Daniel Matta, Guitarist
Grade 12
Q: Tell us about your journey as a musician. When did you start playing guitar, and what inspired you to do so?
A: I have been playing guitar for a little over three years now. When I was at my old school during freshman year, I saw my friend jamming with some kids who had brought in their instruments. As soon as I heard him start playing, I was immediately in awe. Seeing my friend play the guitar in front of these people really inspired me to pick up a guitar and learn how to play it. My journey of learning guitar has basically just been me sitting in my room for hours practicing one song over and over again. However, I now feel like I have taken a new step in my journey with my winning performance of Norwin’s Got Talent, and hope to do more performances in the future.
Q: Who are your biggest musical influences, and how do they shape your style?
A: I am always looking at different guitar players, taking certain things from their style, and adding it to my own playing. These players are always changing, but the ones who have been the most influential to me are: Kirk Hammett from Metallica, David Gilmour from Pink Floyd, Synyster Gates from Avenged Sevenfold, and John Mayer. I have been obsessed with each of these players at some point throughout my playing journey, and they all do things in their musical style that peak my interests.
Q: What made you want to participate in Norwins Got Talent, and what did you hope to achieve?
A: More than anything I just wanted to show people that I could play guitar. Of course winning is nice, but I went in with the mindset that I wasn’t going to win, but that I was just performing for the love of the instrument. Playing guitar is something I have spent hours upon hours getting better at, and all I wanted to do was share with people what I had worked so hard on. I also wanted to step outside of my comfort zone. Performing in front of a big audience isn’t something you get the chance to do very often, and it’s good to practice now so it’s not so rough when you’re performing for thousands of people all the time.
Click here to listen to one of Daniel’s performance pieces
Q: What was your first performance like? How is it different performing in front of an audience compared to on your own?
A: My first solo performance, funnily enough, was performing for my English class last year. Mrs. Letso would often have show and tell in her class, and I just had to make sure everyone knew that I played the guitar. I originally planned on simply bringing one of my guitars. However, I was encouraged by many students to actually play a song in class. Reluctantly, I listened. Since it was my first performance, I was really nervous despite just playing in front of friends. But as I played, I became more and more confident.
Q: Are there any mentors you have had that have helped you as a musician? How have they helped you advance?
A: I do pride myself in saying that I’m a self-taught guitarist. Meaning I haven’t taken any lessons, it’s just been me and my guitar. But my main mentor has been my friend Ian. He is who I first saw playing guitar that ignited my passion for learning it. Without him I probably wouldn’t be as good as I am now and might not even be playing the guitar at all. He always answered any questions I had no matter how ridiculous they were because he had been in the same position I was in just a couple years before me. My dad is also a huge mentor to me, not so much for guitar, but more so just music in general. He played french horn in the air force band for 13 years and plays piano basically everyday. He knows basically everything there is to know about music, so if I ever have any questions that need answered, he’s my guy.
Q: Where do you see this taking you in the future? Are there any particular goals you’re working toward?
A: My one and only goal is to become a famous musician, who writes original music, and tours the world playing in sold out stadiums. Of course this is one massive goal, but I am prepared to achieve it no matter what. I hope to find people who enjoy the same music as me who have the same drive and passion as I do for music, and hopefully create some awesome music with them. If that doesn’t work out, I can always just teach guitar lessons or something.
Q: What is a piece of music you think everyone should listen to at least once?
A: There are so many different pieces spanning from different lengths, bands, and genres that I would want people to listen to. But if I had to pick one, it would have to be Maggot Brain by Funkadelic. Everything about this song from the tone, solo, and backstory is literally everything I could ever ask for. The entire song is basically one guitar solo played by then 17 year-old Eddie Hazel. I could only dream of writing something this spectacular at my age. Lead singer George Clinton told Eddie to play as if he had been told his mother had died and Eddie took that to heart. You can feel Eddie’s emotion through his wailing guitar, it just feels so raw and really shows what an effective and well played guitar solo can accomplish.
