How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

Sailing coach Chris Snow compares getting better at sailing with learning to play music:

Back in 2006 our family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area for my wife’s work. Her boss asked her to run the SF office of their company and wanted her to live there to show the company’s commitment to the folks working there. With two young sailors, we wanted to be near the water and we were lucky to rent a place from friends Tom and Melissa Purdy in Tiburon, CA.

With no house to work on, and fewer friends close by to hang out with when not selling sails, I had some more time on my hands, it was winter and sailing was pretty slow. I had always dreamed of playing an instrument and downtown Tiburon has a great little guitar shop, Schoenberg Guitars. Their window advertised group lessons I signed myself and my son’s Nevin and Patrick up.

We bought inexpensive guitars, smaller ones for the kids. The lessons were great and it was fun (at least for me) to do it together. Our instructor, Joe Miller, was awesome and is an awesome player. We took group lessons and every class required playing the homework of the previous lesson. Peer pressure works. We practiced and got a good introduction to playing music. – Full report