When in the course of human events it becomes necessary to make a joyful noise..... do so with the best possible set up you can afford. Having messed around for quite a while now with a plethora of different guitars and amplifiers, I think I am finally settled in with my Mexican tele and my Marshall amp. By hook and crook (no crookary actually) I have wheeled, and dealed, and bargain hunted my way into what, for me, is a really nice set up. Now, if only, I could actually learn to play. I play all the time. I try to pick up a guitar or a banjo every day for at least ten minutes. some days I play for hours. There are a couple things I have going against me when it comes to learning to play ..... but for the moment I can't remember them .... oh yea, my memory. It would be handy to actually have a memory when you are learning to play an instrument. I have one, it just doesn't work very well for the task of memorizing things like what the notes on the staff are and all that sort of stuff. So I basically avoid that. That and learning to play songs. So I just noodle with the guitar. Noodle means fiddle with sounds and fingerings. I learn chords and then try to get my fingers to make new shapes. I will watch you tube vid lessons and pick up stuff here and there. But I mostly just noodle. And that sort of does it for me. Noodling gets my fingers moving to places they should be. I explore the fretboard, and play with rhythms, and progressions of notes. It is very organic - actually. I like to think of it as if I found a guitar at the end of the world and had never heard one played or had anyone show me anything, and just sort of organically discover it. That is also a convenient excuse for not really buckling down to learn stuff. Of course I have heard lots of guitars. Every once in a while I find a riff that I recognize. Sometimes I think, oh my god, is that all there is to that? I tell myself I am on the ten year plan. I figure in ten years I will learn myself a few things. Maybe learn to play a song. I don't, actually, have a schedule. It's purely for fun. For my ears only. (and any one who gets in earshot is just unfortunate) I try to be very respectful of infringing on the ear space of others. I am not very naturally musically inclined. I have some special talents and gifts, but musicality is not one of them. But I am having a lot of fun with these toys. It is something I never thought I would take up. And at my age, I can do that with out any expectation of accomplishing anything. This is also organic in the sense that it is simply organically enjoyable.