I'm self-taught In everything that I play, and self-taught as an adult, I didn't play as a child. I had a pattern where I would do it for a while, get kind of almost, kind of a bit good at it, and then stop. And joining Next Level was around wanting to really get past that, and to stay with it, really. 

I got to a point with learning music where I felt like although I was putting quite a lot of work in at times, I wasn't making the progress that I wanted to be able to make. I'd play and play, but somehow never be able to play without actually having the chords in front of me. 

And also, I was very self-conscious about performing. As soon as I tried to play for other people, I would be kind of completely overtaken by self-consciousness, wouldn't be able to play. 

So part of the reason for joining Next Level was around being more comfortable at sharing music. 

The other thing that I'd always really struggled with with guitar was barre chords. So that was definitely one of the things I wanted to get out of it, was being able to play barre chords, which felt like that would never be possible at the time that I joined. 

The coaching, I think is a really important part of it, the kind of personal feedback, the support that is absolutely tailored to what you're doing and what you're interested in, and where you want to be. 

The other thing that's really strong about it I think, is the four H model that you use. You're looking at it from so many different angles. And that's like, it's not just about technique, it's also about what's going on in your head, it's about where you want to be, it's about what lights you up. 

Turns out that rather than hating theory, which is what I thought, turns out I actually really enjoy it. And it's like, really relevant, and it makes sense. I definitely came very much from a... I didn't do theory, theory was boring. I was just interested in playing music. 

And I would say the key thing, has been about understanding that it is relevant, and it actually isn't boring when it means something. 

The Next Level community has been amazing. It's a really supportive community. My sense is that the more you get involved, the more you get out of it, no question. 

And a lot of the extra things that are there, as well as the coaching have been really important. So particularly I think for me, the Open Mic, Share Your Music, and the Collaborations calls. So they are spaces where you're getting together with other people, either to share what you're doing and get feedback and encouragement, or to kind of explore playing together. And it's such a beautifully supportive community, it's really helpful. 

The guest coaching has been amazing. Like, really, really helpful. You're getting another perspective and you're getting fresh ideas that you can then take back and put into what you're doing with your coach. There's not been a bad one among them. Like, they're all excellent. 

It's not really dependent on what level you're playing music at. It's more dependent on what you want. So anyone who really wants to take their music to the next level, right? Anyone who kind of wants to commit to what they're doing. 

I'm really pleased that I did it, and I think I've got a lot out of it. My musical confidence has expanded massively. Like a lot of people, when I started, you know, it’s kind of like “I'm not a real musician, other people are real musicians.” And I think there was a lot of stuff that I kind of felt like “I'll never be able to do that.” But yeah, I feel like I'm a good little musician. I can play, and I can sing and people enjoy that. 

One of the things that is now much stronger, is my internal sense of rhythm. So that's what's made a lot of difference to things like strumming and accompanying, is that actually the rhythm is kind of what drives the song, in many ways. So that's more solid and therefore, that makes a huge difference. 

My general level of playing has also come on enormously. I think anyone who hears me play now, compared to before, would say that. My partner’s very clear, that there’s been a very fast and continuing improvement in what I can play, and how I play it. 

So like, much better sense of rhythm, my strumming technique is better, my picking technique is better, my singing is better, I can play barre chords. 

One really key musical skill that I've made a huge amount of progress with, is being able to identify chord progressions and melody. With Andy’s support, who was my coach, I have learned some songs purely by listening, working out the chord progression. Which I would not have believed was possible actually, before I did it. 

I think probably the thing that I am most proud of is not just once, but multiple times, sharing and playing for other people. So, feeling confident enough to get up there in front of people and do it. My singing is so much more comfortable than it used to be,