What initially inspired me to get involved with guitar is I
was invited to an open mic one night by a friend
of mine.
He got up there and he was playing songs and people
were clapping and singing along with them,
and were just really enjoying themselves.
I decided that I could do that and I could make
that my dream of being able to sit around and play
songs for people.
I got so frustrated 'cause I thought my fingers were too
fat to play,
and then I was watching a guy on YouTube and the
guy has sausage,
sausage links for fingers,
and the guy's just ripping on a guitar and it's like,
okay, if this guy can do it,
I know I can do it.
Before Tony's acoustic challenge,
I couldn't even make the chord changes.
I'd have a dead chord or my fingers wouldn't go in
the right place,
get out a rhythm or something like that,
and I'd have to kind of start a verse or a
chorus over.
So I was really raw when I first started.
Now that I've been a member of Tony's cus challenge,
my core changes are crisp and clean.
I don't lose rhythm,
I don't,
I'm not stopping and starting over again.
Even if I miss something,
I can pick up on the next one,
you know,
come back into it again.
My fingers are a lot more agile.
I never really realized what it would also do for me
and my kids,
bringing my kids and myself closer together.
As I started to learn to play the guitar,
my oldest daughter,
she would come for a visit.
We would sit and play songs together and my youngest daughter
will sit and play guitarsenal and try to figure out a
new song that we're either trying to learn for something that
we might do for an open mic sometime.
So it's brought both,
both of my daughters even closer to me,
which I had no idea that was gonna happen.
That folks,
Yeah, she scrolled a little too far.
If it wasn't for Tony's acoustic challenge,
I wouldn't be the player that I am today.
My name is Brian Markham and I'm a guitar geek.