People often ask me what inspired me to play the guitar. There is not one straightforward answer to the question. Here's how I think it happened...

When I was a boy inspiration for learning the guitar came in various ways. At the age of 4 or 5 years old I had a ukelele which undoubtedly started my interest in stringed instruments. The interest grew when I was about 7 and my older brother brought a guitar home to learn chords. At that time I was taken with my primary school teacher's ability to sing while accompanying herself on the guitar.

At age 9 I was asked by my parents what musical instrument I would like to have formal lessons with. It was obvious of course. The guitar! The advice in those days was that a child should start guitar lessons at age 10 so I had to wait. When lessons finally began, further inspiration came from my first teacher, Philip Read, who made lessons interesting and entertaining. I was hooked!

After I had been learning for about 2 years, my father gave me two classical guitar records (I mean vinyl records, before the days of CDs!) One was an excellent record by a classical guitarist called Alirio Diaz (Venezuelan) who I now know is very famous around the world. I found his playing fascinating and indeed a great source of inspiration. I later tried to imitate his style and attempted some very difficult pieces that were above my ability at the time! The other record was by Australian born, English guitarist John Williams who is considered one of the greatest guitarist the world has known.

My interest in guitars took a slight detour for a year or so when I took up the renaissance lute. I purchased three lutes and spent time learning some repertoire from 16th century England, Italy and Spain. I had several lessons from local lute teacher John Fergusson and learnt how to be patient and to practise slowly in order to learn music well. He gave me some insights into the various styles of lute music and ideas about technique. Eventually I came to the realization that to play the instruments in an authentic manner, I would have to alter my guitaristic right hand technique, and learn different techniques for the various lutes. I was becoming more aware of modern classical guitar music and that the guitar offered broader appeal than the lute. I eventually sold all my lutes (for better or worse!) and went back to the guitar.

Inspiration also came from internationally known guitarists who visited New Zealand giving concerts and masterclasses. The most famous and influential of these guitarists was undoubtedly Stepan Rak of the Czech Republic. His charismatic stage presence, highly expressive performances and imaginative compositions were a great inspiration.

My teacher at Auckland University, Gunter Herbig, was also influential in helping to guide my guitar playing to a level suitable for concert performances. He also helped increase my awareness and appreciation of musical styles that I hadn't previously considered.

So in summary, the influences have been the access to stringed instruments (i.e. ukelele, guitars, the lute), my family, sound recordings, teachers and overseas guitarists.