My influences...

I can describe my playing with a pair of examples: "Strange kind of woman" and "Paranoid".
They are maybe the first songs I got right as a beginner, so they have had the most influence on me. Their solos are pretty conservative as far as moving up and down the fretboard is concerned. The pentatonic across the fretboard in these two was a concept much easier (for someone who didn't know their fretboard yet) to understand and recreate than horizontal movements like in "Smoke on the water".

That's a pretty narrow style indeed. I'm trying to expand it.


Of course, elements from other songs and artists have found their way (at least occasionally) into my style but the scaffold consists of the two I mentioned.

What first inspired me to play is different than the people who I draw inspiration from today.

I can remember sitting in the den with my parents and sister watching "Back to the Future." Remember when Michael J. Fox's character grabs the guitar and plays "Johnny B. Goode" for the prom? Of course that isn't really him playing, but he played a kickass rock n' roll song and even though the crowd looked at him like he had three heads, he still walked off knowing that it was cool. That's what inspired me to play.

People I draw influence from are Joe Satriani, 80's metal heroes like Warren DiMartini, Reb Beach, George Lynch, Tracii Guns, etc. All those guys have so much fun playing, at it really shows. They make music fun for me and I want to emulate that.

I definitely think those players should give some free lessons to the new guitar.com. Video, tab, sound clips. I'll interview them!

Tommy Hunter.

what got me started with guitar were the classics: jimi hendrix, led zeppelin, and aerosmith to name a few. however, since then i have strayed away from the classic rock style, and into the more contemporary rock of john petrucci, steve vai, joe satriani, paul gilbert (Yea G3 is my kind of thing). but i do get some stuff from other people as well, i started listening to B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughn and got some stuff from them.

For me the early influence was David Gimour. I couldn't get enough of the guitar solos on The Wall, Wish You Were Hear, Dark Side of the Moon........like others, Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Clapton. Also Mark Knopfler. Lately I've been going old school - Les Paul, Chet Atkins, Muddy Waters, BB

I really dig Gary Moore's album "Still Got The Blues". It's such a ruckus album!

jimi, clapton, michael j fox...'nough said

12 notes? I understand the statement, but there are a LOT more than 12 notes. Just start at the root tone for each of those notes and you'll be adding another 12 just to complete the scales. The combinations are pretty much infinite, even when you ignore chording.

That being said.... Influences?

I started playing in the 60's. Aside from playing the drums at that time, (my father was the drummer for Alvino Ray and the King Sisters back in the '40's, so there was always a set around the house,) I took up the clarinet. Not like guitar was really big in 1960. Six years later I found myself in the studio playing jazz with Don Butterfield, who was probably the greatest jazz tuba player of all time. He would be my primary influence for EVERYTHING musical. I played with Don until I was 17. At that time I decided to take up guitar. (Was already playing clarinet, (soprano, alto, bass, contra-alto and contra-bass,) flute, piccolo, sax, (alto, tenor & bari,) drums, (kit or individual percussion,) some keys and had learned how to direct an orchestra. I was inspired to guitar by Paul Simon. I didn't go the electric route, until 1999. (Yeah, I waited 30 years.) Though I did get to play with some pretty good electric players. (By the 1970's my father was still in the music business, but had moved to promoting instead of playing. Because of that, I got to meet some people that the average guy only gets to see from the audience.) I was able to "jam," (for about 20 minutes in the best case,) with Leon Russell, Blood Sweat & Tears, Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, Pete Townshend and a few others. (Missed my chances with Eric Clapton, BB King, Les Paul and never ever had the opportunity to meet Paul Simon.) While they were encouraging, the initial inspriation was still stronger, so I took to arranging "hard rock" for acoustic. I still struggle with the electric. Just doesn't sound like I want it to.