Inspiration Over Time

There have been several people who have inspired me over the many years that I have been playing guitar. If you listen close, you can hear their influence in my playing. All of us start playing instruments for different reasons and we encounter different people who inspire us over time. Fortunately, for us guitar players there are a lot of great players out there that will challenge us and cause us to grow as musicians. Inspiration over time develops and influences our playing styles.

One such player is Tommy Emmanuel. It is interesting to hear his story. He was inspired to learn how to play guitar by listening to Chet Atkins on the radio. Tommy is a self-taught musician and he is one of the most incredible players I have ever seen. Listen to him tell his story.

While I can definitely relate to the one-man band concept. I am not as good as Tommy. In fact, I don’t think many people are. He is definitely one of the all-time greats. His career has taken him all over the world and he has been able to play with many great players.

It takes a lot of work to become a good guitar player. You got to work on it every day. Once you arrive at a place where you have some skill, you got to work to maintain that skill. I can really appreciate all the work that Tommy put into his craft and skill level.

Tommy does things with an acoustic guitar that I have not seen anywhere else. His use of a brush and other percussion elements are unique and original. Tommy was one of the first to do this. Others now tap out percussion on their instruments, but this is an area where Tommy has been a pioneer.

Tommy even emulates other instruments with his playing

The thing that stands out the most to me is the emotion that Tommy puts in every note. He feels every note so much so that it draws you in as a spectator. You begin to feel what he is communicating through music, and that is when we can relate to one another through the international language of music.

It does not matter what your skill level is, we should all strive to play with as much emotion as we possibly can. Tommy teaches me to stop playing random notes and start playing music. He teaches me to hear and feel every note and he teaches me how to communicate with others through music. Hopefully, these videos inspire you to do the same.