In this self-designed experience, I decided to not only learn the history of the guitar and where it came from, but also attempt to self-teach myself guitar over a span of about 4 months.  Here is what I've taken out of this experience.

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First and foremost, I learned that, like most things, teaching yourself a new skill requires a lot of dedication and patience.  I was on my own schedule, with no teacher forcing me to sit down and practice, and I did not have their background or expertise guiding me along the way with form adjustments and techniques.  That saying, yes I learned to (somewhat) play the guitar, but I bet if any actual guitar player sat down and watched me play, there would be countless pointers and suggestions given to me.  The point of this experience wasn't for me to learn to play professionally though.  It was to prove to myself that I could in fact learn something new by teaching myself.  I wanted better myself by expanding my passion for music and help me in my ability to set long-term self-motivated goals.

I found it very interesting the history of how the guitar itself came to be.  In doing research, I learned many people cannot seem to agree on the exact origins of the guitar, some saying it originated in Spain several hundred years ago, while others claim guitar-like instruments were around while the pyramids were being built.  As cultures changed, so did the style of the guitar.  From the Renaissance, to the Romantic Period, to Colonial times, changing cultures and advancing technology were reflected in the overall design of the instrument.  Like most ideas and materials, the guitar spread across the world with the ever growing trade routes originating in Europe.  The style of guitar we know and love today has been around for over a hundred years, and has stayed consistent during that time with only minor hardware advances, and of course, the introduction of the electric guitar. 

Researching for this project really opened my eyes to the evolution of not just the guitar, but human life itself over a couple thousand years.  Even back in Ancient Egypt people were experimenting with music and sound.  It seems as if humans have always enjoyed creating and listening to music.  While we may take music for granted now, back then music was a bridge between cultures; a way for people to share and expand musical tastes and ideas.

With my new-found skill of the guitar, I hope to teach my friends some of the basics that I taught myself.  Though I am nowhere anywhere close to being a master guitarist (as displayed in the below clip), I plan on keeping up with practicing and hope to get good enough to learn other, more complicated songs.  This experience has proved to me that I can achieve my long-term goals, and will continue to inspire me to set more goals in the future. 

With this experience, I kept a journal for most of my days whether of practicing or researching. I also created a summarized timeline of what I discovered of the guitar's history.  Lastly, I recorded myself attempting to play "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen.  Forewarning, the recording has horrible, sound quality, and as I said I am a very very beginner still,  but you can still pick out the melody!

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