So, inspirational story (for me and maybe some of the other super green).

Around the 6th lesson into fundamentals 2, we are plucking on the open A string to practice root note strumming. I hit it a couple of time, and it triggers my melody tourettes. "You know that song" it tells me. I know from a lifetime of experience that all else in life must stop until I figure out what "that song" is.

I pause the lesson and start picking on the string, trying to figure out what rhythm or note progression set me off. I do my humming mumbly, talking to myself routine that I try to keep other people from ever seeing for fear of white coats coming to take me away. After about 15 minutes a word surfaces through the darkness, then another, then finally a third. That is usually enough for a google search, so I type in "song with (these three words) lyrics. Turns out to be Disturbed's version of "The Sound Of Silence"

I go look at Simon and Garfunkles tabs version on Ultimate Guitar. There is nothing with an open A string on the guitar tracks. I turn tracks on and off, and find it in the vocals track. Luckily, someone set those notes to tablature. If I ignore the bottom note on the ones that look like power chords (I am assuming harmony of two singers?), it is exactly what my brain has been humming on repeat for the last hour.

I have since printed out the pdf,  and worked through a dozen times and can play it well enough to quiet the tourettes. Maybe not well enough to play with a backing track, but not bad for one afternoon.

In the big picture, I am sure that it's negligible, and has the difficulty level of Happy Birthday, but it felt like a big win for me. I also feel reinspired to keep playing, and hopeful that I can actually make progress.