It’s 2025, and the guitar is more popular than ever. Industry stats are through the roof. Vintage models are traded for the price of small houses; celebrity guitars live encased behind glass like religious artifacts. Millions of people buy guitars every year, hoping, dreaming, longing.
But what are we really buying—a piece of wood and wire? A ticket to magic? Or just another excuse to avoid what we truly seek? A fine example is the relic guitars - produced to look like they had a life, I can only think about clothes produced in the same way: with holes in them so it looks like they are used, worn. Its all an illusion, a look. Would you buy a relic appartment?, a relic kitchen? Or pay extra for a pre-scrathed car?
For me, a guitar is a tool. An ordinary thing, like a hammer. Hammers, though, don’t get worshipped, collected, and displayed except by the most eccentric among us. So what exactly are we doing, piling up guitars far beyond our productive needs? Building museums, shrines, or perhaps, hoping for a relic to grant us grace?
Facts:
- 2.5-3 million guitars sold every year
- $9+ billion industry
- “Relic” guitars and celebrity models at record highs
- Post-pandemic: more collecting, less playing
(Source: Statista, Music Trades, Financial Times)
Everybody knows at least one guitar player like this: He sits in his room for hours, strumming away, lost in his music—or maybe just lost. Sometimes he gazes at the wall, sometimes at his hands, thinking, WTF is going on here? Is it devotion… or just distraction? Is he searching for magic, for meaning, or for something he can’t quite name? I’ve been that guy. But let me tell you a secret: Every guitarist—, no matter how many licks they practice or solos they copy —ends up facing the same question. Why am I doing this, and what am I really hoping to find?
When Buying Isn’t Enough: The Real Turning Point
The world is awash with gear. Guitars multiply like rabbits. Your Instagram feed is filled with vintage treasures and impossible “holy grails.” And yes, I love beautiful instruments. But after decades on this road, I know the most important question isn't, What's the next guitar to buy? It's, What will I do with the one in my hands?
we are consumers, that is what we are reduced to in the world today. Predictable and addicted to bying stuff. But on the other hand science tells us that we are creatures made of stardust, and that story appeals far more to my perception of you and me. Its more poetic and more spiritual.
Because of this perception of us the guitar and the guitarist has gone totally "off-piste" online during the years. Guitar forums create lists of the best guitar players ( I think its because of sport - where the money really is now ) So, they worship the gods by ranking them. and you will find youtube people talking about playing guitar, analyzing guitar solos. But none of them really play music. This emptyness isn´t really something new to me - it was there from the beginning: My colleges worshipped the masters - turning them in to gods.
I was always more interested in transforming myself in to a master instead of worshipping the great players. The world is created by people like you and me, here and right now! I would betray all masters by trying to just imitate them. Surely, In the beginning you need to imitate to learn the basics yes! But the hard part is to transform that into something personal. To make poetry out of the alphabet - To stop dreaming and be present in the world. Right now and right here using what you have.
From the very beginning of my carrer my mission was always to make crazy commitment to create something that demanded everything from me.
This is my Manzer Guitar Collection. All unique instruments made in hand by a person that I actually met and admire: Linda Manzer!
My Symphonic Work & the WTF Journey: "The Shape of Sound" 24 guitar solo Variations
In 2018, I was comissioned to write a symphonic concerto for acoustic guitar and symphony orchestra. A big leap: 45 minutes of music—all from scratch. I have been composing since my childhood but this was a new level of storytelling! One thing is to compose a catchy melodic jazz theme or to write a song. I needed to go deep to write this long manuscript. For months, I was consumed—writing, erasing, losing sleep, chasing ideas that vanished at sunrise. It was thrilling. It was terrifying and wonderfull. And I started to notice a pattern in when the ideas would come to me!
And when the moment finally came to perform it in Moscow —with almost no rehearsal, complex rhythms, orchestral chaos, and cameras rolling—it felt like the whole thing could collapse on live television. But it actually came together. I’d crossed into new territory. The process changed me; I found a new level of discipline, play, and trust.
Detail from first movement of my 2018 guitar concerto "På Herrens Mark"
Riding that wave, I began writing my “WTF” and “OMG” solo guitar variations: intense pieces that forced me to shatter habits, stretch technique, and surprise myself every day. This was not for showing off. It was for learning, for staying alive as an artist. So many ideas were rejected—if a passage didn’t make me stop and say “WTF!” it went into the bin. Over two years, that process became THE SHAPE OF SOUND: a two-hour tour through the wildest corners of my creativity. It all came from doing the work, getting uncomfortable, letting go of needing to look cool or be perfect. Just listening..... on SO many levels.
The Classic Guitarist Joke
How many guitarists does it take to change a light bulb? Twenty-five: One to change it, and twenty-four to stand around and say, “I could have done that better.”
The world is full of guitarists who think they’ve got all the answers - Its kinda the norm, they collect, compare, and critique. But the real art is not about ownership—it’s about making music real, for yourself and, if you’re really lucky, for others. I always say: "I spent 20 years playing guitar. Then, slowly… I transformed into a musician."
There are 12 notes and then there is rhythm - basically the same thing: vibrations. What we do is organize these into sculptures in the air. And it is not that simple. You gotta shut up and listen!
You Talk the Talk - But do you Walk the Walk?
Some players become gear monks: collecters of gear—isolated, endlessly rehearsing, drowning in possibilities. Others become missionaries, always on stage, desperate for feedback. Collecting selfies with big names, collecting awards. Creating the illusion of "I made it!". You can play the game an conqour the world. But to conquer yourself and find a real voice is much more difficult. You cannot buy that! Its a long trip to develop real ideas, devel—and listen. And that is the reason why we worship those who found their way. Put them on lists, analyse their sound and tell stories about them.
I took inspiration from the south indian tradition of clasical music where I heard this quote many times: "It takes a lifetime of study and then you might become original after 50 years". Think about it: a lot of good stuff really takes a long time + experience.
Culture comes from cultivation! So i never understanded the hurry to "arrive there". Or the idea that you need more stuff to do so.
The Real Treasure: The Long, Unsellable Journey
The reason I wrote a symphonic work and the 24 variations was not to impress anyone other than myself - nor to add products to my webshop (even though you can buy the sheet music and tabs below). It was to find out what’s possible—for me, but maybe for you too. What matters is the life long journey, the self-discovery, and the community of fellow travelers (strummers, monks, and missionaries alike) who are brave enough to keep listening : asking, "WTF is going on—and what's next?" And this is not what they tell you in advertising, in music schools or on youtube.... They sell you a dream - and you gotta be a sleep to truly believe in dreams. The real reason for this is that the journey is unsellable - who has this kinda commitment and time to invest in this modern busy world? It is both risky and dangerous. And there are sooo many distractions!
Want to Explore my solo guitar Music?
If any of this speaks to you—if you want to challenge yourself, or simply hear what came out of all those sleepless nights—you can find “The Shape of Sound” (sheet music & tabs) in my shop:
👉 THE SHAPE OF SOUND – Music for One Guitar (Sheetmusic & Tabs)
Try it, play it, or just visit my YouTube channel where I posted some of the 24 variations.
In Summary: Drop the Comparison—Pick Up the Challenge and safe money!
You don’t have to be a collector, a critic, or a hermit to be a musician. You just need courage, curiosity, and a willingness to get a little lost.
Let’s celebrate the journey—confusing, joyful, awkward, beautiful. Let’s play not just to impress, but to express, and to discover what music can do for us (and maybe, just maybe, for others).
Because at the end of the day, we’re all just sitting in our rooms, sometimes strumming, sometimes staring, wondering: WTF is going on?
And that’s where the magic begins.