After hearing the clash and getting into punk rock in the late 70's I decided I wanted to write songs so I took guitar lessons for about 6 months and learned how to play 12 bar blues tunes all the basic stuff of how a simple song is structured...a little sight reading and classical - learned a few cover tunes the standards pretty much everyone learns a few beatles tunes -house of the rising sun stairway to heaven all the normal cover stuff then some metal riffs etc - then I just went off on my own thing writng poetry and strange music.