Musical History

Sarah's interest in guitar began as early as age five, when she made a guitar of construction paper. At about age seven she made instruments from cigar boxes and rubber bands. At age ten she began to teach herself on the Spanish and steel stringed acoustics that had been abandoned by her older siblings. Finally, in high school, she got her first two electric guitars. Sarah proceeded to college where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music, but was sorry to find no classes in "Metal Riffology". Since then she has enjoyed composing, recording, and teaching, especially as a staff member of Metal Method.

More about Sarah: "I knew all my life that I wanted to play guitar. My passion for the instrument never wavered. I always loved to listen to music, and every time I heard the sound of electric rock guitar, I wanted to produce that sound myself. It always seemed so odd to me that there were not more female guitarists. In the media, when a woman did appear with a guitar it was usually an acoustic, and often with a capo. In many cases, it was only a prop and the woman simply held it while she sang.

As a child, I was exposed to some great music by my parents and older siblings, but I did not hear metal until I was in high school. For many years, the closest I could get to an electric guitar was seeing one on "The Monkees" (an American television series about a fictitious band) or "The Banana Splits" (another American TV show). Finally, in my freshman year of high school, I was able to gaze on the SG played by one of the guys in our small jazz combo for whom I played piano. There was also an older student in the music building who was taking "independent study", which meant that for an hour each day he could practice on his Korina Explorer in one of the practice rooms. I stood on tiptoes and pressed my nose to the small window in the door…

My mother had wanted me to play the piano- what did it matter what I wanted? Proper young ladies played piano and tennis and spoke French. To my surprise, all three skills have actually served me well in life. In learning the guitar, I was on my own! Starting in the sixth grade with a Mel Bay book I learned some basic open chords and how to apply standard notation to the guitar. My first songs were "Aura Lee" and "At the Zoo". I purchased the sheet music for "Stairway to Heaven", which of course was arranged for piano. Instructional materials back then were not what they are today. Every day after school, I came home and began my self-study sessions upstairs in the den. One day, a friend of my older brother came by our house and showed me bar chords, and the basic progression for "Bad Moon Risin’". The next time you take ten minutes to teach something to a young person, consider that it might be something he or she will never forget.

This covers my origins as a guitarist. From here it was a matter of acquiring as many instructional books, tapes, magazines, CDs and videos as possible, as well as a Bachelor of Arts in Music. My enthusiasm for learning guitar led naturally to a passion for teaching it, and thus my purpose in life." -Sarah

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