I’ve had my guitar for almost four years now. I remember asking my parents for one on my thirteenth birthday and since then, I’ve fallen in love with the simple strum of six chords. I’ve also gone through the experience of trying new instruments, either for a day or two years, but the guitar has proven to be my best companion in my music-learning journey.

Up until now, I’ve learned to play the flute, bassoon, the recorder, percussion instruments. Yet nothing is easier or sounds so much better than the guitar. It provides this whole other experience that I couldn’t get with two hours of practice with a flute, not to mention the flute would always make me lose my breath easily. With the guitar, just a simple finger picking at any chord gently is beautiful. Well, almost, you still have to learn actual notes to create a sound.

One of the many reasons why a guitar is so easy is that most pop songs can be played on it easily with the same four or five chords: C, G, A minor, E minor and D. This was proven to be true with an interview that Ed Sheeran was apart of. Now of course, it’s Ed Sheeran, music prodigy, but most of his songs are played with those easy, basic chords. If you take a look on UltimateGuitar.com, you’ll see what I mean, and although they have intermediate to pro variations, the site has also come up with very basic variations that anyone can enjoy learning.

Along with learning how to play guitar, I’ve also kind of taught myself how to sing better with the different notes. I feel like the guitar is close to helping us with finding our key in a song than most  other instruments, except for the piano. I’m not saying I’m on a Beyonce or Lady Gaga level of singing, but I definitely know that my voice didn’t sound like this back in 2015. I like it, too, the feeling of being on key, especially in the shower. It really helps.

What’s been most important in my journey of learning the basic art of playing the guitar is how new experiences have been created. With the flute or the recorder, it was overall frustration and constant worrying of playing correctly in the concert. Since I’m not in a band though, I simply play the guitar in casual settings with friends or family, and there’s no pressure to get something right. Everyone else is singing off key, it’s okay if the instrument is too. That’s not to say that I don’t appreciate the wonderful performances of classical guitars, those guys are really dedicated to jamming, but I know that I won’t go down that path.

Learning the guitar can be playful and fun, just as any other instrument. We all deserve a chance to find ourselves through music whether it be playing it, singing it or even just listening to it. The guitar has definitely proven that experience to me and I wouldn’t want to have that experience any other way with another instrument.