Music has always been a passion for me and my favorite instrument has always been the guitar. I would often dream of playing, but never took the time or had the discipline to to learn. A couple of years ago, my son said he would like to learn to play, so I bought him an entry level guitar and took him for lessons. The guitar shop is right in town on main street. His lessons were only 30 minutes, so I would wait in the shop while until he was done. I would read or listen to my IPod, but I would also look around at all the guitars, awakening all those dreams I once had of playing. I had bought a guitar years before and, although I had every intention, I never really learned to play, so I sold it. You can understand why I might have had reservations about making another investment. Because of my passion for music I had collected hundreds of CDs, so I talked to the owner about making a trade. This kept me from shelling out any real cash for something I might not end up using (again!). To say my CD collection was extensive was probably an understatement. To give you an idea of just how extensive, the shop owner traded me my collection for an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar, amps, cords and cases. I started taking lessons from his fifteen year old son and I am in my forties. The whole experience was somewhat humbling. Though my fingers would hurt and the chord transitions were difficult at first, I hung in there until I learned some open chords. I am not a great guitarists, and perhaps not even very good, but I can play a few simple songs and I have gotten further than I ever thought I could. My suggestion for you if you are considering guitar or just starting out is to go for it. Not only that, but also to stick with it. For me, it is very easy to get discouraged, but just when I think I will never be make any progress, I make a small breakthrough. After a couple of small breakthroughs, I am able to play a little. Hopefully, if I keep at it, some day my playing will actually sound good to someone other than myself.