Picking, strumming, healing

“Music will take you to places where you can feel safe and happy even when life seems to be kicking you in the teeth.”

That’s the philosophy of Army Veteran Bill Trivett who has been safe and happy playing the guitar since he was eight and enjoys sharing those good feelings with other Veterans. Trivett is the volunteer guitar instructor with Guitars for Vets at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia.

Army Veteran and Guitar Teacher Bill Trivett

“I want to teach guitar to Veterans because I have seen what it does to their confidence and how it helps them to unwind when things get crazy,” Trivett says.

In April of 2015, the Guitars for Vets Clarksburg Chapter began to provide guitar lessons to assist Veterans with a variety of issues like PTSD, anxiety, depression, and even healing from physical wounds.

“This program help the Veterans deal with issues without reaching for a bottle of pills or alcohol and is much more rewarding when they can play their guitar,” Trivett says.  “After a few weeks they are more outgoing and before long the want to start showing others what the lessons have done for them.”

Trivett, who lists B.B. King and Eric Clapton among his favorites, notes that “I explain to the students that guitar is like any other skill. It takes time and practice to master it, so just keep trying. You are already better than you think you are.”

A U.S. Cavalry Veteran, he remembers that ”When we graduated our second class, the guys all said they did not feel like they had improved much over ten weeks. They even said ‘we suck.’ Then we put them in with the beginners in the third class and then they said ‘Hey, we are not half bad.’ We all had a good laugh and those guys are now going to be instructors.”

The all-volunteer Guitars for Vets program started as one person, a guitar instructor who helped a Veteran learn how to play the guitar.  During the training, the Veteran and instructor noticed how profound music was for therapy and Guitars for Vets was born.

Guitars for Vets, a non-profit, started in 2007 and now has more than 50 chapters across the country helping more than two thousand Veterans.

Although he is an excellent guitarist, Trivett points out that “I am a trained drummer but drums don’t fit well in the Army and you can take a guitar everywhere. I hold my own with a bass but I never want to get payed for playing. I think that turns it into a job.”

Trivett, seldom without his First Cavalry hat – “Once Cav, Always Cav” – is a Fender guy but also owns Epiphones, Washburns, and Schecters.  “The brand only matters when you want to show off.  The Yamahas we give our students play just as good as the high dollar jobs and if you drop it and break it, you’re not out $5,000.”

“Music is the only thing I know that affects everyone whether they know it or not. It is a powerful and emotional thing. We would not be able to do this without the support of the VA staff that allows us to work here.  They have been great. We are looking forward to many years of helping Veterans here and where the other 58 Chapters are located.”

About the Author: Robert Yerkey is a Compensated Work Therapy Veteran at the Department of Veterans Affairs