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Thank you all for the kind comments. Three and a half years ago when I started the L & M journey, Never having touched a guitar in my life. I was excited but also concerned about how this new endevour would last. It has been the camaraderie of the participants on this forum which has kept me interested in improving. I realized that we all have the common goal of becoming guitar players and hopefully I could just blend in. Thank you all and especially Steve K. Henk

I appreciate the kudos, but don't think that's true in my case. There are many players on this forum that are way better guitarists than me. Like you, I rely on brute force to cram in practice as much as life will allow. Being in the band just keeps me focused and forces me out of any sort of comfort zone. I also believe it helps desensitize me to the fear of flying without a net and that sometimes leads to getting into a zone where you play above yourself. That said, I'm often way over my head and not in the zone, and if you isolated my guitar track you'd see it ain't all that. I know and accept this, but I'm too old to wait until I'm "really good" to play with others, so I'll just try to be good enough, for long enough, that "really good" happens one day when I'm not looking. As to learning from a magazine, I've found I cannot focus on those articles long enough to get much out of them. I have learned from a few exercises I picked up from magazines over the years but they have never been a key source of learning for me. You can find a Youtube tutorial for just about any song you can name, and if the song was popular you will usually find several very good teachers have done lessons on it. Taking bits a pieces from Youtube lessons and my bandmates is how I've learned nearly every song I play. I never strive to play exactly like a recording, but to try to get the tone and rhythm and then play it my way (which I hope is recognizable). I think focusing on learning a few songs you really like from Youtube would be far more motivating than trying to learn from a magazine. Edited to add - I should add that you should stick with LMG at least through session 8-9, then work through Mel Bay's Barre Chord book before setting off on the Youtube path. That will give you enough music theory to have an inkling of what's going on and give you time to develop the physical ability to play the chords you'll need for the other stuff. Playing a riff as an exercise cleanly is one thing, playing it for 3+ minutes staying in the groove the whole time takes a while to build up to. YMMV. Good Luck.

Hi, Randy @randyh1953 I’ve subscribed to AG for several years now, and I agree with Neil and Bryan. If you’re around Learn & Master sessions 4/5, yes, much of the tutorial material in AG will appear intimidating or opaque. That’s true for me, and I’m not much farther along than you in my learning. But I look forward to every issue. I learn about artists, their music and recordings, history, gear, and other topics that I would not otherwise hear about. It’s not an exam booklet. But the magazine is not the real issue here. Whether you find it encouraging or discouraging in your journey is a reflection of how you see yourself. There is no shame in being a beginner. There was a time when you could not walk on your own two feet. You had to crawl, stumble, fall, get up, and try again. And sometimes it hurt. Learning guitar is not different. Not motivated? Sorry, I can’t help you there. Nor can anyone else, I dare say. You can do it or you can't do it; either way, you're right. You have to want it. Along the way, the universe will ask you many times, how much? My best wishes!