it. I relentlessly begged my dad to stop so we could look at the guitar. After hounding him for hours, he agreed and I proudly purchased my first guitar for just fifty dollars using money I’d saved up from my paper route.

Classical Vs. Acoustic Guitars

What I didn’t know at the time was that it was a classical guitar. It had nylon strings and was not well-suited to the type of music I wanted to play. I wanted the full-bodied sound of a steel-stringed acoustic guitar, not the soft and gentle tone of a nylon-stringed classical.

Nevertheless, I went home that day, locked myself in my room and began playing until my fingers hurt.

Learning to Play

I was ecstatic. Now I could finally start taking guitar lessons and playing the records of my favourite bands and artists. In less than a month, I signed up for lessons at my local music store and began learning how to play all my favourite songs.

My first song? 21 Guns by Green Day. Yes, 21 Guns, the song that most certainly should not be played on a classical guitar.

Oh well.

Over a decade later, I don’t play my classical guitar much but I still own it and know wholeheartedly that I’ll never sell it.

My Collection/Reason for Playing

Since then, I’ve added two electric guitars, an acoustic and bass.

While I play my acoustic the most now, my classical guitar, by a large margin, means the most to me. Without it, I never would have gotten into music and wouldn’t have made the leap to piano or drums.

That $50 side-of-the-road guitar is the reason I’m still passionate about music to this day and why I want to begin writing about it more.

I’m no expert, but I’m passionate and have been playing the guitar, piano and drums for several years. I even learned how to play the ukulele!

I want to write about everything from what to know when learning the guitar to the differences between brands like Fender and Gibson.

Stay tuned.

Ryan