Flea, Mike Dirnt, Robert Cray and More Talk Early Days of Playing

While watching your favorite musicians on stage unleash a shredding solo or rumbling bassline might be intimidating to someone who is just beginning to learn the guitar or bass, there is one thing that puts everyone in the equation on the same level.

Everybody starts somewhere.

Yes, everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Jim Root didn't know how to play the guitar at some point in their lives. The same goes for bassists from Jaco Pastorius to Mike Dirnt.

Just like all beginners, they started from scratch and worked to conquer these unfamiliar stringed instruments.

For some, results came quickly. For others, it took more hard work and determination. For others still, the journey fell somewhere in between.

"Literally 14 days after the first time I ever picked up a bass and started playing it, I was on stage at Gazzari's in Hollywood for the Battle of the Bands," said Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea. "I didn't (care) I was just ready to rock."

Green Day bassist Dirnt noticed the challenge right away.

"The first thing I tried to play on the guitar, somebody tried to show me something really simple," Dirnt recalled. "And it was actually really difficult for me. My right hand didn't know what to do, my left hand was hurting from pushing down on the strings and neither one of them were working together."

But as Dirnt and Flea and countless other artists will attest, sticking with the musical journey will eventually pay dividends, no matter what your final goals are.

"Everyone's a beginner at some point," Dirnt affirmed. "You get better at things by doing them more. You may be a beginner, but you'll get better. I guarantee it."

If you want to start or continue your musical journey, try a free trial of Fender Play by clicking here.