Great self-taught guitarists: big names and interesting facts. Famous Guitarists Learn to play and sing along with your friends

If you were born with talent, you can’t hide it “behind seven locks” - sooner or later, it will let you know about yourself and drag you into the abyss of obscurity! However, even if the talent is not innate, then it can be easily developed, moreover, without resorting to material goods, time and place. What matters here is desire and hard work. We decided to show you, using the example of 5 great self-taught guitarists, how to reach the top of your career, having only your own experience and knowledge behind you, without a diploma, connections and other benefits.

Jimi Hendrix.

We think this great musician not worth imagining! Everyone has heard about talented person, but do you know that this performer became famous only because of his desire? It was this man who made the world take a different look at the guitar, and it was he who "subdued" her to himself, without having any musical education. Impressive isn't it? So what did he have? Your view on creativity, new trends, incredible strength, and perseverance. Not much, but it was enough! Now you know what's missing to become a real star!

Eric Clapton.

For a successful future career, this guitarist inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis, and already at the age of 14, Eric began to master the first musical ranks. And , the musician repelled, only from the visual perception of the game of great personalities. Was it difficult for him? For sure, but the force of desire and interest stubbornly led the young Clapton into the world of music. Thus, without having a "crust", he grew from self-taught to the world stage.

Chuck Berry.

At the age of 15 Chuck picked up a six-string guitar, and realized that he would "stay with her" forever. Three-Chord Blues Technique obeyed him like family. And although the musician, later, more than once admitted that it was a difficult matter, in his contented and happy face, one could always read that this was his element. Like the stars described above, they obsession with music rules, so the stage obeyed him even if not with ease.

Angus McKinnon Young.

Lead guitarist, known to us from the group "AC\ DC» . He definitely has a lot to learn! Colleagues in the group called him "well, a very patient guy", who "does not take perseverance". One day, deciding that he will become a world star He never once doubted it! From the age of 11, Angus delved into all the basics of guitar, digging through tutorials, but it quickly got tired musician, and he realized that the “mastering process” is much better, looking at the game of great performers. Thus, Angus, learning to play his favorite instrument, I copy the game of my only teachers - favorite musicians.

Yngwie Malmsteen.

Many people know this talented musician. He repeatedly "shone" in various tops, and replenished the lists of "great" from various publications. But myself Irvy, has repeatedly stated that "there is no limit to perfection", and every day, learning something new, a little more close to perfect sound. According to his fans and fans, he is already a leader. As a musician, as a person, and as a legend, but the performer himself does not doubt for a second that there is always room to grow, even if you have only your own experience and your own mistakes and knowledge.

Using the example of these talented individuals who, thanks to their perseverance and strength, knew that self-improvement can be done “from home”, we have shown you a direct path to the stage of success. It remains only to take a little tolerance and perseverance from them, and you can easily go to the incredible world of show business, which opens up something new every day and lights a new star in its sky!

In order to achieve some success in any business, you need to plunge into it completely, so to speak, “with your head”. Then the result will be guaranteed, and even what! If you take up the guitar, regularly listen to recordings of professionals, because setting someone as an example, you can achieve success much easier. In my top I will tell you who you can safely look up to, who was able to get the most out of the instrument, who could fascinate with sound. I would like to note that all the participants in the hit parade are selected based solely on my preferences, so it is possible that my and your choice may not coincide.

10. Kurt Cobain

Uncomplicated riffs, maximum distortion and aggression - all this is Kurt. At one time, the leader of the cult band Nirvana» was able to open new avenues for alternative rock, and he himself became a cult grunge musician. Being left-handed, he created simple riffs on fifths, but damn, how aggressive it sounded! In general, deservedly opens the top.

9. Johnny Ramon

One of the founders of the first and iconic punk band "Ramones" became an exemplary punk guitarist - bright, energetic and with a "zest". Together with Joey Ramone, he went through a long and difficult journey of the group from beginning to end. At the age of 20, he buys his first electric guitar for $54, on which almost all the band's songs were played. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked him #16 on their list of the best rock guitarists of all time.

8. Tony Iommi

The permanent guitarist of Black Sabbath is considered by many to be the first metal guitarist. His music is full of overload, which the musician never regretted, but always kept under control. The brilliance and stunningness of his game never ceases to amaze, although he is left-handed, who, moreover, lacks the pads of two fingers. Nothing will stop the master.

7. Robert Johnson

The first member of the "Club 27", a virtuoso bluesman. He began his career in the 30s, but, unfortunately, he did not become famous until his death. Little is known about his life, as I have already said about it: only mysticism and riddles. Modern professional musicians harshly criticize his work, explaining this by the lack of rhythm, hearing and good diction. But, whatever one may say, it was his work that became the basis for the next generation of bluesmen.

6. Les Paul

Guitar virtuoso, inventor and innovator, creator of the legendary Gibson Les Paul guitar. He is credited with many innovations in the field of music, such as "delay" effects, chorus, multi-channel recording, and more. He had an inimitable playing style, constantly experimented with ways of sound production directly on the guitar. However, the real glory was brought to him by the dream of every guitarist - the legendary Gibson Les Paul guitar, which to this day is one of the most popular and most expensive. Les Paul is one of the few musicians who has a permanent exhibit in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

The co-founder of the legendary band "The Rolling Stones" has come a long way to fame and excellence with Jagger. Keith Richards possessed the most beautiful women on the planet and violated all laws, including biological ones. To this day, his memories have survived, smelling of sex, drugs and rock and roll.

4. Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry is called the father of rock and roll - he taught The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, Roy Orbinson and Elvis Presley. “If you try to find another name for rock and roll, then let it be Chuck Berry,” this John Lennon quote speaks for itself. He is one of the most influential performers of this genre, the author of Johnny B. Goode, the most covered song in the history of music.

3. Jimmy Page

A living legend, a restless experimenter, the "brain" of the legendary hard rock band "Led Zeppelin" - all this is Jimmy. Popularizer of the previously little-known double-necked electric guitar, Page stood at the origins of hard rock, he is rightfully considered one of the "parents" of heavy metal, but one way or another he managed to influence almost all the music that is now being created and recorded. Honored Bronze.

Perhaps the only one, or at least one of the few who could really compete with the #1 guitarist of all time. Eric is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Commander of the Order of the British Empire. The first instrument in his career as a musician was a cheap steel-string acoustic guitar given to him by his grandmother. Playing it was a real torment, and serious perseverance was required from Eric to master this instrument. In love with the blues, he quickly won the love of the public, first as a street musician, and later as a member and lead guitarist of the legendary bands The Yardbirds and Cream.

1. Jimi Hendrix

He was the absolute First, one hundred percent Pioneer, but today for some reason this has been forgotten. Jimi Hendrix is ​​a legendary man who was called a brilliant musician during his lifetime. He opened up many possibilities for a new sound in the electric guitar, becoming the most inventive and daring virtuoso in the history of rock music. His work has influenced almost all modern musicians, becoming an endless role model.

What kid doesn't dream of becoming like his rock idol? Picking up a guitar and rocking out to your favorite rock concert, pretending to be Dave Mustaine or Steve Harris, is an indescribable feeling. Drive, surge of emotions, positive sea. How many such self-taught amateurs have turned into unique masters and virtuosos known and great.

Stevie Ray Vaughn – Music Style: Blues, Blues-Rock, Funk, Texas Rock

Stevie Ray Vaughan is an American guitarist and singer who was named one of the 100 Coolest Guitar Heroes in 2003. The self-taught musician, who first picked up the guitar at the age of seven, played only by ear and could not read music.

An interesting incident happened to Stevie during his school years, when he asked his older brother for a guitar for a long time to perform at a party. Jimmy's brother disagreed, but Stevie swore he would take care of the instrument. However, as usual, what happens is what you fear the most. Stevie accidentally scratched the guitar. Jimmy came up with a kind of punishment for his brother - he forced him to buy a damaged instrument. Ray Vaughn devoted his short, but very creative life exclusively to music.

Saul Hudson (Slash) – music style: hard rock, heavy rock, blues rock, glam metal

Saul Hudson, known to everyone under the pseudonym Slash, got such a nickname because he could not sit in one place for a long time and was constantly moving. A black top hat, black curly hair, black leather pants and a cigarette are an unusual, memorable stage image of a single maestro. The talented self-taught guitarist began his training on an instrument with one string (!), presented by his grandmother on his fifteenth birthday. Today, Slash has more than ten signature Gibson models in his arsenal, some of which are collectible.

Gary Moore - musical style: blues, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, jazz fusion

Robert William Gary Moore is a legendary Irish bluesman, songwriter and singer who began self-taught guitar at the age of eight. According to Moore's memoirs, a friend showed him just one chord, and then "everything went by itself." Despite the fact that the musician was left-handed, he did an excellent job with a standard, right-handed instrument. Gary Moore was one of the first musicians to be honored by the famous Gibson guitar brand with a signature guitar.

Carlos Santana - musical style: latin rock, blues rock, classic rock, jazz rock

Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican-American guitarist who began his career as a musician at the age of eight. A couple of years later, Santana was already replenishing the family budget by performing as part of the local band Santana. Surprisingly, the composition of the group has changed so often over the entire period of its touring work that it is simply impossible to list all its members! A unique combination of ethnic Latin American music and classic rock, live, like a talking guitar - the hallmark of a unique Mexican maestro.

Jeff Beck - musical style: blues rock, hard rock, jazz fusion, instrumental rock, electronic

Jeff Beck - British guitar virtuoso got acquainted with music as a child, performing in a church choir. Self-learning to play the guitar for beginners began after mastering the piano, cello and drums. Winner of seven Grammys, an amazingly versatile musician who leads an almost reclusive lifestyle, in his spare time he loves to work on his cars - Jaguar and Hot Road.

Yngwie Malmsteen - musical style: glam metal, shred metal, progressive metal, hard rock, power metal

Yngwie Johann Malmsteen is a self-taught Swedish guitarist who claims that his name has a special meaning in the Old Norse language and sounds like "Viking leader". He did not show much interest in musical instruments, however, at the age of seven, having learned about the death of Jimi Hendrix, he announced that a new guitarist, Yngwie Malmsteen, had been born. Music captured the boy so much that he began to skip classes, and then completely left school, deciding to become a great maestro. In 1989, the musician gave 20 concerts in Russia, recorded the album "Live in Leningrad: Trial By Fire". Interestingly, the image of Malmsteen will appear on Swedish banknotes. And yet - Yngwie became the prototype of the hero-guitarist of the animated series Metalocalypse.

As can be seen from these stories, the craving for music appears in childhood - in the wake of an emotional outburst, the boys take the guitar in their hands and begin to master it on their own. The experience of eminent musicians confirms that this requires only:

• perseverance
• persistence
• purposefulness
• Constant practice

Nowadays, there are many opportunities and means for self-study of any musical instrument. Becoming a unique sought-after master is not easy, but you need to try. Dare! Maybe soon we will hear about the new Steve Vai or Joe Satriani?

GREAT SELF-Taught GUITARS: 3 GOLDEN NAMES OF ROCK AND ROLL Guitarists are a diverse group of great guitarists and self-taught guitarists who couldn't get far from the basics. One of the criteria that sometimes divides this numerous "class" into two irreconcilable camps is the criterion of the presence or absence of a professional musical education. In our case, professional musical education means graduating from a music school with the receipt of an appropriate document, and the second class is self-taught guitarists. It is about them that this article will be discussed, namely, about three world guitarists who, having learned to play the guitar on their own, have achieved worldwide fame. 1. Jimi Hendrix During his lifetime, many called him a great guitarist, a phenomenon and a genius, because he was able to look at the electric guitar in a new light. His music was subsequently inspired by many famous guitarists of the world, such as Ritchie Blackmore, Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Kirk Hammett and other great musicians. But the most interesting thing is that Jimi was self-taught. A feature of Hendrix's technique was his "left-handedness". His main instrument was the Fender Stratocaster known to the whole world under the name "Electric Lady". He turned his guitar upside down, thus obtaining a "left-handed" instrument. He did not know musical notation and, probably, this made him concentrate much more strongly on the music itself. And yet, I think almost no one will argue with the fact that Jimi Hendrix is ​​really a great guitarist who was self-taught. Hendrix is ​​ranked #1 in the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine. 2. Eric Clapton This famous guitarist's future musical career was partly defined by Jerry Lee Lewis, whose emotional performance on British television, with Eric Clapton's ever-growing interest in the blues, was the motivator that forced Eric to take up the guitar. Eric Clapton, at the age of 14, began to learn the guitar on his own, trying to copy the playing of the great blues guitarists as faithfully as possible. As a result, we conclude: Eric Clapton (Eric Clapton) is self-taught. And this self-taught musician is the only musician in the world who has been honored three times to be included in the "holy of holies" for all rockers - the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. 3. Chuck Barry Chuck used various guitar tutorials and occasionally took basic lessons from local guitarists. Soon, Chuck Berry was already able to learn the required number of chords, which allowed him to "shoot" the guitar parts of songs played on the radio. It wasn't until 1951 that Chuck Berry finally got himself a traditional six-string electric guitar. Soon, Berry, in addition to self-taught books, also studied on the recordings of the guitar parts of such great guitarists as jazzman Charlie Christian, blues star T-Bone Walker.

Guitarists are such a diverse creative audience that you are amazed. There are also self-taught guitarists among them, who learned the basics of playing the guitar on their own.

Guitarists can be classified by direction in music, gender, age, recognizable personal preferences, etc. Criteria set!

Today we will talk about those guitarists who, one way or another, did not become holders of a diploma of elementary musical education.

Great self-taught guitarists

• Top of the lists of "hundreds of the greatest guitarists" for 2003 in the magazine "Rolling Stones" and 2009 in "Classic Rock" takes.

There is no point in explaining who this is, is it? We all know the guitar virtuosos by name! During his lifetime, Jimmy was called a genius, a phenomenon, a musician who managed to look at the guitar differently.

Many famous guitarists drew inspiration from his music - these are Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, Kirk Hammett and others. D. Hendrix, being self-taught, who did not know the musical alphabet, easily controlled the guitar, both with his right hand and with his left.

• In second place among the self-taught, we single out Eric Clapton, a guitarist with a deep interest in the blues sound and the creative life of Jerry Lee Lewis. At the age of 14, Eric began to learn the basics of guitar, starting from the visual perception of listening to the game of the great bluesmen.

He is the only musician to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times. As a solo artist and guitarist for Cream and the Yardbirds.

• Rock and roll legend - independently mastered the six-string guitar at the age of 15. The instrument was originally a 4-string tenor guitar. With her help, the novice musician learned the technique of "three-chord blues". In the future, Chuck used tutorials and guitar lessons "mastodons" in the game.

Over time, Berry learned the chords that allowed him to "copy" in his own way the compositions that sound on the radio wave. In 1951, the musician purchased a six-string electric guitar and began to study the guitar parts of Charlie Christian, T-Bone Walker.

• - Lead guitarist, songwriter for AC/DC. This is a musician of small stature, only 158 cm! It was his magazine "MAXIM" included in the list of "25 Greatest Shorties in History", in positions ahead of Napoleon Bonaparte, John Stewart, Martin Scorsese. But growth did not prevent Young from developing the talent of a guitarist on his own, with the help of patience and perseverance.

As an 11-year-old teenager, Angus delved into the basics of guitar from tutorials, which he did not like. As a result, he began to listen to the performances of the great guitarists and select parts “for them”. The method of numerous trial and error brought the best result - the world learned about A. Yang!

• repeatedly replenished the lists of "great" from different publications. He learned everything himself, to live, create, play. But Yngwie never misses a chance to further refine his technique, to learn something new about music, because a musician must always improve himself.