“Learning to play, even the first simple chords in the tuition book, was an agonizing process for George… All he had was his indomitable will to learn. His mother encouraged him, sitting up late with him as he tried and tried. Sometimes he would be near to tears with frustration and the pain of his split and dusty fingertips”
This is an excerpt from Philip Norman’s ‘Shout’, a biography about the Beatles.
Norman is of course talking about George Harrison, the lead guitarist of the Beatles who was not only part of the band widely considered the best in the world but also had a strong solo career afterwards.
Furthermore his individual guitar skills earned him 11th place in Rolling Stone’s (the magazine) rankings of the top 100 list of guitarists of all time.
That’s pretty impressive considering how he started out with the guitar. Pushing through the ‘agonizing process’ and being ‘near to tears with frustration’.
It just goes to show that to contribute some amazing guitar riffs you don’t have to start as a ‘natural’.
Thomas Duggan 