“It’s good to be a little bit of a street gutter rat”: Lita Ford advises young players to do this instead of “Google guitar chords”
With the explosion of online tutorials, social media shredders and AI-assisted everything, it’s never been easier to pick up an instrument – or look like you’ve mastered one.
While Level 42 bassist Mark King argues that the “standard of musicianship amongst young musicians is higher now than it’s ever been” thanks to the internet, metal icon Lita Ford says that there’s more to becoming a real musician than just mastering guitar tabs off YouTube.
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In a recent chat with The Horror Nerd, the former Runaways guitarist was asked what advice she would give a young, up-and-coming musician hoping to break into the industry today. Her answer? Ditch the online tutorials and start jamming with real people instead.
“Well, it’s a hard piece of advice, because it’s really more than just a piece,” Ford explains [via Blabbermouth]. “Things are so different now in 2025, and the digital world has kind of taken over everything. And I didn’t come from that world.”
According to Ford, there’s no replacement for learning the old-school way.
“So it’s good to be a little bit of a street gutter rat and get out there and jam with people and go to some nightclubs and listen to your favourite musicians and learn as much as you can from them instead of Googling it or watching it on YouTube or whatever,” she says.
“‘Oh, I can Google the guitar chords to my favorite song.’ But that doesn’t mean you know how to play it. It comes from the heart and soul, and those kinds of things don’t teach you a lot of that,” Ford adds. “So it’s good to just be a street rat and a gutter rat and get out there and get down and dirty and sweat and play guitar and play drums and sing your ass off. It helps.”
For Ford, the digital world might offer convenience, but it can’t beat the hard-earned lessons of playing live, grinding through mistakes, and finding your voice in front of real people.
“There’s a lot of things that have changed over the world, through the decades, but that’s how I learned,” says the guitarist. “And if I had to give anybody a piece of advice – and it’s a hard way, it’s not the easy way, but it is the way, when you learn how to feel and everything, the music in your heart and soul. That’s what does it for me.”
Ford is far from alone in thinking so. Artists like Lenny Kravitz have emphasised the importance of “feel, dynamics and emotion” over technique, while Pete Townshend has pointed out what many Instagram guitarists are missing: real-world playing experience with their peers.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
