Hello! I have been playing guitar for about 4 years after a long time off. I used to play guitar and bass in super abrasive rock bands and never bothered to learn much aside from how much noise I could make.
After many years off I got back into playing, starting with my older Tele and eventually moving to acoustic. I have been really into country, folk, and blues playing lately and the music I like playing the most is by artists like Dwight Yoakam, Leadbelly, Tom Waits, Elvis, and Johnny Cash.
A little over a year ago I broke my left wrist (fretting hand) in a bike crash and spent a long time recovering. There was a lot of soft tissue damage that I will probably never fully recover from. Playing guitar definitely works my wrist but I am sticking with it and I am getting back into a routine. I am just thankful I can still play. I love playing and singing and being a part of music even if it’s just for me, my wife, and our neighbor’s cat Gato.
JustinGuitar has been a godsend for me. Prior to finding Justin’s site I had no structure at all and would just randomly practice things I thought might be useful, but Justin has helped me find a very clear path for my guitar studies. He’s also helped me appreciate a lot of new music, especially the song structures and I’ve managed to start singing while playing guitar which I found impossible before. My wife is a music educator (mostly piano) and sometimes she will watch Justin vids over my shoulder in awe of how good of a teacher he is.
I wish you all the best on your music journey and hope to connect!
Great stuff. I’m an accidental singer, never expected to sing when I started playing, learned Blowin in the wind (From justin) and my wife would have sung it at least 50 times when I started singing along in the chorus without thinking. Now I sing to everything I learn. its fun
Wow what a story! So glad to see that you were able to recover as best as you could and jump back into it. I feel like sometimes we all go through a phase where we just want to rock out and we don’t care about much. But then eventually we want to own in our skills. Super proud of you buddy and welcome to the forum and community! I’m looking forward to your progress
Thanks all for the kind words. Recovery from injury is a very emotional and empowering process. It was hard for me to truly appreciate my hands until I lost the use of one of them. The first time I was able to hold a chord down again after surgery to reconnect my hand to my arm and months of physical therapy I started crying like a baby. I’ve changed my lifestyle since then, converting to running instead of cycling, and trying to fully appreciate the risks involved with the activities I participate in.
Gato is not super thrilled about my guitar playing. In fact he is a wylde boy and really only likes the sounds of nature. The last time I put on a record when he was here he freaked out and ran away, so I am positive it’s at least not just me.
Good to see you have started playing again and being apart of music, it is what binds us together. Your comment really stood out to me and is exactly what I thought when I found him back in 2012/2013. If anybody asked me why use Justin as a teacher, its exactly that !
Hey, Dan. Just now reading your intro. I can relate to hand injuries. I suffer from two ring fingers that can become trigger fingers when I overdo it. I have found that playing my guitar is the best PT I have done. The more I play the more limber the fingers. Great motivator to practice.
