[newplayer_nyc]

As an adult beginner with the luxury of being able to afford both lessons and an Internet connection, I am continually in awe of people who learned to play without YouTube - they would sit in front of the stereo or cassette player, rewind over and over, and try to recreate what they heard on their guitar. Unbelievable! I know most folks learned like that and I'm so jealous because they developed their ear in a way I never will. Literally everything I want to play has been videotaped and uploaded where I can watch it for free, and probably a lesson or ten exists on how to play it as well. So I learn new material quickly, but only via mimicry. I can't listen to something and play it back- literally I don't have a clue.

I suppose I could tell my teacher that this bothers me and I'd like his help in training my ear... But I am having a lot of fun learning new songs at a fast clip and playing them out at open mics.