How long it took you

[Markelberry]

You should hear me on my fiddle - cows go dry, dogs howl, cats screech and neighborhood horses elevate in fear to about 4 feet off the ground and stampede in all directions at that altitude... #

I tried fiddle once,birds quit flyin and the wind stop blowin(trying to keep the sound away from the neighbors)

[Michael H Geimer]

I would agree with the 3 - 5 year comments. Four years into playing guitar (13 -> 16) brought a lot of improvements.

Things go slower from there onwards, but please ... NEVER STOP.

It wasn't until I'd been playing 18 years that thing REALLY opened up for me, and frankly I still think of myself as a hack ... just a happy, more capable hack!

[levin4now]

I'm in the same boat. Looking at others that pick it up faster than me and wondering "How?!" Anyway, i do believe the original question was just asked for the sake of hearing other's stories.

[mando.player]

I'm getting ready to sign up for my first trip to Kaufman's mando kamp. This thread couldn't have come at a better time. I know I fall into the intermediate group for kamp, but I know I'll be at the bottom of that level. I've read the posts about how people have so much fun jamming into the wee hours of the morning...then I hope I can jam for 15 minutes

I've just added some real structure to my practice routine and I'm sure it will eventually pay dividends (hopefully by kamp). But after reading this thread I've got a new perspective going into it. I may not be able to keep up with the intermediate pickers there, but I'll be going to learn and observe.

[dmamlep]

I was getting some lessons from this guy, and I play in a band, we were playing in this festival,Doyle Lawson,Blue Highway,mountian Heart and all, and I think this guy thats giving me lessons is great, I listen to him when he was at the festival after we played, then when Mountian Heart came on, well you could tell night and day from Adam Steffey,Steffey is just at a higher level. and all those guys will tell you that they arent satisfied with their level of playing.That they are alway learning