I was born in ....... Uh, maybe you didn't want that much information. Let's just say my musical life started at age 55. Little late for a beginner. I'd written poetry for years and also loved to sing and was thinking how nice it would be if some guitar guy came along who could play while I sang. Even wrote a poem about that (a bad one).
Then the light dawned. Maybe I could play guitar for myself! It could be a heck of a lot faster than waiting for the right man.
I began the search for a teacher. Tried a young Berkelee graduate who was obviously bored with the process and who only wanted to play ska. Bored me too as we plodded through beginner guitar books.
Then magic happened. The night before my birthday I was driving back from Canada and stopped off at a small bar in CT to hear Chris Smither play. He had become my guitar hero, as he does a great show and he was the first finger style player I had heard live.
The show went past midnight - the audience small but enthusiastic. Now it was officially my birthday, so I decided to give myself a present and ask Chris if he knew a good teacher. (I knew he didn't teach regularly as he was on the road so much).
He asked me what kind of guitar I wanted to play, and I said "fingerpicking". He replied "Go see Geoff Bartley. He's in Cambridge."
That was the beginning of my new life. The minute I sat down with Geoff for my first lesson, I knew I had found the right teacher.
Now I'm enjoying the guitar skills Geoff patiently nurtured. I'm playing out, writing songs and working on my first CD.
I also teach beginning guitar, and do sing-alongs with Alzheimers and other memory impaired folks. So, happily, music activies make up the major portion of my days. Life is good.