by all means send mt a Private Message but updating the forum as follows.

as backgroud for those of you who might be reading but don't know much about parkinsons its effects are not just physical. it can give you depression and result in apathy - you don't fgeel like doing things you used to enjoy. hence practicing and playing are not as much fun as they used to be and combined with the disappointment of not being abvle to play what i used to it's a vicious circle.

however, playing for my own benefit is not as appealing as it might be - and not as much of an incentive as i used to have when i was playing in public. recently i invested in a small acoustic amp. don't think i'll ever get back my fingerpicking skills but i can still strum a rhythm. left hand works fine. the new amp has an input for a mic and also auxiliary input that can take mp3s. so with BIAB and RB i've been creating backing tracks minus the guitar part so when i play thme through the amp I can add a guitar part. and as they have a bass and drums it helps keep mw in time and on beat.

i'm preparing a set to play at social gatherings - whether i do or not is not clear at the moment. but i'm back to making music and practicing for a gig that may never happen.

muscle memory is still working and that's why i've gone back to ther D35 as opposed to the smaller OO17s. chords still fall easily under my fingers. When i bought the 17s i could play it fine but after 50 years i'm so used to the neck on the D35 it's one variaible i can remove from the mix.

so things are looking up and good lvuk to everyone who shared their own misfortunes and how they overcome them.