Thanks, Naemanson. I mostly took up guitar because I got tired of trying to find guitarists to play fancy stuff for me and decided that at the very least I could enjoy playing for myself in the privacy of my own home. I can't believe I actually had the noive to play on the World Stage of Cattegie Hall, but ... I figure you all are a forgiving audience.

I'm with guitar playing as I am with my wriitng and my singing -- a consummate hardass on myself, and forgiving as all get-out for everyone else. The upside of this is that I'm a pretty good singer and writer, the downside is it gets tiresome, all this beating up of myself. So, I'm trying to be nicer to me re. the guitar and just keep in mind that I AM doing it for fun. I know I will never do the guitar playing for money, and maybe never even in company (other than the World Stage of Cattegie Hall, of course). But ... the gap between what I hear in my head and what I want to hear out THERE is so huge, it's daunting.

But ... thanks for your advice and I'm doing my best to take it. ;->

ww