I am starting to make slow progress, but it's enough to keep me encouraged and continue practicing. I am still pretty much a raw novice. I say that because I've only just learned five of the first six major chords and F major is still a huge challenge for me. It's really a sticking point for me and I want to have it down solid before I move on to other (possibly more fun) material. In a more positive light, I have developed greater finger dexterity than I began with. The hand and finger warmups video clinic by Gabe really helped a lot with that. I include them in every practice session now. While I've got a lot farther to go in learning to play, I've come a long way too.

I came to music later in life than most people. As a child I didn't pay much attention to popular music. The music that everyone around me listened to just didn't move me. Finally, I just settled on what was accessible on the radio. It was okay, I just didn't have much interest in it. There were a few things that caught my attention like stuff from War, Sly and The Family Stone, a few blues tunes, a few rock tunes, a few R&B tunes. A few things that caught my ear but not enough to prompt me to buy a record. That changed one day when I discovered a music style called jazz. Actually, what I heard at the time really wasn't jazz, but it had the feeling of jazz and it was like I had just awakened to a new world. Everybody I knew actively ignored jazz - going out of their way to avoid it. It was difficult to be in a position where nobody could hear what I heard. I may as well have come from another planet, musically speaking. However, I heard something in the music that reached out to me. The more I heard, the more I wanted to hear and understand about it. Eventually, I had to try to play it myself. Years later, at the age of 21, I decided to try some piano lessons, but because I didn't have a piano, it was hard to practice so I didn't make much progress. My musical aspirations were put on hold for several more years. In 1991, I took up the clarinet. It was relatively inexpensive and very portable and I like the sound of wind instruments. I worked with that and made some progress for a time until a guy moved into the boarding house where I lived. He worked at night and slept during the day. I was in a position where it was very difficult to practice at any time of the day! My progress stalled then and I got no further for years after that. Time passed and I eventually was married with two children. My son decided that he wanted to take guitar lessons, so we got him a guitar to play and practice on. Soon after that he lost interest completely in the guitar, so I tried out some of the exercises in his lesson book just to get a feel for what he was experiencing. I found that I enjoyed playing the instrument and spent more and more time with it. I decided to buy my own lesson book because I wanted one that came with a companion DVD. Later still, I splurged and bought a hollow-body electric guitar and a combo amp for myself. While shopping for my guitar, I came across the Sam Ash Music Institute. After I finally bought my guitar, I decided to give the free trial membership a try. I am so glad that I did. I now have the opportunity to have instruction at any when it is convenient for me. I am also very glad that I gave the guitar a chance. I have been able to practice regularly and have experienced real progress. For me, it is better than working with an instructor in person. You see, my wife was convinced that I would lose interest if I did not participate in 'traditional' guitar lessons in person, with an instructor. That would have been fine by me if I could have attended all the sessions. Due to various commitments, I was only able to attend four of the eight sessions, so I received little benefit for a significant expense. With SAMI, I can see myself progressing. Finally, I can see that I will someday soon be able to not just listen to the music that I love, but to express it as well.