Hi all
Morse Moose calling to formally introduce myself. You might have seen me posting a bit lately. I actually tried to save this webpage in my favourites a few months ago but accidentally made it my homepage and decided it was quite a nice place to hang around.
Basics
I am based in Melbourne, Australia. 40 years of age, with two young kids (3 years and 3 months). Out Mentone way for other Melbourne people on this site. Playing guitar is just a continuation of my love of music. I have a huge collection of records, & CDs, have spent hours of my life at gigs (mostly watching local bands) and you are far more likely to find me sitting down and listen to a record at night than watch a T.V.
My guitar journey - Pre Justin
I started guitar in the late 90s for the usual reasons teenage boys learn guitar. I did lessons for about 6 months and learnt the basics. For the next 4 or 5 years I played a fair bit and got to level that was probably the equivalent of Beginner Grade 2 level. During my late 20s and early 30s, I picked up the guitar less and less. Mostly it was because life was becoming busier but I also in hindsight I lacked the roadmap to improve.
Then in 2017, I moved in with my girlfriend who would become my wife and during the move my guitar broke. At the time, I couldn’t justify the cost of paying for another and so I went guitar-less until late 2021 when my wife surprised me by buying me a cheap acoustic as a gift.
My guitar journey - Post Justin
This time around I was really motivated. I was at the stage of my life where I was spending less time out and more time at home. I had two aims. First was to memorise songs from start to finish (including lyrics). Second was to have a more complete understanding of the guitar. Thankfully I found Justin’s site.
How am I doing so far?
Since returning to guitar, I have created a songbook with around 35 songs. 20 of which I have at campfire level and memorised. Another half dozen I can play at a campfire level but I have decided not to commit them to memory (usually because there are too many lyrics to remember) and around 10 songs I am currently working on to various degrees. On top of that there are riffs and bits and pieces that I play.
With the modules, I started at module zero and realised I had been holding the pick wrong for 20 years. I did the whole of beginner grade one pretty quickly with 90% of it being stuff I knew. Grade 2 and I have completed Module 8, 9, 10 and strumming dynamics course. I found with grade 2 stuff, 70% I knew and could play comfortable, 20% I picked up pretty easy, 10% was new stuff that I found challenging (and am still working on)
Future Plans
Bit different to others on this site, my plan is to just do a module every now and then and have big periods in-between to learn and play songs and consolidate (mostly by learning songs). Looking ahead I think Grade 3 is when I will start getting more into concepts that are new to me (probably a 30/70 split between stuff I already know how to do and new things.
) He’s my favourite new artist and I think the gig is free 
Keep it going! 
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