This is Not a Guitar

about this song

Lanny Sherwin's inspired song about the nature of creativity. As the opening guitar riff plays, Sherwin, boldly sing: "this is not a guitar". And the song then reveals what every musician consciously or unconsciously knows to be true.

why this is interesting

This work invites listeners into a philosophical inquiry about artistic creation itself. Rather than presenting music as mere technical display, Sherwin uses paradox to examine what actually occurs when we make art—the gap between intention and material, between concept and execution. The opening riff's contradiction challenges us to reconsider familiar assumptions about creativity. By articulating what musicians often sense intuitively, the piece elevates everyday artistic practice into conscious reflection. It's a reminder that making music involves something beyond mechanics: translation, interpretation, and the perpetual distance between vision and form. For anyone curious about how artists think, this offers genuine intellectual engagement without pretension.

lyrics