tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54706489252312319272024-02-01T21:58:32.663-08:00Learning to Play Guitar OnlineLearning to Play Guitar Online. My experiences from learning to play Guitar online along with helpful tips and links to help you learn to play guitar.Paul http://www.blogger.com/profile/05307969641540909281noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470648925231231927.post-48752338585448642262012-10-02T09:01:00.001-07:002012-10-02T09:01:11.290-07:00Guitar Tablature (aka TABs)<br />
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Just realized I have not talked about guitar tabs yet. I
believe they are important to the average beginner guitar player because it is
a simplified representation of guitar music that is much easier to read and
follow when playing the guitar. You will
likely find all different variations of guitar tabs, from the very simple to
the complex to ones that include the standard musical notation as well.
Personally I suggest sticking with just the basics to begin with. When I refer
to basic guitar tab it is simply a representation of the notes on the guitar strings.
Each line will represent a guitar string from the highest toned string to the
lowest tone string. The notes to play will then be represented by a a number
indicating which fret to play on the guitar for that string. Additionally I
prefer when the chord lettering is listed above when the chords are supposed to
change. Below is a quick example of guitar tab pointing out the various components
of basic guitar tablature.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht_fKxGpG7TMqmeOdiSHAhuzFYbndMuZ17MiP5b_IzOS6nGzidA07ay0J06t4Mt8QcyGD-A-eGK_HhGw-KTpHn9X3fETHoBif_jG9dHZKxWhqkmj8N5Cy8KjrkiyCaP9okUHTln21LHFk/s1600/guitar+tabs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="577" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht_fKxGpG7TMqmeOdiSHAhuzFYbndMuZ17MiP5b_IzOS6nGzidA07ay0J06t4Mt8QcyGD-A-eGK_HhGw-KTpHn9X3fETHoBif_jG9dHZKxWhqkmj8N5Cy8KjrkiyCaP9okUHTln21LHFk/s640/guitar+tabs.jpg" width="640" /></a>There are a lot of places online that you can search for
guitar tabs for songs. (I will cover some in the next post along with a couple other useful tools) Unfortunately many of the quote unquote guitar tabs are
not actually guitar tabs but rather lyrics with chords noted above the lyrics. Don’t
get me wrong, those are very useful as well, but they are not guitar tabs. But
if you are just looking to play some rhythm guitar with chords, those are
probably a better reference than guitar tabs. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Guitar tablature is a great way to learn a new song in a
couple different ways. The first is obviously if you have a a guitar tab
available that makes much easier to play the song. But if you don’t have the
guitar tab available, I would encourage you to create your own. I always found
in school that I would remember things easier if I wrote them down. It is the same
with playing a guitar song. If I actually write out a tab, I remember the song
much better and longer. <o:p></o:p></div>
Paul http://www.blogger.com/profile/05307969641540909281noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470648925231231927.post-61501719351778070702012-09-28T10:24:00.004-07:002012-09-28T10:24:53.894-07:00Strumming and Patterns<div class="MsoNormal">
If you are anything like me, strumming the guitar with your
strumming hand while changing chords with your fretting hand will seem like you
are trying to pat your head and rub your belly at the same time in sync. Don’t
fret (no pun intended), it will quickly become easier. Probably one of the best
pieces of advice I found when I first started learning to play was to
concentrate one either your fretting hand during a practice session or your
strumming during a practice session. Focusing on what you are currently trying
to practice is more important than trying to make it all work together at the
same time. For example if you are practicing a new strum pattern, practice it
while not changing chords. Once it comes naturally, then introduce changing
chords. <o:p></o:p></div>
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When first learning to play a few songs, I actually pretty
much stuck to down strokes for strumming; in fact at the very beginning I was
simply using one down stroke per measure. This allowed me to concentrate on the
chords and changing between the chords. Yes I know, this sounds boring and
everyone wants to be really good right from the start. But unfortunately we are
all not musical geniuses. Before you
know it, you will be ready to move on to real strum patterns. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Speaking of real strum patterns, let’s cover a couple common
strum patterns that you will want to become familiar with. I have found that
most songs I can play with one of these.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i><u>STRUM 1</u></i></b></div>
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The first strum pattern and one that I have used probably
the most is <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">D</span></b>OWN <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">D</span></b>OWN <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">U</span></b>P <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">U</span></b>P <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">D</span></b>OWN <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">U</span></b>P<o:p></o:p></div>
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There are a lot of
songs that you can play with the above strum pattern. A couple songs that were
among the first I learned were Last Kiss and Brown Eyed Girl. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i><u>STRUM 2</u></i></b></div>
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This next strum pattern throws in another concept besides
just ups and downs. It is the accent. What is the accent do you ask? An accent
can be done a couple of ways. The first is to simply strum the strings louder
and the other way is to strum only some of the strings on the non-accent strums
so in essence you get more sound from the accent strums. Below I will represent
the accent strums as long arrows indicating strum all of the strings and the
non-accent strums with shorter arrows indicating strum only some of the
strings. Depending on the song you may want the few strings on the non accent
strums to be the lower toned strings and some songs you may want to use the
higher toned strings. In the future we will talk about more strum patterns
where this notation may be more useful because the below is a very simple strum
pattern but it is also widely used.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"> A</span></b>ll <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">S</span></b>ome <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A</span></b>ll <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">S</span></b>ome <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A</span></b>ll <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">S</span></b>ome <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">A</span></b>ll <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">S</span></b>ome </div>
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A couple songs to use that all down with every other accent
strum on are Heart of Gold or Let It Be.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><i><u>STRUM 3</u></i></b></div>
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<b><i><u><br /></u></i></b></div>
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Ok, now so you don’t get to relaxed and think you have this
whole strumming thing down, let’s throw in a slightly more complicated
pattern.. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">D</span></b>OWN <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">D</span></b>OWN <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">D</span></b>OWN <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">U</span></b>P <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">U</span></b>P <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">D</span></b>OWN <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">D</span></b>OWN <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">U</span></b>P <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">D</span></b>OWN <b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">U</span></b>P</div>
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This last strum pattern is also relatively common. A fairly
popular example of a song that uses this pattern is Every Rose has its thorns
by Poison.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Paul http://www.blogger.com/profile/05307969641540909281noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470648925231231927.post-62270561004670832022012-09-24T08:14:00.000-07:002012-09-24T08:17:26.158-07:00Pick or No Pick<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Let's talk guitar picks briefly. Using a guitar pick is a matter of preference. Some prefer to simply use their thump and/or fingers to strum and play the guitar. There is a pretty distinctive sound difference. A pick usually brings out a much louder and crisper tone while using your thumb and fingers will likely give you a softer tone. I prefer to use a pick, my dad prefers to not use a pick.<br />
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If you are going to use a pick, one of the first things you are going to need to learn is how to hold the pick. Although it seems like a simple thing at first there is a right way and many wrong ways to hold a pick. It will not likely come naturally and most likely you will revert to simply using your thumb at some point or another. But if you stick to it, holding and using a pick will become second nature after a while.<br />
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Instead of trying to describe how to hold the pick, I will point you at another one of my early resources for online lessons. The following is a youtube video of Jen on Mahalo.com. Mahalo has videos for everything including guitar lessons. You should definitely check out their other lessons if you get a chance.<br />
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<br />Paul http://www.blogger.com/profile/05307969641540909281noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470648925231231927.post-70617561876060909572012-09-21T11:29:00.002-07:002012-09-21T11:29:33.604-07:00Strumming OR Finger-style OR Flat-picking<br />
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These are three fairly common techniques used to play the guitar. The technique you chose will depend a lot on your own personal preference as well as the piece of music actually being played. First, here is a short description of each.</div>
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<li style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 15px;">Strumming – Strumming is probably the most common and recognizable way to play a guitar even from a non-guitar playing point of view. It is where, either using your thumb, finger, or a pick, you play several strings in a single motion in an up or down motion. Usually these strokes are combined to form a strum pattern which we will discuss in a future post.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 15px;">Finger-style – Finger-style is the technique of playing the guitar where each finger (and thumb) is used to pick strings individually in a specific order for the piece of music being played. Often this could be a pattern performed on each chord in succession, or this could simply follow the melody line of the piece, or it could also be a combination of the patter as well as the melody line.</li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 15px;">Flat-picking – Flat-picking is a technique that similar to finger-style but through the use of a pick and can provide a distinctive sound and style to a piece of music. In flat picking you may be picking single strings or strumming across several strings to get the correct melody.</li>
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Many times you can use a combination of the techniques, strumming along with either of the others, in order to get some of the melody into a piece. I actually try to take this approach. Not being much of a singer and not having coordinated singing with my guitar playing yet, I find a little flat picking within a song helps to make the song recognizable.</div>
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You don’t have to stick with one technique. In fact I would encourage everyone who plays guitar to try them all out. I originally wanted to learn guitar because I have always enjoyed listening to my dad play. He play almost strictly finger-style guitar and strictly creates his own pieces that he plays, sometimes making it up as he goes. So I naturally decided when I started to learn that I wanted to mostly play finer-style guitar. I learned a couple songs and then started to wonder about flat-picking because I had run across a few videos of flat-picking that caught my attention and sounded great to me. So then I learned a couple flat-picking songs. Strangely, those are the only strictly finger-style and flat-picking songs that I play. I now play mostly strumming with a little melody flat picking here and there and enjoy it as much or more than I enjoyed listening to my dad play. So don’t just stick to one technique, experiment.</div>
Paul http://www.blogger.com/profile/05307969641540909281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470648925231231927.post-64822993170603431052012-09-20T13:33:00.003-07:002012-09-20T13:33:55.082-07:00The Capo<br />
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Even while you are just getting to know your guitar and
learning the basic chords, you will want to start considering the use of a
capo. Some hardcore experienced guitar players may scoff at the use of a capo.
I however not being very experienced nor hardcore would highly recommend buying
and using one. Especially for the beginner it opens up many more options when
it comes to being able to play the songs and music you want to be able to play.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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I suppose I should tell you want a capo is for those of you
who are not aware. A capo is a basically a clamp that you can clamp on a
particular fret of your guitar in order to quickly change the tone of the
strings. For example, because each fret is a half step,when you put the capo on
the second fret everything you play will be a whole step higher. That is the
open C chord shape will produce a D chord sound and a G chord shape will
produce and A chord sound and so on. Please keep in mind that most tablature
and lessons will still refer to the chords by their shape and not their sound
despite the use of a capo or not. So no need to panic, if you have learned your
chord shapes you shouldn’t have to calculate any based on where you place the
capo. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Why and when to use a capo? When you are first learning, you
will likely be reading tablature online or watching a video lesson. In those
instances you will likely be told to use or not use a capo for that particular
lesson. There are multiple reasons to use a capo. One reason is to simply
change the tone of your guitar to suite a particular piece of music. The other
reason, which is why many of us newer guitar players use one, is so we can
avoid those much more difficult chords such as the F chord or Barre chords. If
you have not tried playing a Barre chord yet, when you do you will be reaching
for that capo very quickly. I have been learning to play now for about a year
and a half and have yet to figure out how to hold a Barre chord correctly so
all the strings are pressed down correctly. Fortunately most songs I have
wanted to learn I have found variations where I can either skip them all
together or cheat my way through it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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What kind of capo to buy? There are several different kinds
and many more brands of capos out there. Let’s first look at the type of capos
that are available.<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span><!--[endif]-->The first type of capo is the elastic capo. This
is typically the cheapest type of capo and consists of a piece of plastic or
other hard material and an elastic band that is used to apply pressure to the
plastic piece across the strings. <o:p></o:p></div>
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</span><!--[endif]-->The second type of capo is the trigger type. If
you haven’t actually seen one, I would compare it roughly to an old spring
cloths pin. There is a slight difference in shape but the general movement is the
same. Basically you squeeze the two handles which opens the clamping side which
can then be placed on the correct fret.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]-->3)<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->The third style is the Screw type capo.
Basically this type of capo you place on the appropriate fret and then using a
screw mechanism you clamp it down to compress the strings.</div>
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My personal preference is the trigger type capo. It is quick
to put on or take off and I have had no issues with any of the ones I have
used. In terms of brand I don’t have a lot of experience with different brands.
I will tell you that <a href="http://www.kysermusical.com/home.php">Kyser</a>
does make good capos and they are one of the preferred brands. I have no reason
not to recommend then from a quality stand point. However I will also give you
the tip of looking on EBay and perhaps other locations online. Although not
Kyser brand, you can get capos relatively cheap there along with other guitar
accessories. They probably would be quite a s good as Kyser but if you have
less money to spend, you can’t complain. Again Kyser is an excellent capo and
if you want to pay the slightly higher price then you can’t go wrong. <o:p></o:p></div>
Paul http://www.blogger.com/profile/05307969641540909281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470648925231231927.post-22569144741309673022012-09-18T10:51:00.000-07:002012-09-20T11:14:20.750-07:00At the Beginning<br />
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When you first decide to learn guitar, you then have to
figure out where to start. Each of us could be a little more experience in
music or aware of how the guitar is setup. Some may be brand new to all of it.
I personally have dabbled a little in both music and the guitar in the past to
have some of the very basics done. I apologize to the readers who are a little
further into it, but I figure I should start with the absolute basics first so
that no one gets left behind. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The very first things you are going to want to learn before
you play anything are going to be some of the following<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span><!--[endif]-->How to hold the guitar<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--> 2)<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->What string is what<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--> 3)<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->How to hold a pick, if you are going to use one<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--> 4)<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->What are guitar tabs<o:p></o:p></div>
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Once you become familiar with all of the above then it is
time to start learning your basic chords. I searched around a lot of places
online when I decided to learn guitar (again) and I personally thought <a href="http://www.justinguitar.com/">Justin Guitar</a> offered the simplest and
easy to follow online lessons that were available free of charge. So my first
stop for all of you absolute beginners is the <a href="http://www.justinguitar.com/en/BC-000-BeginnersCourse.php">Justin Guitar
Beginner Series Lessons</a> page. For good or bad, I will tell you that I
personally could only handle going so slow, so I used Justin’s lessons to learn
the basics and the majority of the open chords by skipping around his lessons.
But then I wanted to be able to play more songs than what he was getting to. So
although I highly recommend his lessons, I won’t discourage you from moving on
after learning the basic chords. Especially since I know I will soon be making
posts about some other very useful sources for learning the guitar online. <o:p></o:p></div>
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One tip I will give you is don’t feel the need to memorize
every single chord to start. Eventually as you use them you will remember them
better. To get started I would say be able to remember and play the D, C, G, E,
and A chords. Perhaps the F chord as well although for a beginner I would stick
with the “cheater” F chord. Once you have those down, you can gradually add
other chords as you need them. I do recommend having easy to use chord references
available. Below is a nice free chord sheet you can print out for your wall or
you could do like I do and put a chords app on your phone. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Paul http://www.blogger.com/profile/05307969641540909281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470648925231231927.post-17310352403266306342012-09-17T10:46:00.000-07:002012-09-17T10:46:00.487-07:00My GuitarsWell let me start with introducing the guitars I currently own. For some I suppose 4 may be too much for others 4 may be too few. I actually would love to buy more but have for the moment convinced myself I am good with these. Although I really do need a good electric guitar since the one I have is just a squire. Anyway below you can see the picture of all of them. The first is my current favorite to play which is a Fender Resonator. I just love the tone and it is a very forgiving guitar. Next is my Ibanez Exotic wood series guitar. This has great tone as well. I prefer this one when I do a little finger picking instead of strumming. The next is the Ibanez Artcore.I love the look but have not unleashed its full potential I am sure. And finally is my cheap electric Fender Squire. Like I said I really need to buy a decent electric at some point. This one is not bad for beginners but I like to think of myself as slightly above beginner now.<br />
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Thats all of them...for now. If and when i purchase a new one I will be sure to share. Now tell me about your guitar.<br />
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<br />Paul http://www.blogger.com/profile/05307969641540909281noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5470648925231231927.post-12209697370052203482012-09-17T08:37:00.003-07:002012-09-17T08:37:35.246-07:00Welcome to my E -Learning Guitar BlogLet me start by explaining what this Blog is about. I have been, over the last year and a half, self teaching myself how to play the guitar by using online and mobile resources. So I figured perhaps I may be able to help others by passing on things I have learned, resources I have used as well as posting videos of my own. I'm sure there are lots of you out there doing the same the thing. I would welcome all of you to share your resources and knowledge that you have gained. Feel free to even show us what you have learned in a video or two.<br />
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So let me first start out by providing a little background on myself. Feel free to comment back and let us know about you. My name is Paul and I am 37. I have wanted to play the guitar since I was a kid. In fact once as a kid and twice as an adult I had attempted to learn guitar and gave up shortly after I started. A little over a year and a half ago while I was working for an extended period of time away from home, I decided I should try it again. I had plenty of time since most of my evenings were spent sitting in a hotel room. So I bought a guitar and started searching out lessons online. Now a year and a half later, I have made what I believe is great progress. I still have a long way to go but one step at a time.<br />
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I would love to hear your story and perhaps we can help each other learn new things.<br />
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<br />Paul http://www.blogger.com/profile/05307969641540909281noreply@blogger.com0