guitar

I'm actually going to stick with it this time, I think. 33 years old. Never too late. The trick, it turns out, was to find an online course that's actually a course. Specifically, the beginner course by a guy named Justin something or other, whose website is called Justin Guitar. Extraordinary stuff, a global treasure: well-structured, progressive curriculum with what must be hundreds of hours of extremely clear videos that break everything down into very digestible parts. So, instead of getting discouraged and lost amid the infinitude of tutorials on YouTube, I'm making steady, almost day-to-day progress.

Three weeks in and I've learned all eight chords taught in the first "grade" of his beginner course: A, C, D, E, G, Am, Dm, and Em. I'm getting better at strumming, although that remains difficult. I've learned "Born in the USA" well enough to play along with the track (badly, and the A-D change is one of the easiest, but still) and I'm working on "Eleanor Rigby" (very hard because the transition from Em to C and back is big), "Hey Joe" (not as hard, although I can't play it very fast yet), "Bad Moon Rising," and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." And shortly I'll start on "This Year's Love," by David Gray, which I didn't know but which Justin recommends as a good beginner song to practice in 6:8 time.  EDIT: Nope, screw that, I'm going with "Norwegian Wood." Harder but also a song I know and like. Also started learning a few riffs: the "Seven Nation Army" one, "Sunshine of Your Love," the bassline for "Coming Home" by Leon Bridges (great song). And a wee bit of ear training: I've almost figured out how to pick my way through "Happy Birthday."

Long story short, I'm excited about guitar in a way I've never felt before and didn't expect after a number of false starts over the last couple years. So far I've been borrowing SRB's beloved Brunswick dreadnought, but I'm considering getting my own beginner guitar. Not that we need another guitar in this house, I'm just so stoked. And I'm already dreaming about what I could learn once I've "graduated" from this course. Need to not completely drop the piano book I bought, either, since by all accounts learning music theory is much easier on piano than guitar. And if you want any further indication of how excited I am about all this, it's that I feel like I need to start learning music theory. No rush, I can still barely transition confidently between C and, well, almost any other chord. But something to keep doing. And while we're locked in, what better time to start a hobby in real earnest?

Bless you, Justin Sandercoe (remembered his name!). I'm only sad I didn't discover you years ago.