But I had to work hard to get to where I am today. After a couple mandatory years of piano lessons (hated that!) I switch to the banjo when I was about 10 years old. Because of my family influence, this was something I really wanted to pursue. Still, I remember my mother enforcing my practice schedule. I took lessons (banjo and guitar) for about two years from Spokane icon, Dutch Groshoff, before my family moved to Medford, Oregon.
At that point I was on my own, as I never found a teacher here. But thanks to Dutch and my Uncles, I had a good musical foundation and an understanding of musical theory, which allowed me to expand my abilities on my own. I have a good ear and even at an early age I was able to decipher chord changes by listening to recordings.
When we moved to Medford I sang in the choir in junior high and then on into high school. My junior high choir teacher was Carrol Graber. He was very supportive of my developing instrumental talent and I learned a lot about singing from him. Mr. Graber was also pretty adventurous in producing musicals and other shows at the junior high level. He's still around and we get together here occasionally.
My other big influence was my high school choir teacher, Lynn Sjolund. Lynn really encourage me to follow a path in music and I credit him in large degree for my fantastic career. Lynn has been a big supporter over the years and since our move back to Medford, he and his lovely wife, Doris, have attended some of my performances here. Lynn is also working on booking me for an event for the Jackson County Historical Society later this month. I guess at my age, that would be an appropriate gig.
As for your question about which was easier - guitar or banjo - I can't answer that. Obviously, starting on a 4-string banjo, the chords were two strings easier. But I had no trouble adding the guitar to my musical arsenal. And from there it was on to bass, mandolin, ukulele and pretty much anything else with strings. (Except for violin/fiddle - still haven't figured that one out.)
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