Etiqueta: The Story Behind Litejam

Who I Am ? I imagined a guitar that could teach me visually — one that would light the path to learning and playing freely. That’s why I created Litejam. Bank Apisak , Founder of Litejam Hi, I’m Bank Apisak , founder of Litejam. I started learning guitar back in high school. At first, I just wanted to learn a few chords so I could sing and play with friends — nothing fancy. I picked up a basic guitar book and started from there. Later, I decided to take formal lessons at a local music school. But on my very first day, the teacher had me play chromatic scales, over and over again — without any explanation. I remember feeling totally confused. “Why am I doing this? I didn’t sign up to play exercises — I just want to play chord songs and sing!” But that was only the beginning. Right after that, my teacher gave me an incredibly hard piece to learn — “Manhattan” by Eric Johnson. I had no idea what I was playing The chord shapes were strange, the picking patterns were difficult, and the whole thing felt way beyond what I could understand at the time. It wasn’t what I expected at all.But something surprising happened. Over time, I began to enjoy it. The more I practiced, the more I fell in love with soloing,phrasing and melody playing — not just rhythm chords. That early confusion and frustration actually laid the foundation for what became my passion: lead guitar and improvisation. Who Am I ? I imagined a guitar that could teach me visually — one that would light the path to learning and playing freely. That’s why I created Litejam. Bank Apisak , Founder of Litejam Hi, I’m Bank Apisak , founder of Litejam. I started learning guitar back in high school. At first, I just wanted to learn a few chords so I could sing and play with friends — nothing fancy. I picked up a basic guitar book and started from there. Later, I decided to take formal lessons at a local music school. But on my very first day, the teacher had me play chromatic scales, over and over again — without any explanation. I remember feeling totally confused. “Why am I doing this? I didn’t sign up to play exercises — I just want to play chord songs and sing!” But that was only the beginning. Right after that, my teacher gave me an incredibly hard piece to learn — “Manhattan” by Eric Johnson. I had no idea what I was playing The chord shapes were strange, the picking patterns were difficult, and the whole thing felt way beyond what I could understand at the time. It wasn’t what I expected at all.But something surprising happened. Over time, I began to enjoy it. The more I practiced, the more I fell in love with soloing,phrasing and melody playing — not just rhythm chords. That early confusion and frustration actually laid the foundation for what became my passion: lead guitar and improvisation. The Passion That Sparked It All Even with the early challenges, I never lost my curiosity for guitar. One of the reasons I was so drawn to it was simple: Guitar looked cool. It made me feel confident. It gave me something to work on every day — and every time I improved, it boosted my self-esteem. I started to take it seriously. I practiced regularly — not because someone told me to, but because I wanted to. Guitar became more than a hobby. It was my personal discipline, my creative outlet. I still remember how good it felt to finally play a song from start to finish and sing with friends. It gave me a sense of achievement and connection. At the same time, I was deeply inspired by guitar heroes like Steve Vai and Vinnie Moore. I dreamed of playing like them — fast, expressive, and free. And then something amazing happened on the internet. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF6cnLnEARo Around 2007, one of the most viral videos on early YouTube was released: 🎥 Canon Rock in D, performed by Funtwo, a guitarist from Korea. It was one of the first guitar solo videos to break millions of views — and I was hooked. Watching Funtwo shred through that iconic melody opened a new door for me. It made guitar feel modern, global, and reachable. I remember thinking: “If he can do that… maybe I can too.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsuGgU-NDzE That video became my practice goal. I tried to learn every phrase. It pushed me to think about tone, dynamics, speed — and it kept me chasing the feeling of making a guitar sing. The Struggles Along the Way As much as I loved guitar, I also struggled — a lot. I was hungry to learn fast, so I often turned to tab books and video tutorials. and memorized fret positions, but I didn’t really understand the music theory behind. They gave me quick wins, but over time, I realized something was missing. I became too dependent on them and could copy songs, but I wasn’t really growing as a musician. And that led to a long list of frustrating limitations:  I couldn’t transcribe songs on my own — I always needed a reference  I had to constantly check tab books or videos just to keep going I only knew basic open chords — and anything beyond that was a mystery If a song had advanced chords or unexpected key changes, I was completely lost I didn’t know how to build or substitute chords in a progression I couldn’t connect the patterns I was playing to the keys or scales they came from My improvisation was stuck in just 3 comfortable keys: C major, G major, and D major — because they had fewer sharps or flats It was frustrating because I knew there was more to guitar — but I couldn’t unlock it. The tools I had didn’t guide me the way