Why I Love the Guitar

It's funny how different instruments attract different personalities. Most musicians can play several instruments, some better than others due to the amount of practice. Everybody eventually settles on a favorite, though. It definitely has something to do with personality.

Bass players are mellow groovers who can become ferocious when they find a ferocious groove. Drummers tend to be maniacs, but they're also incredibly disciplined. Keyboardists are homebodies (due to the mostly sedentary nature of their instrument, I guess), content to fall in and fill in in the name of harmony (sometimes they like to be in the fore, but the Elton Johns and Nora Joneses of the world are rare). Flutists are especially sensitive, fiddlers especially fun-loving. Sax and trumpet players are sultry and sexy, sometimes brash. Tuba players I still haven't quite got my finger on; I think they're sort of like bassists but without the propensity for ferocity.

What about us guitarists? What is it about our instrument that draws us to it?

Mainly, the guitar is a highly versatile instrument. It can scream. It can purr. It can ejaculate transformative joy. It can be scary or funny. It can be a drum or a horn. It can lay back and groove or stand right out in front (I guess that's true of all instruments to a certain extent, but it is hard to imagine a tuba solo). It's portable, and it loves to travel. More than any other instrument except maybe the piano, it doesn't need an orchestra or band, but it sure plays well with others. It definitely likes to show off; the guitar induces showmanship like no other instrument, unless you're Jerry Lee Lewis or something.

The guitarists I've known sort of match our instrument. We tend to be versatile, mercurial, moody people. We can be highly sociable, or we can go for weeks without much human interaction. We love to multitask. We love to sing. We're kind of hard to pin down. Like our instrument, we come in countless shapes, styles, and colors -- and we like to switch those up, too.

It's a great instrument. I love it.
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