Was gifted one guitar and purchased another guitar later in life. Took lessons in college and then later in life. The first teacher followed me home...lol..yeah, stopped that lesson. The second attempt, I ended up not liking the calouses on my fingers. Bass....I killed it. If I could be a bass player fulll-time, that is my calling. 5-string Fender STILL sits in my office. Every band I know wants a keyboard player, so at this point, my position is sealed...lol. Would love to play bass on a regular basis. Guitar, yeah, didn't work for me.

roxy831 said:

Morningstarlet said:

I have always loved music. I loved it in a way noone around me shared or understood. I didn't even understand it. When I was 6 years old, my cool 22yr old Aunt took some of us kids to see Purple Rain. That shifted everything for me. I saw these musicians playing live, writing music, playing their instruments. I said " That is what I want to do".

When I was 8 years old, I saw the "Kiss" video. I heard that bridge rhythm, saw Wendy (not sure I was aware of female guitarists before then), and I knew I wanted to play the guitar.

If only I had started then. My family was very poor, and my desire was always met with a NO.

So, I put the dream away, along with so many other musical dreams.

As an adult, I did get a guitar and try to teach myself. This happened a few times. But I became frustrated and stopped. I am surrounded by very talented musicians in my life, and I had a friend who was a great guiatrist. I asked him to teach me. He was so encouraging. He told me I was a natural, and that my hands KNOW what to do. Unfortunately, he passed away. Again, the dream was put on hold.

When Prince died, it crushed me. He was an example of dedication, and it made me feel guilty that I allowed myself to be discouraged. I could literally hear him telling me to go for it. Get back at it.

So that is what I am doing. I have been taking lessons since he passed, and I am loving every second of it. No matter what is going on in my life, this instrument has been my joy. I had a lesson today actually. And you know what song we are working on? KISS!! First thing my teacher showed me (without knowing any of this) was that bridge guitar part. The part that made 8yr old me dream of creating something that beautiful!

Thank you Prince. Still my muse <3

[Edited 9/8/16 23:19pm]

I think it was mainly him. I was 15, had been playing the keyboards for 2 years by the point I bought an electric guitar. I remember being so awestruck by the SOTT concert movie that I decided to get myself an electric guitar too.

However, Prince's material didn't turn out to be something a novice could easily play. His guitar licks are often scattered throughout the compositions in a way that doesn't allow the entire composition to be played on the guitar alone in a satisfying manner. Exceptions would be tracks like "Purple Rain", "Dinner with Delores", "Willing & Able", "Sometimes It Snows In April" - but don't expect the funk based stuff to work that well on the guitar alone.

To be honest, stuff by Lenny Kravitz was far more suitable for me when I was starting out as a guitar player. Even Hendrix was easier to approach for me, as his compositions did not rely so much on the other instruments filling up the space, like the case is with Prince.

jazzvirtuoso said:

roxy831 said:

Was gifted one guitar and purchased another guitar later in life. Took lessons in college and then later in life. The first teacher followed me home...lol..yeah, stopped that lesson. The second attempt, I ended up not liking the calouses on my fingers. Bass....I killed it. If I could be a bass player fulll-time, that is my calling. 5-string Fender STILL sits in my office. Every band I know wants a keyboard player, so at this point, my position is sealed...lol. Would love to play bass on a regular basis. Guitar, yeah, didn't work for me.

I'm looking for a bass player. Where I'm at bass players are harder to find for some reason.

Wish that was the case here...lol. Been on keys since age 7, but the bass is my true calling. Moment I picked it up, my instructor just kinda stared at me like I was an alien. I learned to play D'Angelo's "When We Get By" before the 2nd lesson. Hope you find a bass player soon.

rob1965 said:

Yes, I started off easy with The Cross (only the first part, definitely not the solo part!). But Prince's material is too difficult for a beginner. So I started to learn other songs, and when this didn't go fast enough for my taste I quit after 6 or 7 months. I'm not talented enough to play the guitar.

hey me too. Can still barely play..BUT i can just about get some MPLS chciken scratch funk going!..keeps me happy for hours!

Absolutely. In fact, I learned how to play the guitar by learning the songs from "Purple Rain". I have the songbook and it has guitar chord diagrams above every measure. So, I just started putting my fingers where the diagram dots were, and there you go! The first song I ever learned on guitar was "Take Me With U" because it was (and still is) my favorite Prince song.

Of course as a beginner, I had no idea how complex these songs are. Imagine my surprise when the next album I tackled was Springsteen's "Born in the USA". Not quite so complicated! but man oh man what an advantage it was to learn the "Purple Rain" album in the very beginning. Next that, everything else seemed pretty easy.

Except for Steely Dan, LOL. Their stuff is NOT easy!

.

[Edited 9/9/16 9:07am]

rob1965 said:

Yes, I started off easy with The Cross (only the first part, definitely not the solo part!). But Prince's material is too difficult for a beginner. So I started to learn other songs, and when this didn't go fast enough for my taste I quit after 6 or 7 months. I'm not talented enough to play the guitar.

Haha! I know what u mean. I too can only play The Cross. LOL

I follow Jason Read on youtube who has a ton of Prince tutorials, but most of them are just too hard. Better go back to Justin Guitar for now

Not really, I love hearing him play it of course, but he has inspired me to play the piano.

Yes!

my father was a guitar player ( band and all) but he never was interested in teaching me how to play. After I saw 3rdeyegirl and Prince in Montreux( my first Prince concert) I decided to buy one and learn at least how to play a little bit. I love it, it is so rewarding and relaxing. I can recommend it to all.

Yep. I started playing several intstruments because of him. And I copied moves and all...

But hey, the band likes it, the people like it, so what the heck. There are worse things than to be compared to Prince. Even if you stole a lot of his moves...

Xamples:

and

David1974 said:

Yep. I started playing several intstruments because of him. And I copied moves and all...

But hey, the band likes it, the people like it, so what the heck. There are worse things than to be compared to Prince. Even if you stole a lot of his moves...

Xamples:

and

David1974 said:

I loved listening to the radio like every other little kid, but when I saw the music video for Let's Go Crazy I knew right away that I wanted to play guitar. I finally convinced my guardians to buy me the Purple Rain album and I was blown away. Instead of just focusing on beats and vocals I started noticing all the other instruments. I was 12 and it took a couple of years before I was able to get a guitar, but I got good fast and I've never looked back. The more I learned about Prince the more instruments I thought I had to learn. I play several now. Studied music composition and jazz guitar performance in college and my life is richer for it. Thanks, Prince.

steakfinger said:

I loved listening to the radio like every other little kid, but when I saw the music video for Let's Go Crazy I knew right away that I wanted to play guitar. I finally convinced my guardians to buy me the Purple Rain album and I was blown away. Instead of just focusing on beats and vocals I started noticing all the other instruments. I was 12 and it took a couple of years before I was able to get a guitar, but I got good fast and I've never looked back. The more I learned about Prince the more instruments I thought I had to learn. I play several now. Studied music composition and jazz guitar performance in college and my life is richer for it. Thanks, Prince.

Awesome, steakfinger! He helped to enrich sooooo many lives. Just looking back at the years I've been in bands, recorded, traveled to spots people in my community would only dream of...he pushed us, and we're grateful. Man.....I miss him.

I really want to learn but listening to you all - way more experienced it sounds like - it might not be for me. In regards to the music, I am learning piano and plucking out Prince songs, trying to play them like he would - he plays Purple Rain completely different then what is written, I am sure he puts his own - perhaps ANOTHER - variation on it. So I am trying to learn by listening to the piano solo parts of his songs - learning it by ear. Ugh...so difficult. But boy, Prince has taught me, among several things, the respect for the music. I listen SOO closely now to music and just the 3months of lessons, I see now what it must have taken to master all that he did. He ruined the radio for me - except NPR jazz. None of it sounds right to me.

However, before I give up completely, I WILL get a guitar and try. And if it doesn't work out, donate it to a music school in honor of Prince.

Any advice or recommendations on sheet music for Prince would be welcome. Peace, love and healing.

RJOrion said:

yes...Prince and Al McKay (EarthWind&Fire), both...i remember when i got my first guitar, the first song i used to try to play along with was, "Never Take The Place Of Your Man"...learning to play guitar is one of the most difficult things ive ever done...but those moments when you get it right, make it worth the struggle...

Yes, Al McKay is another one of those great guitarists. Al McKay is a rhythm king where Prince masters almost all styles and grooves. I'v eseen Al McKay live three times and he is really a great guitar player. Some of those songs he wrote with EWF are classics and the chords are finger breakers.

Starting off with trying to play along with ICNTTPOYM is not easy. You set the bar quite high.

mrmarcus said:

rob1965 said:

Yes, I started off easy with The Cross (only the first part, definitely not the solo part!). But Prince's material is too difficult for a beginner. So I started to learn other songs, and when this didn't go fast enough for my taste I quit after 6 or 7 months. I'm not talented enough to play the guitar.

Haha! I know what u mean. I too can only play The Cross. LOL

I follow Jason Read on youtube who has a ton of Prince tutorials, but most of them are just too hard. Better go back to Justin Guitar for now

Haha, let's start a guitar duo, called Why Don't You Stay A While......packed stadiums, my man! Just imagine the sound of 50,000 people laughing their asses off

I first picked up the guitar because of Prince. It was only through being so frustrated by the lack of professionally published Prince guitar tablature available that I ended up getting into other genres of music, to learn to play that instead.

There's a lot more out there now than when I started playing, but my tastes/priorities have shifted more towards hard rock and metal playing. I still like to play a bit of funk, and nobody does funky rhythm licks like Prince. But in terms of my lead playing, I'm more interested in learning and emulating the styles of Slash, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal and John Frusicante.

rob1965 said:

NorthC said:

It's not a matter of talent, but of self discipline.

There's more truth to this than people realise.

I'm a pretty advanced guitarist, and I know from experience that to get to the level of people like EVH, Hendrix, Slash.... it takes an extreme amount of practise. We're not talking half an hour to an hour a day here, we're talking upwards of 3+ hours a day for years and and years.