Conversations with Mustafa Can Kaya

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mustafa Can Kaya.

Hi Mustafa Can, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I started my channel with a very simple goal, which is to help people who want to play guitar, whether at home or on stage, learn more about the instrument, and explore guitar tones—especially those trying to recreate relatively difficult tones like those of Pink Floyd and David Gilmour. I simply want to share my own experience and help as much as I can.

My intention was never to provide professional advice or claim that there is one correct way to do things. I just want to take things that may seem complicated or intimidating and make them easier to understand and achieve.

Today, hundreds of thousands of people are able to learn the songs they’ve always wanted to play through my YouTube channel and Patreon archive, while also getting a little help along the way with achieving the guitar tones they’re looking for. And when they come back and show me the progress they’ve made, the sense of fulfillment I get from that is honestly hard to describe.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Was it a smooth journey? I’m not sure I’d call it smooth, but it definitely wasn’t a bumpy one either. I genuinely enjoyed spending long hours, often late into the night, filming and editing those videos. I loved taking songs that seemed incredibly difficult and finding a simple way to explain them. And I really enjoyed breaking down guitar tones that seemed extremely complicated and finding easier, more accessible ways to recreate them. I shared what I knew, people found it helpful, and they continued to support me.

Sometimes people pointed out mistakes I had made, I corrected them, and everyone was happy. Other times, I shared something I was convinced was correct, only to have someone who knew that particular subject in much greater detail step in and correct me. And I’ve always been completely fine with that. It’s all part of learning and improving.

Since I also run my own business in Istanbul, I usually worked on my channel and educational videos at night. I very rarely prepared videos far in advance because I always wanted the content to stay current and relevant.

Eventually, everything found its own rhythm and fell into place. And looking back, I’d especially like to thank the people who corrected me when I was wrong, as well as everyone who supported me throughout the journey.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I’m the founder and owner of MustyGuitar, a YouTube channel that has recently passed 100,000 subscribers. I have a deep love for the music of Pink Floyd and David Gilmour, and I want as many people as possible to experience the unique feeling that comes from playing this music themselves.

I truly believe that anyone can learn songs and guitar solos that may seem incredibly difficult at first. I know that even a guitar tone that sounds extremely complicated can often be broken down into a surprisingly simple formula.

That’s exactly what I want to share with people. I want to show them that these things are much more achievable than they might think, and that with the right guidance, they can experience the incredible feeling of playing the music they love without it requiring nearly as much effort or complexity as they may have imagined.

I’m incredibly proud to have reached tens of thousands of people and helped thousands of them along the way. Over the years, hundreds of people have reached out to share their stories with me. Some have learned a song through my videos and then played it for their partner at their wedding. Others have learned songs together with their children. I even had someone stop me before a concert in Rome just to thank me and tell me that, because of what he had learned from my videos, he was now able to make music together with his family.

And somewhere, right now, someone is probably using the simple archive I’ve built to learn a song they’ve always dreamed of being able to play. Knowing that something I created can become a small part of moments like these is an incredible feeling.

I don’t really think there’s anything that sets me apart. There are hundreds of people creating content like I do, and millions of people watching and learning from all of us. Yes, I happen to focus very specifically on the work of a particular musician, but that doesn’t make me any different from someone watching one of my videos.

If there is a difference, it’s simply that I’ve spent a lot of time experimenting with these things — trying different approaches, making mistakes, figuring out what works and what doesn’t — so that by the time I share something, the person watching can get a more refined version of what I’ve learned through all that trial and error.

At the end of the day, we’re both just ordinary people who love the same music. I’ve simply done some of the experimenting beforehand and shared what I found.

What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
It’s always sunny

Pricing:

• free for my youtube
• 7.5 dollars a month for my archive at my patreon

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mustyguitar_/
• Youtube: http://youtube.com/@mustyguitar/
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@mustyguitar

Image Credits
MustyGuitar