The School of Feedback Guitar Blog

Before reading this blog post, remember that it is not unusual to gravitate to one of these motivations a bit more than any others. This is not "black and white" so-to-speak. We all want to learn, have fun, feel creative, and connect with others. However, each of us has a bit more compelling of a reason to do it. The following is a summary of four of the most common motivations all of us, including me, have when we pick up the guitar and decide to learn it.

Fun and Enjoyment.

Enjoyment? That's probably the number one reason why people play it and want to learn it. If it looks fun and enjoyable, then why not?

Connection.

Connection. There are people out there who feel that the most important reason to play guitar is to connect with others. I am reminded of a colleague in grad school. Her mother always held her as a baby and played guitar at the same time. The result is that she formed a sort of association of connection with the instrument. For her, seeing a guitarist live meant she could feel that connection. Getting together and playing music with other people is a fantastic way to just hang out too. Musicians love to hang.

Creativity.

There are people out there who look to guitar as an avenue to create. The tell-tale signs? Time passing by and enjoyment of finding and exploring the capabilities of the guitar. Pushing the sound. Recording musical thoughts. The person who is obsessed with creating music just wants to find the ways that work for them with guitar, and educational tradition is playfully tossed out in the pursuit.

Intellectual Stimulation.

There are many people out there who love to learn. However, there are people who like to know the nuts and bolts of music and want to know what it's all about to a large extent. Learning guitar, for these people, is often guided with an intense curiosity with regards to music theory and/or scales. For these people, guitar is a lovely way to grow and expand their thinking abilities, and look cool at the same time when they play... of course!

I just had a marvelous opportunity to share my music with a very close friend. It was a blast. It felt like it was received with warmth, and playing it for her made us feel like we connected on such a nice level, a human level. It got me thinking: Just exactly how related are creativity and connection?

For quite some time now, I've come to understand that creative pursuits and ambitions need a certain amount of isolation and time to develop. Perhaps it is best to wait and see if a song is worth playing for others. Perhaps it's best to wait until your heart feels completely settled within a painting before showing it to anyone. Perhaps your short story isn't truly done until you know that anyone else's well-meaning but ultimately distracting editorial comments have no effect on you. Perhaps the iphone application isn't done until you have bug-tested it mercilessly, and and optimized it for usability. If you like this argument, then the next logical question is: When does this self-imposed creative isolation stop? When does the sharing begin?

Sharing, to me, is connection. If I share a song with others, it means I want to connect to them and say "Hi- this is me, and thanks for hearing me talk about something important to me. By the way, thanks for not making fun of my goosebumps and shivers because I am feeling quite a bit naked right now. Is there a draft in here? Do you have an extra pair of underpants I can borrow?"

Connection is hardest for the artistic introverts out there who consider what they create to be the highest expression of themselves. If we create something, ultimately we might want to share it so we can connect with others. It doesn't have to be en-masse. It can be a friend we want to connect with, a lover we want to get closer to, or an entire audience of people we just want to bare our souls to. If you are stuck on when to release your own creative output, then maybe you should ponder this question: Who do you most want to connect with?