I used to hate my violin, I love my guitar

I was seven or eight when my parents bought me a small violin. I don't think they wanted me to become Paganini but were wise enough to know that some musical education would be useful for developing my personality.

Frankly, I really hated playing this instrument. The main reason probably was my teacher who failed to wake up any enthusiasm for violin in myself: I had to exercise over and over again boring and strange sounding melodies, moreover he couldn't explain to me properly the theory so that I had always trouble to read the notes. So, not only got my fingers hardened but also my willingness to continue. After about a year I gave up. Secretly. I was too worried to tell my parents as they always tried to encourage me in playing. So I was skipping the lessons for about three months. When it came to surface my parents really weren't happy, neither was I, as my bottom had some bruises. (Not so much for skipping the lessons but for spending the money for the teacher.)

My dad told me they wouldn't force me to play the violin any longer but under one condition – „choose any small instrument you think you could like and try and l learn it.“ There was only choice – the guitar. This time I was more lucky with the teacher even though I found the beginning almost as boring as playing the violin. But I started to like it slowly. The exercises suddenly sounded more pleasantly to my ears although they all were simple pieces of classical music. After a year I still didn't play any chord, actually I did but had now idea about it. My teacher was preparing me for playing them but not before I mastered all basic and some more then basic playing skills. Some months later I discovered by myself how to play chords and thanks to my previous education (and my teacher's patience) I was surprisingly able to play not only the chords but also the melody. The guitar got me, swept me off my feet, I just kept on playing.

Today I feel sorry for my parents and neighbors who had to listen to my playing almost every day, even playing the electric guitar as loud as possible. You know, it was the time of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones and The Bee Gees. Their fame crossed even the iron curtain. Then the years of university came, I started working at the same time and got married finally. Both of my guitars stayed abandoned somewhere in the corner, there was no time to play and as we had no money I eventually sold them.

The first thing I bought after my divorce was the guitar. And I played and played not to be better but to drive away my sadness, „strumming my pain with my fingers“. After a few months of this „practising“ I was better then ever before. About ten years ago I bought my dream twelve string guitar which sounds really well and it seems to play even better then I do actually.

Well, playing the guitar (any instrument) is a joy. It is able to rise your spirits when you are sad (and of course vice versa). It brings a real pleasure while sitting with friends. You are always welcomed with your guitar. So I hope Bettina, a young lady from Australia, who has just bought her first guitar, will have the same experience. She can only play four cords but there are many songs only for three… She is announcing:

„I don't have any aspirations of playing in a band or getting all sophisticated and technical- all I want to do is sit on the terrace and play the guitar. By myself. That's all I want to do. I'm so excited. So far, I can do G major, C major, E minor and D major. Apparently there's a song in that, but I haven't quite found it yet. The tips of my fingers are sore as hell, but it's all worth it.“

P.S. I still have my first violin. It reminds me of childhood, my parents and my first and last corporal punishment.