Learning guitar at an older age question

fjeanmur
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Sun May 04, 2014 12:37 pm

Hi folks!

I'm interested in hearing opinions, stories, anecdotes, etc. of members on this site who began to learn guitar at a later age. As for me, I did play some as a kid, so getting back into things many years later I imagine is not as difficult as picking up a guitar as an older adult for the first time.

The reason I ask is my husband recently mentioned that he would like to learn how to play. (Do you think that might have something to do with meeting The Man Himself a couple of weeks ago? :side: Just a thought.). But I imagine that like with anything that is so unfamiliar, we don't want to admit how much we would really like to try because the thought can be intimidating. Of course, I told him, "Go for it." We have the guitar, we have the site, now all he needs is a little encouragement.

So anyone who would like to share a little wisdom on the topic, I think it could do some good. Thanks guys!

Jean


willem
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Sun May 04, 2014 1:24 pm

Aha what is old? Just became 61, I think I started 9 years ago most on my self and had a nice playing on the house of the rising sun but the most after that was very frustrating, till I met someone in the choir i am in and ask him if he played an instrument, yes I play guitar he said and a few weeks later he showed me "blackbrd" and I was sold and thought "I must take some lesson" which I told him also, than he said "lets take some together" and there it was and it was fun fun fun.
He was a very good player and did'nt need the lesson but it helped me to get on the sadle :laugh:
Well private lessons are very expensive so I had to stop after sometime................then I discovered Neil just at the moment they started this site.

still hooked!!! :laugh: :cheer:

I also discovered having some friends with the nose in the same direction that will help you to keep at the yourney 'cos thats how i see it now, its a yourney.
Most important thing is you must find it fun,I can spend hours practising on my own and find it fun but sharing it on a certain moment with friends is fruite on the pie.. :laugh: B)

Keeping at it but also give it some rest is very important and start learning everything in a slow tempo..

Willem

edit: hope you understand my writings..


thereshopeyet
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Sun May 04, 2014 1:36 pm

Jean

I'm not much of a a guitarist, but I have fun with the little I do.
What's he got to lose, give it a go, why not, he'll probably outshine most !

Jean, the downside is you'll have a competitor, the guitar !!
Unless, of course, your trying to get rid of him by fobbing him off on a guitar !!

He's probably got a sexy guitar on the side he hasn't mentioned to you already ! :ohmy:

And he's not short a lesson or two on TG !

The Risk is all yours Jean not his !


fjeanmur
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Joined: Fri Oct 05, 2012 11:19 am
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Sun May 04, 2014 2:35 pm

willem wrote:
Aha what is old? Just became 61, I think I started 9 years ago most on my self and had a nice playing on the house of the rising sun but the most after that was very frustrating, till I met someone in the choir i am in and ask him if he played an instrument, yes I play guitar he said and a few weeks later he showed me "blackbrd" and I was sold and thought "I must take some lesson" which I told him also, than he said "lets take some together" and there it was and it was fun fun fun.
He was a very good player and did'nt need the lesson but it helped me to get on the sadle :laugh:
Well private lessons are very expensive so I had to stop after sometime................then I discovered Neil just at the moment they started this site.

still hooked!!! :laugh: :cheer:

I also discovered having some friends with the nose in the same direction that will help you to keep at the yourney 'cos thats how i see it now, its a yourney.
Most important thing is you must find it fun,I can spend hours practising on my own and find it fun but sharing it on a certain moment with friends is fruite on the pie.. :laugh: B)

Keeping at it but also give it some rest is very important and start learning everything in a slow tempo..

Willem

edit: hope you understand my writings..
Hi Willem!

Your kind of story is exactly what I want to read and yes, I understand what you wrote perfectly. :) And after nine years you're still with it. Having private lessons are nice, but you have to keep up with the schedule. Kids don't do this because they're kids. Adults find it hard, well, because we have other things going on. I think internet lessons are the perfect solution if you stick with it--and you have!

So thanks for the input. Let's see what my husband says when he sees the replies. ;)


fjeanmur
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Sun May 04, 2014 2:43 pm

thereshopeyet wrote:
Jean

I'm not much of a a guitarist, but I have fun with the little I do.
What's he got to lose, give it a go, why not, he'll probably outshine most !

Jean, the downside is you'll have a competitor, the guitar !!
Unless, of course, your trying to get rid of him by fobbing him off on a guitar !!

He's probably got a sexy guitar on the side he hasn't mentioned to you already ! :ohmy:

And he's not short a lesson or two on TG !

The Risk is all yours Jean not his !

The subscription the soul ! :dry:

Image
Yes, there is that danger. I rarely play when he's home; my schedule allows for that. As far as a sexy guitar on the side, I don't think so, although he does talk about that flutophone in the 4th grade being his only musical endeavor. Maybe that's just to throw me off the track! :angry:

Thanks for the input. Let's see what happens.

Jean


tombo1230
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Sun May 04, 2014 3:00 pm

Hi Jean,
after messing with the guitar for a couple of years I went for lessons when I was 39. The guitar teacher said at my age it was probably a waste of time as it's harder to learn as you get older. Unpreturbed I learned a lot from him, especially about teaching yourself to learn guitar.
The guy moved away (nothing to do with my guitar playing skills :unsure: I think :laugh: ) anyway, I played for a few months, then other things got in the way. I probably had a five year lay off at least. Before joining TG I had tried a few online teachers and learned a bit, including some theory and note reading etc.

My greatest gains in learning have come from my time at TG, so I would encourage anyone who has access to the learning material here to go for it! I am pretty sure I have proven that teacher guy wrong at this stage as I can see huge improvement from year to year. It doesn't matter what age you are, if you want it badly enough you can play guitar. You get out of guitar playing what you put into it in practice effort and time. Today I have probably practiced for at least two hours and I'm not finished yet! Oh yeh, and I'm 55. :)


Tom N.


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Music Junkie
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Sun May 04, 2014 3:16 pm

Jean:

I started when I was 37 (7 yrs ago). I had never so much as held a guitar before that (other than an air guitar.. :silly: ). We can all see the obvious advantages to starting when you are young, but I certainly am glad I did not shy away from it. It has been such a great thing in my life and has introduced me to some wonderful people. As we grow older, we should not worry about things being a bit harder. We have also learned a bit about determination as we have aged.... As long as it gives you some enjoyment, I say go for it! B)

Jason


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neverfoundthetime
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Sun May 04, 2014 4:06 pm

Hi Jean (sounds very clean:-) ), I watched my mother learn to play Spanish Classical guitar from scratch when she was 45. That's probably why I later took up playing too. I watched her do the same thing with flying gliders a few years before! If you WANT to do something, nothing is going to stop you but yourself. With guitar playing, you continually improve and never regress unless you stop playing completely and even then you can pick it up and soon be ahead of where you were. We tend not to loose the know-how or motors skills but just go rusty if we don't do anything.

Tom, your teacher was either a Dick or an intellectual snob to tell you it was probably pointless!


jayswett
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Sun May 04, 2014 5:03 pm

I resumed 5 years ago after having learned three chords in graduate school in my 20's. I am now 47. Learning guitar as an adult is absolutely a goal that can be accomplished, even for those of us with little or no natural talent. A strategy that I used 5 years ago was to play 15 minutes a day for a year, using TG as my guide, and with that, I found that I had made enough improvement that it simplly made no sense to give it up. Good luck.


fjeanmur
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Sun May 04, 2014 5:49 pm

Hi Jason, Tom, "Never" and "Jayswett,"

Thanks for the encouragement. I think it might be because of people like Tom's teacher that many people believe that guitar can't be learned at an older age. But I think what helps us is having our lessons there 24/7 to go over as many times as necessary. This is certainly a much better arrangement than having a lesson once a week and then being left on your own till the next one. Even when I was a kid taking piano lessons, I remember so many times thinking, "How did she say to do that?" and then not being able to correct the problem until the next lesson.

Thanks for sharing. I'm enjoying reading the stories as well.

Jean


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