Learners Journal:  2006 | 2005
^{_________________________________________}
 

30th September, 2005

"From Zero to Owning a Guitar In 30 Days"

Until recently, my long list of “things to do when I retire” didn’t include learning the guitar, or any other instrument for that matter. Listening to music…. yes. Making jewellery & clothes…. yes. Investigating the family tree, working out every day, playing with the grandkids, cooking & gardening, more time with family & friends – all yes… the list goes on. Nowhere on the radar could I see guitar playing.

In fact, I already play an instrument, although haven’t picked one up or played for years. Rock’n’roll reigns supreme in our household. Husband Ray is an audiophile & serious music collector, so it goes without saying that certain musical instruments (not featured in rock bands) are positively uncool. Jean’s piano accordion prowess therefore, has been a source of great amusement and many corny jokes over the years (read this Southport News excerpt to see what I mean!). I’ve often overheard Ray and brother Steve (an even more serious music collector than Ray) engaging in incredibly witty repartee on the merits of the squeezebox!

Anyway, it all started with Google Adwords. (Don’t worry if you haven’t heard of Google Adwords, neither had I!) Whilst researching and learning about affiliate marketing on the internet, I decided to set up a live test project for pay per click advertising. This entailed selecting a downloadable information product, researching appropriate keywords, then signing up as an affiliate of the company. Once in place, we set up some small ads, then sat back and waited for the “clicks”, and hopefully some affiliate income. The test project worked out well, and the first small cheque arrived about a month later.


What has all this got to do with learning the guitar? The product I selected from a varied short-list just happened to be a comprehensive e-book containing guitar lessons.

After the testing success, we decided to pause there and develop a resource site for guitar players and music fans. GuitaroJam was conceived shortly after. Our aim was to provide a vital little hub on the web with lots of free information and resources for guitarists, as well as some affiliate links to selected guitar lessons, gear, music and accessories. In order to recommend the lessons to our visitors, we naturally purchased lessons and memberships ourselves to test the quality, sales process and customer service. It wasn’t long before I had guitar lessons coming out of my ears!


It’s hard to put a finger on the exact moment I thought about learning to play myself. Suffice to say, I started listening closely for the guitar sound on music CD’s, looking closely at the guitarists on stage, watching their playing technique and marvelling at the skill some of them display. It’s always the same isn’t it? If you’re in the market to buy or do something, you see that something in every corner of your day. If it’s a new car, your eyes are drawn to car yards, car advertisements, car auctions, possible car candidates of all shapes & sizes.

And so it was with my guitar. Pretty soon, I was planning to research the best guitar for a beginner, where I would buy it, and when. You’ve probably noticed, I’m big on research, so the plan was to do my usual thorough job, exhausting all avenues for comparison & review both on the internet and in music shops themselves. Normally this would take a few weeks, so I’d be looking at having a new guitar in a month or two.

Research hadn’t even started when the quarterly consulting visit (the real job! I’m an accountant) for my music store client came round. After three hours slog on the financial year end journal entries, I thought “oh well, I’ll just take a quick look at guitars while I’m here”. Forty minutes later I was walking to the car with my Martinez nylon string (slim neck) acoustic guitar, having had personal attention from Colin (who owns the store) a special discount, and the whole deal contra-ed from my consulting invoice. Very painless indeed. Who needs research!

Ray couldn’t believe his eyes when I arrived home with the guitar. “I thought you were only thinking about it!” So did I. But there you are – less than 30 days since the Google Adwords get-go, and I’m ready to rock with my guitar.

Jean - ("plan of attack next", hope it's soon!)

Main:
GuitaroJam Newsletter Archive
A Learner's Journal (Jean)
Photo Gallery
Southport News Excerpts
 

Resources:
Articles
Hoges Music Catalogue
Earn $ Online
Stay Healthy (Coming Soon)
Webmasters Corner