Please describe your progress over the years

Were there some milestones in your progress? Example: I used to struggle to hit this note, this line in a song, this interval, then I had a breakthrough.

Can you describe your sound at various stages? For example, how was your pitch accuracy early on? When did you notice a breakthrough? What else seemed to improve alongside the pitch?

Which well-known artist voices resemble/d yours? Which artists did you cover/can you cover now? Any clips from now and then?

I ask, because I hope it will be encouraging to hear the stories. I worked hard to learn to be a very good guitar player. And I think I have a gift for guitar but not for voice. In some way, I found it easier to measure progress. But I find it hard to measure my vocal improvement and stay motivated.

From day one, in lessons, I learned to read music, first position, one string per week. Each new chord was tangible improvement. Then I learned scales, then arps, then classical, then jazz. I learned to cover AC/DC, Quiet Riot, then Dokken, then Eddie Van Halen, note for note. In other words, I covered increasingly-technical players.

Now I can learn solos in chunks -- oh, he just played a major7 arp, bam, here's the 4 notes and the fingering. I can do much more off the cuff, if needed.

With vocals, my favorite artists include Steve Perry. I lower his key -5. I try to simplify phrasing as needed. I try to arrange the vocal to go with acoustic guitar, which simplifies some. But that doesn't mean I'll ever cover him well. It doesn't mean I'll ever feel confident playing an acoustic version of "Lights" for an audience. So, I guess, I'm also looking to hear how extreme your improvement has been.

Thanks for taking the time,

Jerry