I probably don't even need to take lessons.
Like, how hard can it be?
That's a chord, right?
Guitar is my brand new interest...
for today.
I can't speak for tomorrow.
I mean, I'm really interested in picking it up right now, but...
I may never pick up a guitar for the rest of my life, let's be honest.
Yeah, Kaylee! How's that for self-awareness? Huh?
Well, except Guitar Hero. Obviously, I'll pick up that guitar.
Does that still exist?
[Playing "Happy Birthday" song]
Oh!
Amazing!
I think I've learned all I need to learn.
Does anyone have a birthday?
I did attend my first guitar lesson, but...
then I ended up going home later that night,
doing a deep dive and learning everything that there is to learn...
about guitar in one night, so...
My thirst was quenched and I haven't really had any desire...
to pick up the instrument ever since.
I've mastered the theory, so what's the point?
Some people think that the guitar is just an instrument.
And I mean...
it is, man.
But we're all instruments...
for change.
Where are the chords for "Kumbaya"?
And there are certain nuances with guitar playing...
that I actually think a lot of teachers tend to gloss over.
So I like to sort of go to several different classes...
and sort of pick apart what the teachers are saying,
and sometimes correct them, which I don't think is a moral.
So for instance, a lot of people would tell you to switch fingers for this part:
[Playing "Seven Nation Army" by The White Stripes]
But if you use just the one finger instead:
You hear that nuance?
And then, over time, you sort of work out what style works for you...
and you form a relationship with the guitar,
which I don't think can be matched by anyone else's.
"Can you play something for us now?"
Oh, absolutely not! I'm far too out of practice.
I don't like to play anything unless I've practiced,
because I don't like tying my name to anything that is less than perfect.
Why are you filming me?
Seriously, who are you people?
See, the annoying thing is that to actually get good at guitar...
to the point where you can play a song well,
you have to actually spend hours and hours over weeks and weeks and weeks...
actually perfecting your technique.
And I just don't have the patience for that.
Oh, what?
I have to learn the name of the chords?
Just teach me the cool riffs already!
Like, why can't I just pick up a guitar at a party and play a Tommy Emmanuel song
as well as he does to impress my friends...
without having to commit to the guitar like it's a relationship?
I wouldn't really call it "learning guitar".
I call it more "forming a relationship with the guitar".
Really getting to know a guitar's personality.
That's why I'm committed to this one.
You won't see me touching another guitar. No, siree!
Not until I truly understand George Harrison's...
"While My Guitar Gently Weeps".
Did you know that just two weeks ago...
I did not know how to play a single note on the guitar?
I'm welcoming in 2023 learning a brand new skill...
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And the G chord is the first finger on the second string, on the second fret.
Second finger is...
Okay.
Great.
Only three more chords to memorize and then I can finally touch the guitar.
I'm learning guitar, because I believe it's only right that every single man...
should develop a certain set of highly niche skills...
over the course of his life.
And guitar is one of the instruments that I've chosen, because I remember...
my father saying that it was, in his opinion,
one of the hardest to master.
Man, I cannot wait to see his face in approximately seven years.
Seriously, I'd like you to stop filming me, please.
Now this little chestnut...
is the D chord.
Now common misconception about chords: A lot of people incorrectly think...
that with chords you're strumming all the strings, like so:
But that's not how you want to be playing D.
How you want to be playing D is with the last three strings here...
I know, right? Yes.
It's okay. A lot of people don't know that.
So how you know to play the last three strings...
is if you just count one, two, three, four, five, six...
the four, five, six is where you want to be playing, like so...
- "Is not the last four strings?" - See?
- What was that? - "Do you know any other chords?"
Oh, no! I haven't learned any other chords.
But this D chord is crisp.
Sometimes, I like to just...
When you're playing guitar, you're not simply playing an instrument.
You're playing an entire history...
of musicians who, since the dawn of time, have been trying to communicate something,
anything through music!
It's a very profound stuff.
And so when I'm playing guitar, I'm not thinking about the names of the chords.
I don't need to know how to read music.
If I believe in the movement...
of guitaring...
and if I'm talented, which, let's be honest, I am.
That sounds actually quite horrific.
... it'll all just work out. And I'll just know how to play.
In fact, the instrument is gonna play me...
intuitively!
[Playing "Fluorescent Adolescent" by Arctic Monkeys]
🎵 You’re falling about 🎶
🎵 You took a left off Last Laugh Lane 🎶
How do people play and sing in tune at the same time?
🎵 ... just sounding it out 🎶
"Shounding"?
🎵 But you're not coming back again 🎶
I just want to sing and play at the same time.
I'm learning guitar, because my friends in the book club...
all said that we were going to learn a new skill together.
The online classes are great, because we can have a little online watch party...
from the comfort of our own homes.
I tried to make it happen in person, but...
they all said they were busy.
Hey, guys! Look at me, I've got my guitar!
Oh...
No one's online yet.
They'll be here soon.
The key to guitar, my friend, is confidence.
I can play literally anything I want, and if I do it with confidence,
you'll believe that it's a song.
Watch this.
Not a song. Still not a song. Never has been a song.
If I believe that I'm a guitarist...
and I mean "truly believe"...
then that's what I am.
Most people who start the journey of being a guitarist, don't finish it...
and that's a fact.
"What?"
The journey is more than a simple journey and most people don't know how to travel it.
- That's a fact. Look it up. - "You're just saying random-"
You see this? This is me playing for you. I'm playing for you right now.
Do you feel privileged?
I'm not even pressing any fret right now.
That's my finger right there on these little sort of bridge thingies.
The term of which I should know, but I do not.
There was actually a little song that I put together...
after my first lesson on the guitar.
It tells a very specific story of a particular experience...
that I had that was quite formative in my youth.
Would you like to hear it?
"Yeah, sure."
Okay.
What did you think?
I didn't have a pick, so I just chopped up a transport card and made one myself.
Does the job.
Now this long thing right here is what I like to call: the... hum...
The... uh...
Gosh, there really is no other word for it but neck is there?
"So what's your muse?"
I reckon I can hit that bird with a pick. What do you think?
"Are you even listening?"
Well, that's a whole other debate, isn't it?
Music is what you want it to be.
And I want it to be...
a double cheeseburger meal with fries, so...
that's what it's going to be for me today.
And fun fact: George Harrison actually wrote Here Comes the Sun...
in Eric Clapton's backyard, which is a fact that a lot of people don't know...
and, in fact, I've brought a record with me today.
It's a special edition. You are gonna love this.
"I didn't ask."
All right, gotta get the Insta pic.
Can you make sure the whole guitar is in frame, please?
Thanks.
Landscape! Landscape!
All right, so I've given it a go. It was fun.
I've proven to myself that I can do it.
I reckon I'm done with guitar now.
One, two, three, four, five, six... that-
Actually, I messed it up. I counted the wrong strings.
Oh! That's a lot of sun. You sure you want to film here?
You really just want to, like...
feel the music...
through your body.
But if you use just the one finger instead:
I went too high.
Doesn't sound great. Not a song. Never has been.
But I'm playing it with confidence.
Bringing a few more strings. Maybe even a chord that doesn't exist.
All the guitarists in the audience have turned off this video,
because I'm depressing them.