“I got really sick, and in the hospital, I decided to teach myself how to play guitar. I was playing piano and violin classically, and it was a little intense”: Yvette Young on why choosing the guitar felt “magical” – and what it represents to her

News
By
( )
published

After years of learning instruments her parents chose for her, Young explains how having the autonomy to choose her own instrument represented a sense of freedom

Yvette Young performs live at the Ibanez PIA launch party at NAMM 2020
(Image credit: Olly Curtis/Future)

Yvette Young is one of the best-known guitarists to emerge from the math rock and YouTube scenes, with her two-handed tapping and fingerstyle playing garnering admiration across the guitar world. Now, as the guitarist forges her own path – which includes solo music and putting aside Covet, at least for a little bit – she reflects on how she even got to the point of playing guitar.

“I got really sick, and in the hospital, I decided to teach myself how to play guitar,” she tells bassist extraordinaire Blu DeTiger in conversation for Sweetwater.

“Prior to that, I was playing piano and violin, like, classically, and I think it was a little intense. I don't know if your parents ever pushed music on you or anything, but it was totally pushed on me. And guitar for me was magical, because it was the first thing I chose for myself.”

Yvette Young & Blu DeTiger Conversation: How They Got Started and Thoughts on Performing Live - YouTube Yvette Young & Blu DeTiger Conversation: How They Got Started and Thoughts on Performing Live - YouTube
Watch On

Young explains that for her, the guitar represented a sense of autonomy that she didn't get with the other instruments. “I played it for fun, and then I became an art teacher, not thinking that I'd ever have stability being a musician. I just started touring. I think I was like, posting videos online, and, yeah, stuff was popping off, and pretty soon I quit that job, and here I am touring.”

Despite setbacks over the last couple of years, Young still finds the instrument full of untapped potential.

“Guitar is still so exciting. There’s so many ways you can utilize it," she said in a Guitar World interview earlier this year. "Once I stopped thinking, ‘I have to be able to play this live,’ a whole world opened. Who cares if I can’t do this perfect live? I’ll figure it out later.”

Young recently released Always and is set to tour China and Japan with Covet over the next few weeks.

Janelle Borg
Janelle Borg

Janelle is a staff writer at GuitarWorld.com. After a long stint in classical music, Janelle discovered the joys of playing guitar in dingy venues at the age of 13 and has never looked back. Janelle has written extensively about the intersection of music and technology, and how this is shaping the future of the music industry. She also had the pleasure of interviewing Dream Wife, K.Flay, Yīn Yīn, and Black Honey, among others. When she's not writing, you'll find her creating layers of delicious audio lasagna with her art-rock/psych-punk band ĠENN.