Whatever discouraging, lingering doubts I had about my inability to fret chords and play them clean and clear were quickly being abated by problem solving, persistence, and repetitive practice. Encouragement and support from my music teacher, stronger hands and digits, and tougher calluses on the finger tips were motivating factors to plow through a dry patch of technical obstacles. I reminded myself that reading standard music notation and playing single notes has been unencumbered by technical difficulties, and any fumbles in this area were the result of momentary lapses in my concentration (cranium flatus). My second month of lessons appeared to be an incremental improvement over the previous month, but I knew I could do much better and felt like I wasn’t giving a…