“We would hide behind the cycle sheds because it was illegal to have a guitar at my school”: The lengths young Brian May went to to practice the guitar
Before he became a guitar legend with Queen, Brian May had to get creative when it came to practicing his craft.
Influenced by icons like the Everly Brothers and Elvis Presley, the guitarist began his journey with the acoustic guitar, focusing on accompaniment before progressing to more complex techniques.
“I started off on acoustic, and I was on acoustic for a long time, and all I did was sing and play accompaniment,” May begins [via MusicRadar]. “It was a long time before I became clever enough to play what I call single notes. I could hear people doing it on records but I couldn’t. I didn’t know how to do it myself.”
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May, however, wasn’t alone in his struggles. His friends, too, were just starting to explore the possibilities of the guitar, with no one really knowing the ins and outs of single-note playing. But that didn’t stop them.
Despite the school’s official policy banning guitars, May recalls being in a “kind of competition” with his friends to see who could improve their playing the fastest. In order to share their progress, the group had to get creative as well.
“In the lunch hours, we would hide behind the cycle sheds because it was illegal to have a guitar at my school,” May says. “Seriously, things were very different in those days! Hampton Grammar School, you would get suspended for even having a guitar let alone possessing one at school.”
“So behind the cycle sheds, we would hide, and we would play, and go, ‘Hank Marvin’s done this, y’know. And this…’ All these wonderful things were happening. Elvis was happening. Buddy Holly was happening. And we were finding out what they do, how they do it. That’s what we wanna do!”
In related news, May has partnered with Gibson on a new 12-string signature acoustic. Priced at $7,999 and limited to just 100 units, the SJ-200 features premium details like a AAA Sitka spruce top with a Vintage Sunburst finish, a two-piece AAA maple neck with a Rounded profile, and a unique planetary-themed pickguard with a nod to Freddie Mercury, designed by May himself as a tribute to his passion for science.
The post “We would hide behind the cycle sheds because it was illegal to have a guitar at my school”: The lengths young Brian May went to to practice the guitar appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
