I love playing my guitar. If i have a couple of hours to burn, a load of stress on my shoulders and a million things on my mind, I can make them all disappear. I've been learning to play for a few months now, and I'm progressing pretty well. I am eyeing a few song books and have the beginnings of a few songs on scraps of paper littering the bottom of my guitar case, waiting for my skill to develop to meet them.
It seems pretty simple. One small concept builds upon another concept. Once you cover one skill, you move on to the next. Reading music has been a bit of a challenge. I was 12 years old the last time that I had to read a sheet of music, but given time, effort and a dummies book on reading music, I have been able to make up for lost time.
The strangest source that I have found for great--if not antiquated--information is an old instruction book that I found on Google Books. It is titled "COMPLETE METHOD FOR THE GUITAR: CONTAINING THE ELEMENTARY PRINCIPLES OF MUSIC, AND A NEW, ORIGINAL, AND PROGRESSIVE MODE OF ACQUIRING A RAPID MASTSRY OF THE INSTRUMENT. INTERSPERSED WITH A PLEASING VARIETY OP POPULAR SONGS AND NATIONAL MELODIES."
Its title is half the length of the book.
I Don't know if I am ever going to be good enough to impress anyone other than myself with my new skills, but I an enjoying the process right now. Especially since I have gotten past the sore fingers of the first few months, and can practice for more than half an hour at a time.
