We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Guitarist Jennale Adams. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Guitarist Jennale below.
Hi Guitarist Jennale , we’re so appreciative of you taking the time to share your nuggets of wisdom with our community. One of the topics we think is most important for folks looking to level up their lives is building up their self-confidence and self-esteem. Can you share how you developed your confidence?
Music has always been my source of confidence. My love for music gave me the emotional and stimulating outlet that I needed to feel confident in myself. practicing my guitar made me feel unique. I started at the age of 10 and I decided at the age of 15 I wanted to be a full-time musician.
I first discovered my love from music when I was put in my junior high school band. It was my first serious introduction to music performance. It taught me the importance of musicianship. Music gave me the tools to shape my identity and it gave me the drive to fulfill my dreams. Music gave me the creative freedom I couldn’t find in a classroom. I became obsessed with playing my guitar and learning various instruments. I felt so empowered whenever I mastered a new song or learned a technique on my guitar. As my progression as a musician, continue to develop. I envisioned. myself preforming with my favorite musicians on stage and alongside them in music videos. I wanted to be able to look back on my life and feel proud that I stayed true to my dreams and made them a reality.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
I am a guitarist, songwriter, musician, writer, and poet, born and raised in Queens, New York. My signature sound draws from a variety of influences, including R&B, Soul, Latin-Rock, Rock & Roll, and a bit of Jazz. I discovered my love for music at the age of 10, and I credit my father for sparking my passion for music and the electric guitar.
“I remember growing up and longing to play an instrument. I tried the flute and violin, but they never resonated with me like the electric guitar did. My curiosity and desire to pursue the guitar grew from not seeing many female guitarists or women of color represented in music. My life changed when I first got my hands on a Black Fender Mexican Stratocaster after weeks of asking my dad to get one for me. My father, who tried bass guitar as a teen and again while serving in the navy in 1973, ultimately found his passion in the visual arts, but I believe his curiosity for music was passed down to me and has become my life’s calling.”
I grew up in a home filled with music, with an Indo-Caribbean mother and an African American father from the South. This diverse background inspired me to study guitarists across genres, including Jimi Hendrix, my hero Carlos Santana, Joe Satriani, and Prince.
During my teens, I began teaching myself guitar and piano with help from a few guitar tutors. I was dedicated to improving my skills on the guitar, and I also found comfort in writing poetry during high school. “Poetry and music are intertwined; I love music, but I am also a lover of words. Being a musician has blessed my life, helping me find my place in the world at a young age, even when I felt misunderstood by everyone except my father. I will always have the drive to keep honing my gifts.”
At around 15, I discovered Carlos Santana’s music and studied his sound meticulously. I was at a crossroads, questioning my passions, when I saw Santana’s “Into the Night’ video on TV. It opened with a white dove, which felt like a sign from God. I was captivated by Santana’s orange PRS and the powerful riffs from his Mesa Boogie amp. That video rekindled the spark I felt when I first picked up my black Stratocaster.”
In 2011, I started uploading guitar covers on YouTube and began attracting some recognition. In my early twenties, I shared my love for music as a guitar tutor. In 2016, at 23, my father bought me my first PRS SE guitar.
In 2021, I became an endorsed artist under the PRS Pulse Artist Program, continuing through 2022 to 2025 I’ve had the honor of being interviewed by my hero, Guitar Gabby, for Guitar Girl Magazine. I was also featured in Guitar Girl Magazine’s 2021 I Belong Edition: Highlighting Women and Non-Binary Rockstars of Color, and I appeared on the cover of the 2022 I Belong Edition.I was honored with the position of becoming contributing writer for guitar girl magazine.
Currently, I’m in the process of publishing my first book of poetry, as well as writing and producing music for my debut album. One of my biggest dreams is to work with my heroes, Carlos Santana, Joe Satriani, and Guitar Gabby, and to perform live with them. I also decided mid April of last year to go back to college to pursue a degree in pediatric nursing. outside of Music I am very passionate about for caring for sick children and people. Music, my source of peace when I didn’t feel like I had anyone who understand me, but also choosing a path to dedicate my life to helping others is another adventure that I hope will influence on who I am as an artist.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Three qualities, skills and areas of knowledge that were impactful on my journey, was one being incredibly obsessive about learning and developing my skills as a musician, getting my hands on sheet music, watching as many videos of my favorite musicians practicing and performing and building a library of amazing music that I would go to over and over again, as my source of inspiration whenever I felt like I needed it. The second quality that was most impactful on my journey was probably all the support I got from my dad. He went to every performance every rehearsal. He listened to all my bad covers and he help me find cover videos for YouTube. My father was there for me every step of the way on my journey, and without him, I would not be where I am as an artist. He reassured me whenever I started to second-guess myself. My dad bought every guitar that I own. He won 100% supported me since day one. Without him my love from Music wouldn’t have gotten beyond the phase of a wishful thinking because I’ve had so many fantastic experiences I’ve grown so much as a person and an artist with his love and support, lastly, I would say the area of knowledge that was most impactful on my journey with having fantastic, compassionate music, teachers, who really let the fire in me and gave me the push to go forward and be passionate about music. I am extremely blessed to have had a lot of people in my life, who believed in me who wanted me to fill my dreams
A small piece of advice I have for those who are early in their journey as artist and creatives is to become obsessive about your art. you do not need confirmation from anyone to be who you are. Create the art, the music, the painting that you want to see. Give yourself enough time to go through the cycle of failure and rebirth it is the only way you will become the artist you’re meant to be. Do not give up. Do not second-guess your creativity and the music or art that you hope to create, must be true who you are.
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
The most impactful thing my parents did for me was believing in me and support my dreams. They came with me to every audition, performance and rehearsal. They watched me grow into my passion. they comforted me during times of frustration and insecurity. They listen to my guitar playing and my terrible guitar playing when I first started, they constantly inspired me to follow my goals to improve my skills
my father specifically invested so much into my instruments and into every aspect that I needed help with in order to make me a well-rounded artist. my dad, being an artist himself understood my passion for music so much so that he bought me a Jimi Hendrix book at the age of 10 and told me I could play all the songs in the book as long as I practice and worked hard. He didn’t give me any limitations, he always made me feel like I was more than capable of being just like my heroes.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://guitaristjennale.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/guitarist_jennale
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/guitaristjennaleadams
- Twitter: https://x.com/JennaleAdams
- Youtube: https://youtu.be/OxwNK9bf0Ho
Image Credits
the photos were taken by me. I own the rights to these photos
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
