My first true encounter with a musical instrument...

Khalid Belkhalfi

My story with guitars began in late 70's when my father brought one home. He wasn't a musician or any instrument player, but a friend of his offered him the guitar for no specific reason. It was destiny, since later on that guitar and I built a strong relationship.

But, playing a musical instrument needs hours if not years of practice and most of all lots of study of musical literature, techniques and note readings. Unfortunately, I didn't have that kind of time at all. I was so impatient and I wanted to start playing right away. My first trouble was that my guitar needed tuning; later on I found out that fine-tuning was another necessary passage. Fortunately, one of my friends new some of the basics and we just started drifting. Slowly I started to enjoy basic tunes and I would create some of my own; so I guess my creativity was there from the beginning.

Up until 1985 my fingers went faster and faster on the strings. I've learned few songs and the world around me started to enjoy what I was playing. I would get together with a couple of friends and sang songs. I've touched all kind of music, of course I was mainly touched by the blues, going through reggae (Bob Marley songs of course). I didn't neglect Arabic tunes since I was fan of so many classical songs especially those made by Abdelwahab.

It was time for me to pursue my university education and it was in Cleveland, Ohio, USA where I landed in summer 1985. So I bought my second guitar since I left my first heart in Marrakesh, Morocco. The new friend was an acoustic nylon string classical guitar, better built than the first one with a larger case and better sounds. Soon I discovered that a simple choice of guitar can largely affect the way I played and can fine-tune my songs. I first lived in an area where all the crazy artistic staff has happened since the 60's. The destiny put me right in the heart of Hessler road the birth of "Hypism" which added to my creativity and taste of songs and music. I used to listen to singers like James Taylor, Simon & Garfunkel, Dolly Parton, Janis Joplin, BB King and others. My friends from the states used to come to my house and enjoyed my songs while tasting delicious dishes from the Moroccan cuisine I used to make.

It is important to mention that my guitar was a great companion throughout my study years. My music was a great way to lead my mind into peaceful worlds and let my thoughts sink in the right places. I chose a career of an analytical programmer and knowing the length of the programs I used to make with harsh languages such as COBOL, without mentioning the time it took a program to compile in the Cleveland State University Mainframe through my home phone RTC wires, needed a hell of a hobby to kill all that unnecessary wasted time. Hopefully, my folk guitar took care of all of that besides all the beautiful hours of easy listening to my CDs chosen carefully in a nearby store.

Back to Morocco in 1990's I found myself busy building a professional career. I've gotten married and made three wonderful kids. My mind was just out making a living when I woke up on the years of 2000s to find out that I've been missing my old hobby. I didn't think I could play as I used to be and it was during a trip to Paris, France when I met my third guitar. In a professional musical store it was as if I've woken up from a bad dream. It was magical to see all those guitars hanging from the ceiling and beautifully arranged. I was so weak that I could't help it to want to touch one of them; I was like a baby in a candy store. Few hours later I was out in the streets with a beautiful smile drawn on my face and my new guitar hanging on my back. I couldn't wait to get to my hotel room so I reached the closest park and just drifted with my mind to a world I've know best. (To be continued)

#Guitar #Story #music