Learning to play the guitar: ‘Real mistake is giving up’
Manteca High School junior Salvador Paniagua finds a shady spot on campus to strum his guitar. Paniagua is a self-taught artist who began playing as a freshman. (BRIAN COBIAN/The Tower)
By BRIAN COBIAN
The Tower
Manteca High junior Salvador Paniagua has some advice for those learning to play the guitar.
Self taught, Paniagua’s words of wisdom are simple: Don’t give up.
‘’If you keep making mistakes,” he said, “just look at them as opportunities to improve. The best thing to do is to keep trying, because the real mistake is giving up.”
In three years time, Paniagua, who is never far from his guitar, has mastered the ability to play more than 10 songs: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star; Master of Puppets, by Metallica; Smells Like Teen Spirit, by Nirvana; Everlong, by Foo Fighters; Are you blind and Do I wanna know, by Arctic Monkeys; The Neighborhood, by Sweater Weather; Telepati, by Kali Uchis; Kiwi, by Harry Styles; and Ya Acabo, by Marca MP.
Despite being good at playing the guitar, he believes that he truly could get better with more practice.
Inspired by listening to songs that feature guitarists, Paniagua tends to practice at home whenever he gets the opportunity. He is self-taught, plucking guitar strings while studying YouTube videos. He says it takes about 10 minutes to learn a new song.
Paniagua, who enjoys country rock, metal, bluegrass and Spanish, began playing as a freshman.
“I search it up but normally most of the time I would go on YouTube,” said Paniagua, who is patient, polite and mild-mannered, attributes that have helped him navigate a skill that can be maddening to learn.
“After my guitar classes, I self-teach myself by finding the notes to the songs then just practicing from there’.”
The Tower was able to sit down Salvador Paniagua to discuss his love and interest for playing the guitar, while also getting to know what inspired him to play it.
The Tower: How are you able to improve your playing skills?
Salvador Paniagua: There are these things on the guitar called scales it’s a pattern that you play and it sounds good no matter how you play whether it be normal or backwards.
TT: How are you able to balance your guitar playing with school and spending time with family?
SP: I am able to balance everything out by getting as much schoolwork done then spending time with family when I get home. But once I achieve those things, then I can spend the rest of my day playing the guitar and practicing more songs. Sometimes even I forget that I can play the guitar and I say, ‘Hey, I can just play my guitar.’
TT: How long to be able to master playing a song?
SP: It depends on the song. If I fully dedicate myself to the song, I could probably get it done within an hour or two. As long as I don’t get distracted by anyone or anything.
TT: What is some life advice you would give someone?
SP: It’s okay to be wrong, because how would you know if you are wrong without knowing the true way to be right. Also, never give up and be yourself and write your own story. Life’s almost like playing the guitar. It takes time and effort to be great, so why rush yourself when you can take your time and be great.
Manteca High School junior Salvador Paniagua finds a shady spot on campus to strum his guitar. Paniagua is a self-taught artist who began playing as a freshman. (BRIAN COBIAN/The Tower)