I went from playing the trumpet to the guitar and never looked back!

[prodigalson12]

I learned traditionally on the trumpet. I was the guy that held lead seat, did all of the solo's and even ad-libbed most of them which is unique in that scene at those early ages, was in every band they had to offer in school and almost made a career in the Army Jazz band.

I joined the military with another MOS at the age of 17 and lost my ombosher entirely because of the long gap of training that prevented me from continuing to practice during it. I'm sure if I spent a few years to rebuild it I could get it back, all of what I knew then, I still retain, yet I did not feel inspired to do so and here is why.

After training, while I was in Germany where I was stationed at, they let us borrow guitars and amps and in the back of my mind, I always wanted to play guitar regardless. What I learned was that this non linear style of music was much more complex, yet much more versatile along musical expression. It's like a whole band all on one instrument when it comes down to it and this is where my trumpet "playing solo's" was able to continue along it's legacy, this time plucking and bending a string instead.

The instrument is really cool since it takes very little time to build up the physical dexterity, much more so then traditional instruments that we play in school bands. I have since expanded exponentially along my abilities with it, partially carrying on the legacy I started with the trumpet, partially going off into completely new tangents a horn simply will never go towards. This has turned into a very positive thing and can only be done if I set down that original trumpet in the first place.

What I do on it now a days, I express myself in a unique way, it's fluid, there is no thought involved, I also play almost entirely by ear which is the opposite of what I did on the trumpet "outside of when I was playing a solo",.

Looking back, now 30+ years playing an instrument of some kind, I realized the best way to teach a new musician is to have them learn a basic blues scale, for they will not only make sense of what they are doing, they will have fun with it in the process which will keep them playing.