Before the Internet...

Boy isn't that the truth! I still have quite a bit of sheet music, and thankfully I started learning to play music on the piano so I can read music without TAB. Now I admit, I use TAB for which fingers to use, but also read the music. I admit that knowing which finger to put where helps with the "getting from here to there." I know the notes, but sometimes my fingers get "tongue-tied," and if you are reading music you have a lot of choices of where to make the notes (provided you are willing to go far enough up the neck,)so the transposer's ideas can be helpful.

Brings back a lot of memories. Spent many days in the music section of music stores finding that the books were useless. Even worked in a music store for a few years but that is when I found some really good reading. Bought more books than I actually went through but the cool part is that it was way more advanced than I was. I still have them and fortunately can go through them now because most of it were jazz concepts.

What helped me a lot too were Guitar Player magazine articles. These articles were written by Howard Roberts, Tommy Tedesco and Arnie Berle. I looked forward to every month just to get the mag for those articles.

As for my records, my turntable had a speed adjust. When I was learning Van Halen tunes, I actually did the opposite and sped up the turntable. I did not know that VH tuned to Eb back in 1978. So the irony was that I got faster without trying - lol.

I never was one who tried to learn solos note for note. I tried more to get the general structure as my talent at the time was quite not up to that par level. However after playing for 6-10 hours for about 3 years, I was playing many of the songs and solos close to the original.

Yes I had a part time job, dated and went to school. Just had a bug up my backside to get decently good.

I heard about reel to reels being able to run at half speed but when I finally got my hands on one, the octave below the actual pitch was a chore. So I just decided that I will just have to develop what I thought was right. Still do it this way today except when I have to learn a solo note for note (tribute bands). With note for note, I will use an iRig and the software has the tech to slow down but stay in pitch. Also I can loop the problem section. No more more the needle anymore.

I don't think the world existed before the internet.
When I had my first guitar in about 1960, I'd had it for about six months, when a friend of mine had a play on it, he said it's all out of tune, I didn't know you had to tune a guitar.

TonyKgull, This is a quick video, of the first learning guitar vidio tape that I bought, still think it's a great piece, and try to play it evey now and a gain, but can't quite crack it.

I would not have the patience to learn that, even with tab. With my senility, my short term memory loss and terminal CRS, I would forget it before I got to 1/2 way through.

Bits of it make for Good Exercise