The 40-Year-Old Music Virgin

Acoustic guitar? Check!
Chromatic tuner? Check!
Picks of various shapes and sizes? Check!
DVD-based guitar learning program? Check!

Some backstory: last year I received Gibson's Learn & Master Guitar as a gift. It's a high-end product in this saturated market and emphasizes music theory as much as technique. Plus, L&MG was already an established thing before Gibson funded some reshoots and attached their brand to it. Vote of confidence, right?

Anyways, good enough. Let's go! Let's see what it can do for me.

Other notes and excuses:

• I would prefer one-on-one lessons, but they are cost prohibitive at this stage of my life.
• I have a 14-month-old son, which impacts my guitar time, volume, budget and storage (i.e., no stands, guitars stay in their cases).
• I actually began this DVD program last year, graduated to Disc 3 and then broke the ring finger on my fret hand. This is the re-start. Back to Disc 1, Lesson 1.
• My finger has taken 18 months to heal. I couldn't make a fist for more than a year. Hopefully, there isn't permanent damage that could impair my musical development.
• My natural inclination is fingerstyle picking. I dislike picks, but for the sake of learning and developing into a Guitar Chef, I will embrace all traditional tools... including the dreaded plectrum.

Okay, let's get down to music!