First -- Love making beautiful music

by Mike Hudson
(Virginia)

I've heard it said that music is a "celebration of the soul". It always has been for me. My wife and I have been singing together in choral groups and church choirs for over 50 years now.

When we were first married and before we had children, I saved my pennies and bought a really cheap steel string guitar. My fingers soon paid the price and I put it in the closet, finally giving it to my little nephew to play with.

Some years later, the Romero's Guitar Quartet made a swing through Richmond, VA on their concert tour and I was transported to a new world. I remember thinking, "Oh, what I wouldn't give to make music like that with my hands"

The next week I went to a guitar shop and bought a little Yamaha G-50 and Aaron Shearer's Classic Guitar Technique, Vol. I. (I still have both today, 40 years later :))

During the next five years, while raising a family and traveling five days a week to do so, I still managed to squeeze in enough practice time to complete that first instruction book.

But with a promotion and starting a new publishing business on the side, and traveling even more over the next 25 years, my classical guitar sat in the closet.

Six years ago (2003), I sold my little business and retired. Tired of sitting around reading and watching TV, I wandered up to the attic and noticed my old guitar case sitting among the clutter.

"Hmm", I mumbled and opened it up. There she was, broken strings, somewhat damaged by heat and neglect, but still useable. With a new pair of strings and a little cleaning, my journey to learn the classical guitar was resumed.

I had to literally start over, so back I traveled through Shearer's Vol. I. I was so thrilled to have the time to devote to learning that I bought a new Takamine.

A new computer and the Internet arrived on the scene about the same time and my world of available classical guitar instruction, music and videos has created a new life for me.

This site is fantastic ! Thank you Trevor ! Mike