In her free time, Avery Steindorf practices perfecting her skills playing the guitar. She opened gifts as usual on her 14th birthday, but was soon surprised to see a brand new guitar in her hands. Ever since, she has been practicing and playing whenever she gets the chance. Though her schedule is busy, Steindorf continues to try her best in gaining more experience. 

Q: What made you start playing guitar?

A: I wanted to start playing guitar because my sister had an old guitar when she played. She only played for a month, but I wanted to start because I really loved all kinds of music and I thought it would be cool to learn.

Q: How long have you been playing?

A: I’ve been playing for two years, ever since the second semester of eighth grade, and I’ve really learned a lot. 

Q: Is there a figure you look up to when playing guitar? 

A: I don’t have any family members that play guitar, but I really respect my guitar teacher [Mr. Scott Allen] because he has played for a super long time, and he’s really good at what he does.

Q: How often do you practice?

A: I try to practice often, but recently I’ve been busy so I haven’t practiced a whole lot. I usually try and practice four times a week, but these past few weeks it’s been like two times a week, which is really bad.

Q: Do you perform or have any recitals?

A: [The Music Yard,] where I practice has two recitals a year, one in the fall and one in the spring. I did a spring recital the first year I started learning and I thought it was really fun.

Q: What do you do with your time when you’re not playing guitar?

A: When I don’t play guitar, I am usually busy at soccer practice, hanging out with friends or just having some free time to relax and not think about homework or school.

Q: What kind of guitar do you have? How have you personalized it to fit to your likings?

A: I ended up getting an electric guitar for my fourteenth birthday and it’s a black Yamaha Pacifica. It’s pretty much just a standard electric guitar, nothing too expensive or too exciting. I like that you can play it electrically and do more with it but also play acoustically. I haven’t personalized it yet but maybe I will someday. I dislike having to remember [all the notes and keys,] and not being in the mood to practice sometimes. [Another guitar I have] was my sisters, but she hardly played with it so I started doing lessons with it. It’s different because of the sound and weight of it. I prefer electric because I think it’s cooler and you can do more with it.

Q: Do you want to make a career out of it or is it just for fun?

A: I would say playing guitar is mostly just for fun, but I have wondered if I could make a career out of it because it sounds like a lot of fun. I would probably want to play more rock songs because that’s why I wanted to start playing in the first place. That’s what I currently play, but also some pop songs, but I’m open to anything! I’ve already learned so much and a lot of things I’ve learned already will help me down the line when I’m learning new things. I guess we’ll have to see! I’ve learned open cords like a, d, and c, licks and lots of lead guitar stuff. As well as some stuff that the other famous guitar players were known for like Eric Clapton lick. And I’ve learned lots of songs like “Smoke on the Water” and “Highway to Hell.”

Q: When you’re playing guitar, how do you feel?

A: When I play guitar I sort of end up forgetting all about the other things I have to do like homework, chores, etc. I think it’s because it takes some focus and understanding on what you’re doing when you play.

Q: How hard was it to learn when you first got your guitar?

A: At first, learning guitar was kind of hard just because I found it hard to put my fingers on the right strings for the chords because everything felt so far away on the fretboard. [When] I [kept] playing the same thing over and over, then my fingers [started] to hurt because it’s so repetitive. But now, it’s not like that because my fingers have gotten more flexible and I’ve gotten more comfortable playing.

Q: Would you recommend learning to play the guitar?

A: I recommend playing guitar because I feel like it’s a cool instrument to play. I’ve never been interested in or been a huge fan of instruments until I started playing guitar because it’s something you can really learn at your own pace and decide how much you want to learn.

by PAIGE FRIESEN & MILA KLJAJIN