30 years ago… My first electric guitar lesson!

Rockin’ out in 2022…

Photo Credit: Josh Stolberg

It was a Saturday morning and as I made my way across the local music store, with a loaded six-string on my back, I wondered what guitar lessons would be like, this time around.…

My first lesson initially focused on a few basic, but important elements; how to best hold the instrument, hold the pick, and how to position my left hand, thumb, and fingers on the neck and fretboard. Surprisingly, I started to catch on, after only a few minutes... 

As my first lesson approached its end, along with some foundational music theory, I received my most important assignment to date; the Ionian modal scale, to be played using three notes per string and alternate picking. It started with the low E string, on the 8th fret, then to the 10th fret, then the 12th, all played with a down-up-down picking pattern. Then, over to the A string, again at frets 8, 10, and 12, this time played with an up-down-up picking pattern. Strings D and G then followed, each at frets 9, 10, and 12, again with alternate picking. Finally, were the B and high E strings, each played using the same picking pattern, at frets 10, 12, and 13. Upon successfully completing this brief sonic trip, up and across the neck, I was to turn around and head back to the beginning, all while driving (picking) in reverse. Rinse and repeat....

- Woodard, Anthony. “Muscle Memory…”. Mar. 2, 2023