March 6, 2025

Sharifu

Before connecting with the legendary guitarist, maestro and teacher Bob Harris, I was that guy that had a guitar that he’s never touched in his closet for 10 years.

In looking back at my journey though, there are a few things that I can attribute to my fairly quick progress. One year, relatively speaking, is a short time to be considered an advanced beginner/intermediate guitar player. There is so much more progress to make but I’m at a turning point again. Do I keep going? Have I had enough guitar? Is this worth it?

Don’t freak out. I am addicted to guitar at this point. As I look forward to the potential progress I could make in year 2 of learning guitar, this is what worked for me in very short points:

Desire to learn. This part you can’t fake and somehow, from somewhere you need to find a fire to light under your own ass to have some kind of urgency to learn. lol for me, I just got sick of seeing my guitar collect dust and I remembered back to when my dad was alive, that he thought I could learn it - so what the hell was I waiting for? Time to do it for not only myself, but dad too.
Willingness to learn alone. It is what it is. As you will see in point 3, a teacher saves you time… years in fact. But even without a teacher, I would’ve kept learning on my own. Yes I would’ve sounded like garbage, but I still would’ve kept going. This is a journey and I’m not quitting until the ring gets thrown into the damn volcano (nerd reference).
Find a teacher already. I lucked out. Bob Harris is the best. You can learn with him too here.
record yourself. There are a lot of points that really just come back to this one. Record yourself playing until it’s not embarassing to share. It might take 20 takes. Might take 100. But just do it and share it and make it look easy and effortless and beautiful. That’s it. In my case I really enjoy being creative and so I wrote a bunch of songs while learning almost right away from month 1 of seriously learning. It’s just who I am.
If you listen to anything below can you give me some feedback?
Stick to what is exciting. Play songs that excite you. Do courses that you think are delivering a good return on your time investment. Don’t make it homework. Music is something you play, not work.

my story…

After connecting, Bob and I came up with a plan for me to reach the next level. Instead of learning 20 songs poorly, what if we could come up with one song that would give me essential skills I was missing. So that's what we did. The song we're going to learn is something we came up with together, and it will take you to the intermediate level because it teaches 10 essential guitar skills. Welcome and get pumped to get better together!

Together - Bob, me, and you - will learn this song from the beginning and over 6 weeks, we will explore what makes an intermediate guitarist.

Explore the program (AND A SURPRISE) by clicking here.

About Bob

Bob Harris is an acclaimed acoustic guitarist whose career spans nearly 1,000 albums and recording sessions for major labels including Universal, Atlantic, Mercury, and QVC’s Q Records, as well as numerous independent projects. He has collaborated with some of the industry's most iconic acoustic, bluegrass, and country musicians, including producing and performing on Johnny Cash’s The Great Lost Performance, as well as working with Bob Dylan and many other renowned artists in live performances worldwide.

As the founder of Ampersand Records USA, Bob has been instrumental in producing and performing on a wide range of projects. His illustrious career includes a 15-year tenure with the Vassar Clements Band, where he shared the stage with the legendary fiddle virtuoso.

In 1992, Bob’s extraordinary talent earned him first place in Guitar Player Magazine's International Ultimate Guitar Competition, solidifying his reputation as a world-class guitarist.

Bob’s songwriting achievements include a contract with Tree Publishing Nashville (now Sony Tree) in 1991. He later collaborated with Movieville Music and Great Galen Publishing, writing alongside Country Music Hall of Fame songwriter Jerry Foster.

Beyond music, Bob joined forces with comedian and talk show host Lionel of WABC Radio in 1995, touring the New York Tri-State comedy circuit for over 15 years, adding a unique dimension to his multifaceted career.

Today, Bob is the host of one of YouTube's most popular beginner fingerstyle guitar channels, Acoustic Guitar Videos & Lessons, which has garnered over 17 million views. His passion for teaching and inspiring musicians worldwide continues to make a lasting impact on the guitar community.