I originally picked up a guitar because I needed a Fine Arts credit in high school. It was between Music Theory or Guitar 101, and learning how to play the guitar won!

Now that I’m heavily involved in college, I still continue to challenge myself to get better and continue to learn. I recently bought an electric guitar, which poses a new challenge: learning small solos and riffs. A riff is just a series of individual notes put together in a song. This will be a big mountain for me to climb! Another challenge of mine: singing while playing. There are two reasons for this: one, I can’t sing well to save my life, and two, it’s difficult for me to make my hands do two different things while making my brain remember the lyrics. To improve, I’m getting in the habit of trying to say words while playing the easiest songs I know. If I conquer both of these, it’ll be another step to becoming a better guitar player.

Learning a new instrument is a challenge you won’t win over night. But, there are so many rewards that go with it: it’s fun, you can play with other musicians, it sounds great and it makes people happy. Personally, when I’m playing in my dorm and someone walks in and starts singing the song I’m playing, it makes me feel good because their mood instantly increases! Who wouldn’t want to make someone’s day better? It’s also a great way to get to meet new people. I recently made a video with Manchester students covering my favorite songs and I got to meet people that I probably wouldn’t have spoken to otherwise. And above all, I love seeing improvement. I have a video from when I first started playing and I compared it to the cover video I made. I’ve made a giant leap in playing and that just pushes me to get better and see how much more I can learn.

If you’re wanting to learn guitar, start by learning the four most basic chords: G, D, C and Em. Once you know those, you can play hundreds of songs! When you’re finally confident and ready, challenge yourself by learning new chords and songs. Just remember: learning will take time!