How I Learned To Play Guitar

Nice reminiscence.

My mom, a classical music fan, signed me up for lessons, because that’s how it was done. So unfortunately, I learned to read music right away. I plucked out the introductory songs in the Mel Bay classical guitar book, but quickly grew frustrated. I quit after ‘Ode To Joy’, the last song in that book. I now believe that the act of reading music engaged the wrong part of my brain. The lessons confused me, because though I enjoyed making progress, I didn’t see myself heading to that place of performing folk songs on the back porch, and I was completely unaware that there might be multiple valid approaches to an instrument. I just knew that what I was experiencing was not what I had envisioned.

This couldn't be truer. Those miserable Mel Bay type books teach you how to tune and then want you to pick out simple melodies, which just isn't what most people want out of guitar. For most popular music, being able to play rhythm is VASTLY more important.

The rest of this article is excellent, an inspiring tale of starting your own band despite feeling inadequate.