Learning the guitar in your 30s?
Discussion
Is it possible to do still or really hard to pick up?. I'd like to learn the theory side too ideally as I've got an interest in making electronic music but think learning an instrument would be a great base, plus I am a huge fan of rock too, plus I'd really like a new hobby to occupy my evenings, I got given a cheap Stratocaster copy and small amp about a decade ago by a friend who was moving and didn't want it, would this make a suitable learner guitar?, or is something cheap not a great idea?.
Go for it! I learnt the guitar in my mid 30's. I'm not very good but get satisfaction from it and I'm glad I did it.
Go here http://www.justinguitar.com/en/BC-000-BeginnersCou... and follow the tutorials. Take your time to learn and practice as much as you can. Learn a few basic songs to keep you interested.
Your strat copy should do you ok to learn on; maybe have it serviced, get the strings changed and string action set appropriately. Any guitar shop should offer that for maybe £50 or so.
Good luck
Go here http://www.justinguitar.com/en/BC-000-BeginnersCou... and follow the tutorials. Take your time to learn and practice as much as you can. Learn a few basic songs to keep you interested.
Your strat copy should do you ok to learn on; maybe have it serviced, get the strings changed and string action set appropriately. Any guitar shop should offer that for maybe £50 or so.
Good luck
Heathwood said:
Go for it! I learnt the guitar in my mid 30's. I'm not very good but get satisfaction from it and I'm glad I did it.
Go here http://www.justinguitar.com/en/BC-000-BeginnersCou... and follow the tutorials. Take your time to learn and practice as much as you can. Learn a few basic songs to keep you interested.
Your strat copy should do you ok to learn on; maybe have it serviced, get the strings changed and string action set appropriately. Any guitar shop should offer that for maybe £50 or so.
Good luck
Agree with all that but should be a fair bit less than 50 quidGo here http://www.justinguitar.com/en/BC-000-BeginnersCou... and follow the tutorials. Take your time to learn and practice as much as you can. Learn a few basic songs to keep you interested.
Your strat copy should do you ok to learn on; maybe have it serviced, get the strings changed and string action set appropriately. Any guitar shop should offer that for maybe £50 or so.
Good luck
[nike]Just do it![/nike]
The amount of learning material available on the web these days is incredible, and is way more accessible than when I was teaching myself using guitar magazines back in the early 90's. Even after 28 years of playing, I still find tutorials on the 'tube that are useful.
The ones I regularly visit on the 'tube:-
JustinGuitar
MartySchwartz
MorrismanSmith
GuitarZoom.com (or Steve Stine)
The first is a great introduction to all things playing guitar.
Marty has some really good stuff on blues (a couple of years ago, I watched one of his vids that clearly explained how to easily combine the major and minor pentatonic scales; it was a revelation). He's now moved on to jazz stuff which, again, if you're familiar with basic theory is easy enough to follow.
MorrisMan? He's a very affable chap based in Washington D.C., and I use his tutorials for playing 1970's disco stuff.
Steve Stine, again, is very approachable and gives easy to follow stuff on guitar theory.
IMO, there's nothing to be afraid of in this day and age to picking up a guitar and learning stuff. Just be prepared for sore fingertips in the coming months!
The amount of learning material available on the web these days is incredible, and is way more accessible than when I was teaching myself using guitar magazines back in the early 90's. Even after 28 years of playing, I still find tutorials on the 'tube that are useful.
The ones I regularly visit on the 'tube:-
JustinGuitar
MartySchwartz
MorrismanSmith
GuitarZoom.com (or Steve Stine)
The first is a great introduction to all things playing guitar.
Marty has some really good stuff on blues (a couple of years ago, I watched one of his vids that clearly explained how to easily combine the major and minor pentatonic scales; it was a revelation). He's now moved on to jazz stuff which, again, if you're familiar with basic theory is easy enough to follow.
MorrisMan? He's a very affable chap based in Washington D.C., and I use his tutorials for playing 1970's disco stuff.
Steve Stine, again, is very approachable and gives easy to follow stuff on guitar theory.
IMO, there's nothing to be afraid of in this day and age to picking up a guitar and learning stuff. Just be prepared for sore fingertips in the coming months!
Thanks guys, I will check out those websites, I've decided I'm going to seek tuition to get started first of all as I find with new stuff it helps me more when I start.
I'm going to buy a new lead for the guitar to the amp as I'm getting a lot of interference at the moment, and a tuner.
If/when I manage to pick it up a bit, I will treat myself to a new instrument.
Would a Squier Stratocaster be ok for say the first year?.
I'm going to buy a new lead for the guitar to the amp as I'm getting a lot of interference at the moment, and a tuner.
If/when I manage to pick it up a bit, I will treat myself to a new instrument.
Would a Squier Stratocaster be ok for say the first year?.
Edited by Walter Sobchak on Wednesday 19th October 10:06
I started learning about 1 month or so ago when my Son begin learning at school, I picked up his guitar and followed the links to justinguitar.com.
I've now got my own (acoustic) guitar (thinking a vested interest might improve my perseverance), 3 chords, Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" and Phoebe Buffey's Smelly Cat
I think the next target is "Walk of Life" when I can perfect my chord changes and strumming.
I'm absolutely loving it so far, and I've just entered my 40's.
I've now got my own (acoustic) guitar (thinking a vested interest might improve my perseverance), 3 chords, Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds" and Phoebe Buffey's Smelly Cat
I think the next target is "Walk of Life" when I can perfect my chord changes and strumming.
I'm absolutely loving it so far, and I've just entered my 40's.
I' am 38, started about 4 yrs ago.
One thing that hampered my progress was a badly setup guitar. The action was far to high. Realised this after playing a friends guitar & at the same time found his snallwe guitar much more comfortable to play. Get yourself into a local music shop & just sit with a few guitars of different shapes & sizes.
One thing that hampered my progress was a badly setup guitar. The action was far to high. Realised this after playing a friends guitar & at the same time found his snallwe guitar much more comfortable to play. Get yourself into a local music shop & just sit with a few guitars of different shapes & sizes.
I' am 38, started about 4 yrs ago.
One thing that hampered my progress was a badly setup guitar. The action was far to high. Realised this after playing a friends guitar & at the same time found his snallwe guitar much more comfortable to play. Get yourself into a local music shop & just sit with a few guitars of different shapes & sizes.
One thing that hampered my progress was a badly setup guitar. The action was far to high. Realised this after playing a friends guitar & at the same time found his snallwe guitar much more comfortable to play. Get yourself into a local music shop & just sit with a few guitars of different shapes & sizes.
Go for it. I started in February 2015 at the age of 49.
I've been following the Beginner's Course (BC) at JustinGuitar.
I made great progress dor the first year then lost my mojo a bit but am now just about to start the last stage (9) of the BC. I could have completed the BC in 12 months but I have been taking my time as there is no hurry.
I thoroughly recommend Justin's course - follow it to the letter and keep a record of your daily practice sessions. There is great satisfaction in ticking-off each stage and seeing yourself progress in ability. Justin teaches you how to play the guitar and each lesson builds upon previous ones. He doesn't simply teach songs like a lot of other internet teachers.
Make sure you record yourself playing songs you are learning. This way you can hear your improvement.
Also, join the JustinGuitar forum for advice and encouragement.
I've been following the Beginner's Course (BC) at JustinGuitar.
I made great progress dor the first year then lost my mojo a bit but am now just about to start the last stage (9) of the BC. I could have completed the BC in 12 months but I have been taking my time as there is no hurry.
I thoroughly recommend Justin's course - follow it to the letter and keep a record of your daily practice sessions. There is great satisfaction in ticking-off each stage and seeing yourself progress in ability. Justin teaches you how to play the guitar and each lesson builds upon previous ones. He doesn't simply teach songs like a lot of other internet teachers.
Make sure you record yourself playing songs you are learning. This way you can hear your improvement.
Also, join the JustinGuitar forum for advice and encouragement.
Thirties are still early, I'm in my forties and started 7 months ago. Just one piece of advice I found really useful, the Internet is great, but you get no feedback on how your doing. If you can invest in lessons, you won't regret it, otherwise you may just be learning to play lots of songs off the internet badly.
Anoetic said:
Thirties are still early, I'm in my forties and started 7 months ago. Just one piece of advice I found really useful, the Internet is great, but you get no feedback on how your doing. If you can invest in lessons, you won't regret it, otherwise you may just be learning to play lots of songs off the internet badly.
Plenty of feedback on the JustinGuitar forum - there are many people at all stages of learning. Members post sound/video recordings of their efforts and get constructive comments. It's really helpful to see how others are progressing.Anoetic said:
Thirties are still early, I'm in my forties and started 7 months ago. Just one piece of advice I found really useful, the Internet is great, but you get no feedback on how your doing. If you can invest in lessons, you won't regret it, otherwise you may just be learning to play lots of songs off the internet badly.
My bold, above, is the caveat I would give to internet guitar stuff; specifically with guitar tabs. There are a lot of duff tabs listed on the likes of 911tabs.com and Ultimateguitar, and the best way around it (sometimes) I find is to have a look at sheetdownload.com which is sheet music, but with the overlying chords noted above each bar of music.lunarscope said:
Plenty of feedback on the JustinGuitar forum - there are many people at all stages of learning. Members post sound/video recordings of their efforts and get constructive comments. It's really helpful to see how others are progressing.
Absolutely agree and I use Justin, but when you are learning there is nothing better than an experienced teacher giving you immediate feedback and helping you to correct errors. As stated some of the people on forums giving comments are also the ones producing some awful tabs.I've also found that the lessons are an added incentive to also practice that bit more.
Edited by Anoetic on Wednesday 19th October 23:02
I started playing at 13 but then from about 17 to 33 I didn't do much except play acoustic chords and I wasnt learning anything. I picked it up again, went straight through Justin's beginner course and found my way into the intermediate. I find Marty music excellent too.
Surprisingly I've identified that I held the pick wrong for the last 20 years, and a couple of other things which has hampered progress. I've sorted these now and it's really pushed my learning on. I've got a terrible memory for remembering songs but im picking stuff up. My improvisations have also improved.
I find that watching videos from Andertons and The Pedal Show inspire me to practice over a set of chords too.
Surprisingly I've identified that I held the pick wrong for the last 20 years, and a couple of other things which has hampered progress. I've sorted these now and it's really pushed my learning on. I've got a terrible memory for remembering songs but im picking stuff up. My improvisations have also improved.
I find that watching videos from Andertons and The Pedal Show inspire me to practice over a set of chords too.
I started two years ago - I've just turned 64.
It's hard to take in all the information and even harder to make my fingers do stuff they would have struggled with even 50 years ago.
Justin thing is your man for a lot of good stuff but you can't beat taking lessons as, only then, will your mistakes be pointed out and tips be given.
And it's true, practice is the thing and lots of it. Only in the last couple of months have I been able to change C-G-C quickly and easily although it's been part of my routine since this time last year.
Experiment with guitars too. I've tried 24", 24.75" and 25" and 25.5" scales. Wide fat necks, 2015 LP necks, 7.25" and 9.5" Strat necks and they are all easier for different things. My main guitar is a Strat with a nicely curved fretboard so easy for chords but a longer scale so not so easy for stretches. I also have a Mustang with a short neck so easier for stretches but not so good for chords for some reason.
Time is on your side..............
It's hard to take in all the information and even harder to make my fingers do stuff they would have struggled with even 50 years ago.
Justin thing is your man for a lot of good stuff but you can't beat taking lessons as, only then, will your mistakes be pointed out and tips be given.
And it's true, practice is the thing and lots of it. Only in the last couple of months have I been able to change C-G-C quickly and easily although it's been part of my routine since this time last year.
Experiment with guitars too. I've tried 24", 24.75" and 25" and 25.5" scales. Wide fat necks, 2015 LP necks, 7.25" and 9.5" Strat necks and they are all easier for different things. My main guitar is a Strat with a nicely curved fretboard so easy for chords but a longer scale so not so easy for stretches. I also have a Mustang with a short neck so easier for stretches but not so good for chords for some reason.
Time is on your side..............
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