Meet Andy Estrella

We were lucky to catch up with Andy Estrella recently and have shared our conversation below.

Andy, so great to be with you and I think a lot of folks are going to benefit from hearing your story and lessons and wisdom. Imposter Syndrome is something that we know how words to describe, but it’s something that has held people back forever and so we’re really interested to hear about your story and how you overcame imposter syndrome.

Well, first of all, I don’t think anyone completely overcomes imposter syndrome. Someone telling you that it doesn’t bother them is probably lying. However, I can tell you how I deal with it and keep it at bay. Whenever I’m feeling like I’m not good enough, I remind myself why I started to play music in the first place. I try to remember the shock and awe I felt when I first saw an example of virtuosic guitar playing and connect that feeling to seeing how far I’ve come with regards to my musicianship. From barely being able to hold a small scale guitar properly to now playing progressive metal and graduating from Berklee College of Music. Of course I do so with the utmost humility as I think that it’s not about the destination at this point as much as it’s about the journey itself. It does sound cliché but I swear, it works for me. So on your next off-day, think about why and how you started and look at the progress you’ve made, you’ll probably feel better about yourself.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

What I enjoy doing the most is playing the guitar whether it be for myself, an audience, or for students. This first became a hobby at age 13 when I first picked up a guitar. After about a year of classical guitar lessons, my aunt and uncle showed me a video of Steve Vai playing at the Astoria in London. It was my first time seeing absolute virtuosity on the instrument that seeing it shook me to my core. That was the definitive moment where I thought I wanted to reach that level of musicianship no matter how long it took and possibly make a career out of it. This is what made me want to practice for several hours a day in my teenage years and eventually attend Berklee College of Music in Boston. This passion is exactly want I want to share with my audience and students whether I’m performing nursery rhymes or epic progressive metal. To my students especially, I’d like to show that there is joy to be experienced in every note they play or don’t play.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

Early on, I knew I wanted to be the best guitarist I can be and have the most control over my instrument as possible. I knew the skills that I needed to achieve this and I was set on accomplishing them. The first quality that I think continues to help me in my progress is discipline. Practicing daily to hit certain goals is critical in my ambition to be a fine guitar player. To put this in concrete terms, I wouldn’t have been able to acquire an efficient technique for picking if I didn’t constantly hone into my left and right hand synchronization. I’ve passed countless hours just trying to figure out picking mechanics and practicing this with a metronome regularly to improve my technique. For me, getting to an advanced level of musicianship takes some amount of discipline. The second quality that is important to my musical journey is passion. Everything that I’ve been practicing and continuing to practice is only sustainable because of it. I don’t think that I’d have been as disciplined, especially in my younger years, if I didn’t have the determination to emulate my heroes. This quality is critical because I don’t think discipline alone is effective in maintaining some consistency in the improvement process. I think enhancing this with passion makes the rigors of this endeavor more bearable and even more pleasurable. The last quality that I’d like to bring up is patience. If we have lofty goals, we better believe that we won’t get there overnight. It takes thousands of hours of demanding work at the very least to reach those heights. This is part where we get to be kind to ourselves and let things go. An example of this would be figuring out how to play a difficult passage and constantly running into barriers. The natural response would be frustration of course, but reminding yourself that it takes some time to properly execute difficult lines will surely relieve the stress associated with this. For beginners, my advice is to find that fire inside you that pushes you to a level you’d want to be on. If you have enough fervor in your heart, the discipline to improve will come as a by-product. In the inevitable moment that you encounter difficulties, remember to be kind to yourself and be patient. With passion and discipline, things will come in due time.

What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?

At this point in my life, I think the most impactful thing they’ve done for me was being 100% supportive of my musical passions. Coming from a more conservative culture, I think attempting to build a career in music is not always socially acceptable, most notably with parents. I am very fortunate that mine were very encouraging from the very first day I started my musical journey. My mom paid for guitar lessons in school and my dad bought me my very first guitar. Later in life when I wanted to make a career out of guitar, my parents support my Berklee career after I auditioned and got accepted on my own. Looking back, I was always surrounded by music as a child and many family members played an instrument. I think this made it easier for my parents to support my musical tendencies. I’m just extremely content because I know all this wouldn’t have been possible without their support.

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Image Credits

Speve Kayne
Timothy Mah
Asher Thomas

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