When I first took up the banjo I found the world of becoming a musician exciting but quite overwhelming. I was told 'if it ain't fun, it ain't worth doing'. From my experience, I am not sure if that is the best advice to give someone just starting out. At first, much of becoming a musician for me was not fun. My fingers could only stretch so far, I had no calluses built up so play hurt most of the time. I had no clue what was going when playing in a jam sessions and I would be quite nervous at my lessons for fear of making a mistake. I didn't know how to change the strings when one broke and felt little confidence in tuning my banjo. I had to rearrange my life so that I could find time to practice and make my music a priority. I had to look at my finances and some how work things out so that I could invest in lessons on a regular basis.
I thank God I had a compassionate, insightful teacher like Rick Fielding who was in tune & sensitive to what I was experiencing.

All this was not fun, it was hard work but worth it.
Now that I am beyond that stage I can finally appreciate the saying "if it aint fun, it ain't worth it."
But if I come across a neophyte musician who is going through what I went through in the beginning, I would try to give them the foundation that I got from Rick Fielding.

If you were to guide a neophyte, a raw beginner, what advice would you give them? I know we have had threads like this before, but it wouldn't hurt to hear some more thoughts on the subject.

Bonnie