Who taught you to play the guitar?

The answer is everyone and no-one. I say 'everyone' because I am a consummate listener to what others are doing and, whenever possible, I have always asked questions - lots of them - such as: How do you get that sound or achieve that effect? What was that scale or chord sequence? Basically, I pilfered all that I could from others of greater experience and know how.

I say 'no-one' inasmuch as never having had formal lessons, though I did once have four half-hour lessons in theory and reading music. I am really the product of my own experimentations. I have been told that I have a 'good ear' and that has certainly helped me in regard to being able to 'pick things off records.' I am, I would say, a natural musician, but not a natural technician. Any skills I now possess are the product of many hours of practice and at times painful determination. However, with an instrument as complex and technically challenging as the Spanish classical guitar, I feel that it can never be mastered. It's certainly humbling to acknowledge that I am but a mere beginner.