Hi all! Glad I found this place. It's been a couple years-ish since I was on the Legacy forum and went to check it out today and the link took me nowhere. After some searching around I'm happy to see their is still a community based around Steve's courses!
I bought the original course probably 10 years ago now. Upgraded to the current one shortly after it was released but didn't go further than Session 11 or 12. Been doing the marriage/kid-raising/career thing since I started and I'd lose motivation to practice when I'd get to the challenging parts of the course. Admittedly, spending too much time on the internet hasn't helped either. This last hiatus happened due to a few personal issues: troubled teen son, impending divorce after 17 years and overcoming substance addiction. I've gone months without even touching a guitar but knew I'd return to it when the time was right. I recently created a new personal space dedicated to guitar practice and, of course, I pulled out my L&M guitar books. Finally...the time has come and it's great to be back in the saddle again!
Quick history: I started playing guitar right before my 14th birthday (1987...sheesh has it been that long?). Traded an alto saxophone I used for 4 years in the school band for my first electric guitar and amp. I Took piano lessons for many years prior (and after) and had a couple of excellent teachers, especially my first who instilled good practice habits. I've tried a few guitar teachers over the years but never found one I really resonated with that lasted more than a couple months. Most of what I've learned to date has been on my own through books, sheet music, self-study courses and just picking things up here and there. After 30+ years I've tried a number of home study materials and I can confidently say that Steve's courses have been the best that I've run across. I'm definitely going to continue with them!
Music (of all many kinds) has always been a passion and big part of my life since I was a little guy and that passion is still alive today even at the age of 45. I think it's safe to say it will always be with me until the end. It's time to break some barriers and continue on with my guitar journey! I'd like to jam with other people again some day and maybe even form/join a band. Who knows.
I've gone through lots of guitars/amps/effects since I started and the past, oh, 4-5 years I've gotten into Fender short-scale guitars. I'm a short dude with relatively small hands that struggled to get on with Strats (my favorite for decades). I have an Epiphone Sheraton with a shorter scale, but has also been a struggle especially in first position. Playing guitar can be painful to my fret hand which is one of the main reason I haven't progressed much over the years. I get discouraged with the pain and cramping. Took a chance on a Classic Player Jaguar due to the even shorter scale and found out the 24" scale and thicker neck felt most comfortable for my hand. Never saw the offset guitars as my thing, but the comfort and playability for me is undeniable. I own a few different Fender offset short-scales now as they're working for me.
Anyway...thanks for reading and see you all around!
