“I’ll keep playing as long as my fingers work”: Peter Frampton gives update on how his health impacts his guitar playing, and how he’s learning new ways to play to counteract his disease
Back in 2019, Peter Frampton revealed he had been diagnosed with inclusion body myositis (IBM), a disease characterised by slowly progressive weakness and muscle wasting.
But the guitarist has remained resolute in his determination to continue playing the guitar, and to not let the disease get the better of him. Guitar.com recently attended a talk Frampton gave at the Martin booth at this year’s NAMM Show, where he spoke about how his health has impacted his guitar playing, and how he’s learning new ways to play to ensure his longevity.
READ MORE: NAMM 2025 Live: The latest news, product launches and rumours from the biggest guitar gear show on Earth
“I’m gonna keep going as long as my fingers work,” he told the crowd. “It’s getting more difficult, I have to admit, but the worst thing about playing for me, when I’m soloing, is to actually think about what I’m playing. I don’t want to think, I want it to come from my heart, my soul. That’s how I’ve always played.
“Now I do have to think a little bit because [I’ll be] in the middle of a passage and say, ‘Hm, that finger is not gonna get there in time.’ So I do a regroup, and I use one finger for many notes that I used to use three fingers for.”
Citing gypsy jazz pioneer Django Reinhardt – who famously lost two fingers in fire – as an inspiration, Frampton goes on: “I do remember a chap, a Belgian guy – I would never, ever compare myself to him – he completely reworked [his playing style]. That’s what I’m doing. Because I enjoy music so much, I’m enjoying working out a different way of playing, so that I can keep playing.
“People say, ‘Aren’t you depressed?’ Accept the things you cannot change – I learnt that in AA (Alcoholics Anonymous). Why worry about something you can’t do anything about? We don’t have a magic bullet yet for IBM, but we’re doing trials all the time.
“I will keep doing music for the rest of my life. What I have is not life-threatening, thank God, but it’s life-changing. And I’m going with the flow.”
Peter Frampton is set to play two 10-date tours in April and June this year. For tickets and a full list of dates, head to his official website.
The post “I’ll keep playing as long as my fingers work”: Peter Frampton gives update on how his health impacts his guitar playing, and how he’s learning new ways to play to counteract his disease appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
