I just wanted to briefly talk about some of my recent successes. I’ve been having the hardest time going from G to D (pinky G in this case) and have been practicing a song (a hymn from a songbook I have) everyday for over a month, trying to get this song to go more smoothly. The other night, I finally said, “Ok, clearly I need to backup and rewatch some videos on these chord changes.” So I looked up Lisa’s videos on the G to D chord change and realized a big part of what I was doing wrong (leading with the wrong finger when I go to D). The other part was the fact I didn’t stretch properly before playing and also wasn’t moving my hand back far enough. So I practiced the new, correct chord change very late into the night until I couldn’t keep my eyes open anymore. The next day I played my song again and WOW! What a difference! I could do the chord change correctly and with good tone and was able to play my song pretty well. So I played and played and played the correct way all day. So, sometimes it really is a matter of night and day! Now I just need to work on my vocals….

[br]Another success, I was also able to play Runaway Train (easy version), with the tutorial on here, at almost the full speed/tempo. And I have been practicing this song everyday for awhile, as well. But I can now play all the main parts of the song with my eyes closed the entire time too. I was so proud of myself! I have been working on that with some of my songs and it came about because sometimes my vision gets a little blurry and I can’t see very well temporarily. So I thought I would just close my eyes and play and pray that it helps me to be a better guitarist in the end. :)

[br]One more thing I got myself into...I decided to learn the ukulele! I love it!! I just thought it would be a fun way to approach singing from a different angle, a less intimidating and more fun angle...and I’m hoping it helps me to sing better and have more confidence on the guitar. In the week and a half I have had the ukulele I have played (and sang!) dozens and dozens of songs and am now working with one of Lisa’s Christmas Ukulele Solo books. (She is a fantastic uke teacher, too!)

[br]I guess I just wanted to give a little hope to anyone else just starting out….Practice is really what it’s all about...and doing things correctly is essential too, otherwise you have to retrain your muscle memory into the correct way finally (a big pain!). So I’m glad I can just rewatch any of these videos anytime for a particular skill and really refine what I’m doing. I have gained so much confidence in my few months learning guitar that I have picked up a second instrument that I’m actually doing pretty well with already.

[br]Unfortunately, due to a worsening ear/vestibular disorder I can’t practice on the physical instruments too long at one time, I have to take many breaks. Sound and any head movements cause dizziness and vertigo along with balance problems. That will hopefully be getting fixed soon after more testing but in the meantime, I’m not letting it stop me just yet. There’s still so much I can do and I look forward to picking back up in my fundamentals 2 lessons tomorrow, even if I can’t actually play.

[br]Thanks for listening and thanks to those who have helped me (and others) here in the forum. You've been very helpful