I've been a professional musician for a big hunk of my life, both as a studio musician in London and Australia and as a working muso playing with various types of band - from small combos to big bands.  Like most beginners I taught myself from tutor books and, because I didn't know any other guitarists at that time, presumed every guitarist read music.  It was only a few years later I discovered very few guitarists read music.  The music publishers:  Francis, Day and Hunter learnt I could read music and gave me work as a studio musician recording demo discs for them.  After a while the recording studios began offering me additional work and in no time I was a regular studio muso in Tin Pan Alley (Denmark Street - in London).  Although I've had offers to play with everyone from Orbison to David Bowie (Just a bit of info for music historians:  At that time he was still called David Jones and worked for Francis, Day and Hunter as a lyric writer) I've never had a star complex and have always been content to be a working muso.  

At twenty-five I emigrated to Australia and, after about five years of regular work in bands eventually got to a stage where I was no longer enjoying the grind of playing every night.  I gave up playing, sold all but one of my guitars (a hundred year old acoustic guitar) and went into business running the multi-million dollar Ecol Corporation as Managing Director.  It wasn't until I decided to retire (at the age of fifty) that I went back to playing guitar.  

I've found great joy in playing guitar, and have met and jammed with loads of top musicians (there are too many to list, but here are some I've met:  Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Steve Howe, Paul Kossof (whom I taught guitar to), Ian Moss, Big Jim Sullivan, The Everly Brothers, Wes Montgomery, Johnny McClachlan, Jeff Beck, Albert Lee, Ray Smith, Jerry Donahue etc.) 

Currently I teach guitar for WEA (basic guitar right through to Masterclass), and play the odd gig to keep my hand in. 

Anyway, that's enough about me, I hope you'll continue with your studies and, who knows, one day I'll hear you're a star.

Keep playing.

Colin