04/19/2022
GUITAR PLAYERS: BRACE UP!
I love the scene at the end of a famous Samurai film where the heroes are making their way back home from battle. One of them has lost two legs and one arm, and he’s dragging himself home by his sword with his remaining arm. The other one, who is walking, looks down at him and sternly says, “Brace up!”, as if to imply that he’s still alive after all, so things could be worse. You’ve got to love that Japanese warrior spirit!
Many people tell me they think the shape of their hands adversely affects their guitar playing–for instance, having fingers that are too short or too large. I always point to Leslie West (the excellent guitarist from Mountain who had enormous hands) in both cases as an example of why not to worry about it. While the hand with long, slender fingers is considered ideal for playing guitar, fact is, people with every shape of hands are making great music every day.
And then there are people like the great jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, who had a severely handicapped fretting hand with just two usable fingers and still managed to play passages that confound people today. Check out a video of him playing here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANArGmr74u4
So, please be assured that your desire to play guitar and be great at it will overcome what you might perceive as your own physical shortcomings (no pun intended!).
And if anyone needs further inspiration about overcoming physical issues to play guitar, check out this guitar player–he doesn’t even have arms! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyIzAzmMyFk