Billy Strings explains why he’s still getting guitar lessons, despite being a Grammy-winning artist: “I hear myself play so much – I get sick of it”
Bluegrass artist Billy Strings still takes guitar lessons to expand his technical horizons and venture out of his genre.
Strings obviously doesn’t need lessons, and his three Grammy Awards can prove it, but he believes working with a tutor helps him to stay curious and inspired, as he starts to “get sick” of hearing himself play.
READ MORE: Alex Lifeson reveals the Rush song he “really struggled with” learning to play again for the band’s reunion: “My hands are not operating like they once did”
In The Interview podcast with The New York Times, he not only explains further why he takes lessons, but also demonstrates what he’s been learning within them to better his playing.
“Oh, I don’t know. I feel like I just play so many gigs and stuff, I hear myself play so much. I get sick of it, you know? Bluegrass is a lot of using this much of the fretboard,” he says, beginning to play, “I’ll occasionally slide up here, but there’s no money past the fifth fret.
“I’ve just started to try to learn some different styles of music that I never really got into, studying with my guy Rob that I’ve been taking lessons with for the last couple years… Just trying to expand my horizons, I guess.”
Hear what he’s been learning and watch him play below:
Last year, Guitar.com reviewed Billy Strings’s Martin D-X2E Signature model, and awarded it 9/10 for its playability and balanced tonality.
The model was part of a drop of two signatures with Martin, the first of which was launched at NAMM in January 2025 and was a $4,000 D-28 model, released as a love letter to his beloved 1940 D-28. The D-X2E is a more affordable option from Martin’s Remastered X-series.
Billy Strings has a new album, So Much For Goodbyes, landing on 28 August. You can pre-order it now.
The post Billy Strings explains why he’s still getting guitar lessons, despite being a Grammy-winning artist: “I hear myself play so much – I get sick of it” appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
