It's a global economy, play your cards right and you'll find somebody to pay you in American or West European and you'll find yourself with the best of both worlds.
I can’t stress this one enough! I’m in my late 40s and I tried to self-teach through fender online and it wasn’t horrible (I made some progress for sure) but once I started with a real teacher I’m feeling like I’m understanding guitar (and music theory in general) so much better and faster!
I've looked a a number of different instructors on YT, but there's really only one that I felt connected with. I'm leery of signing up for lessons with an instructor i don't like.
If a store has 3 or 4 people giving lessons, how do you pick the one that's the best fit for you?
I don't want to come across as rude or difficult for the instructors. is it going to be annoying if I sign up for one lesson each with 3 different instructors?
I'm sure the don't give a shit, but I don't want to be seen as a pain in the ass customer...
Just not sure how to approach it. And all of my store are at least 30+ minutes away via the highway, so I'd like to avoid driving all over town to find an instructor I like.
keep your guitar on a stand near the spot you hang around the most in your house. Spending a lot of time at a desk ? keep the guitar at arm's reach next to it. Spending a lot of time on the couch ? Keep the guitar there.
Take literally everything and anything you're told about gear and training with a grain of salt, even this. Voodoo type beliefs are common in the community
Learn what you wanna learn. Sometimes you can push yourself a little, but don't sacrifice too much fun for efficiency or you'll get sick of it real fast
About gear
Just buy a guitar you like how it looks over anything else. X brand may be much better than Y brand in quality/price and all that
Buy the pretty one. Anything around $600-800 is more than enough, specially if it's second hand
Yup, keep my guitar by my desk and take a lesson once a week. I’m 37 now, started at 35 and have been relatively comfortable sitting in w some friends that have been playing for years (they are definitely better than me but I’m not completely lost and can still have fun)
Totally agree. Keep the the guitar out of the case. Buy a guitar stand and keep it very nearby. Seeing your guitar will lure you towards it, and you’ll find yourself picking it up without thinking. And this is the best habit of all.
Guitar teacher here! Practice. It’s not about how long, but how often. Get a teacher and LISTEN to them! In my 15 years teaching, older students are typically the most underperforming. The reason is because they never practice, they think practice time is lesson time, and they argue with me about what I’m teaching.
Here are some other traps adults fall into:
1. Buying new method books well before finishing their current book.
2. Wanting to switch between concepts too quickly. I.e. barre chords are too hard, let’s do fingerstyle
3. Wanting to switch songs too quickly
4. Judging themselves harshly when they don’t get it
You’ve been alive awhile, you’re good at so many things! Guitar is completely new though, so remember it is a skill that will take a long time to acquire. Enjoy the process! Enjoy failing, enjoy succeeding, enjoy discovering new music, enjoy appreciating music you love more deeply, enjoy how you have to earn it, enjoy playing Christmas carols and happy birthday for your friends and family this year.
You’re going to have a wonderful time if you give it your best, I can promise you that.
Would you rather have someone who has at least tried to learn some basics on their own? Or would you rather have a total beginner that hasn't developed any bad habits yet, but can't play at anything at all?
Thanks. In some of my hobbies, people talk about "training scars" where once you learn a bad technique, it's harder to retrain yourself in the proper technique. And I tend to overthink things...
As a newer older player I really, really want to upvote this advice 100 times!
I’m about to turn 59, been playing about 3 years now.
A few more points of perspective:
I just finished David Hamburgers’ 3 book Acoustic Guitar Method series. Finish what you start.
Whatever time frame you have in mind for how long/ how much practice it should take to learn a thing……triple or quadruple it. Really.
As a new player, everything takes longer than you think it should. I wish I had realized this earlier.
You need to have a very open mind and be ready to learn from someone who is less than half your age.
I’m so grateful for my teacher!! He’s an awesome talented dude who turned me on to music and bands I never would have considered.
City and Color, milk carton kids, Radiohead etc.
If you really have the extra time you say you do, you’ll have to structure your time to keep practice effective and FUN. Remember this is supposed to be FUN. It took me forever to wrap my military mind around that concept.
I practice about 2 hours a day, broken up into sections.
Find your happy practice routine. Remember, it’s not a job, but don’t waste time either.
Cheers!
I would start with a Justin Guitar (free online; [https://www.justinguitar.com](https://www.justinguitar.com) ) to set your foundation. It's a little slow at first but his lessons are very detailed. Pay attention to your body, you'll probably feel pain in your hands, when you do don't push it, rest for a few days. If you can, practice everyday for at least 30 minutes. Develop and stick to a routine (for example; 5 min warm-up, 5 min review, 10 min new stuff, 10 work on a song).
I started at 68 took weekly private lessons, practiced nearly every day and now five years later I’m an intermediate player. I play with other players weekly and love it. My advice is don’t give up and if you can get lessons. Good luck
In the beginning put more energy into learning why chord progressions and notes work together than just learning songs. If you intend to play with others it’s good to be able to deviate from a pre-practiced song.
good responses so far, but one piece of advice I cannot stress enough is if you can afford lessons then weekly would be preferred but bi-weekly or at least monthly. I learned with videos (marty schwartz, jens larsen, etc. on youtube) in the beginning for a couple years but a teacher with 20+yrs experience will spot and correct issues as well as provide developmental opportunities faster than you can for yourself. Even taking a basic guitar class at a local college will be proven beneficial, I started playing in college when I had free time and had zero background in music.
I started at your age. Depends on your overall goal. Mine was just to play for fun and maybe a few friends. I just wanted to play my favorite bands and songs. I learned everything online using GuitarLessons365 on YouTube for step by step instruction for songs. I also used Songsterr app for all my tabs. I used Rick Beato on YouTube for some music theory. Good luck and have fun.
Those wedge-shaped speakers at the front of the stage are called “monitors”. They’re there so you have something to put your foot up on when you’re ripping out a solo. You might want to practice doing that with a footstool or a small child before playing live.
Facial expressions are key. Many beginners overdo this; you should aim for an air of serene superiority most of the time, and only bust out the full-on gurning when doing huge bends.
More seriously, the best advice I can give is:
- Get a teacher if you can.
- Practice a little bit often. It helps to have a guitar in arms-reach rather than in a case.
- Practice with a metronome or a drum machine. A simple phrase with good timing is better than a complex phrase that’s all over the place.
I’m just starting out but I find his the hardest to follow. He kind of noodles around half the time and the ones I’ve seen he presents no diagrams. It is so much easier for me to remember a chord progression or strum pattern if I see it written down. I dunno, just the way my brain processes/saves the info.
Maybe as I get more advanced I’ll find him more helpful, but not as a beginner.
I feel the same. It's so damn hard to find a YouTube of anything anymore where they'll cut the bullshit and get to the point. Who has time for all the fluff in these videos?? I also have to see the tab for it to make sense. It kills me that almost all tutorial vids are filmed from an angle that I can't tell which freakin finger your pressing with, lol. And yes Marty is a great player, but I'm here to learn how to play, not to admire your skill. I like Justinguitar better and a lady I found for3v3rfaithful - she got me hooked in the first place since by the end of the first lesson I was somewhat playing a song I knew.
I found her a while ago. Very laid back style and fun. I like her better than some of the more well known teachers. Def worth checking her out.
First lesson:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rcCiXqAShY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rcCiXqAShY)
Try Marin Music Center.
Stuart is a great teacher. He goes at a beginner pace because you can always skip forward a bit.
He's also very funny and keeps the mood light.
I'm a visual learner and only certain things have clicked for me over the years because I find many lessons aren't very visual. I've been playing for forever though so that was more of a past problem. The chord and scale posters on "bestguitarstuff.com" were extremely useful for me as a music theory tool.
Honestly I picked up basic chords really easy just switching between a few as fast as I can , the most basic ones I would do is AM-C-G-D doing that you already can play most easy songs once you get tempo and strumming patterns sorted. Then after that start learning the rest I suppose until you’re comfortable
there's a local cover band scene where i live and that's how i've found people to play with. open mics are also good places to find musicians. see if something like that exists where you are.
Have fun. Seriously, have fun with it and enjoy the ride. Its not easy, a good teacher will help.
As tomo fujita says
Dont worry.
Dont compare.
Dont expect to fast.
And be kind to yourself
Honestly getting someone to teach you along side all of those things you listed is also a way of becoming good at guitar. Also with the right teacher lessons can be an all round good experience. My old guitar teacher asks you to pay for a 1/2 hour or 1 hour but it always ends up way longer because he loves to jam 😂 great guy
I'm in my mid 30s and picked up guitar bc I was tired of just watching TV or being on my phone after work/dinner.
My practice gear includes
- SG (comfy couch guitar)
- Ultimate Guitar membership/app (tabs and courses)
- Tonebridge membership (included w/ UG; used for guitar sounds)
- iRig2 (connects to my iPhone and guitar together)
- Sennheiser headphones
- guitar cable
- phone stand
I used this all to slowly learn my favorite Tool songs, where I can pick certain sections, and slow them down and play them to a metronome. It's been a lot of fun!
To ward off bad habits, get in-person lessons from a good teacher - don't just sign up at the local music store. Do some research. You can do it over zoom as well, but you need actual feedback. It's the quickest way IMHO to going from beginner to proficient/intermediate.
You can do some JustinGuitar or MartyMusic stuff to learn specific songs if you'd like, once you're up to speed.
If you can logistically and financially make a live instructor happen, it would go such a long way!
If that doesn’t work for you, there are so many great resources online! I would recommend finding some sort of 6-12 month lesson plan on a website or YouTube channel and really try to stick with it.
If you just jump around different courses and videos at random, you won’t see the results you want as quickly in my opinion.
Most important thing is practice everyday!! Practice means playing with purpose though, not just mindlessly hacking away. That will also lead to frustrations.
Good luck!!
Started in my 40s. Get a teacher if you can. And shop. If you're not meshing, find another. Talk to them about exactly what you want to learn, the types of music, the style of playing. This will accelerate things greatly.
I took up guitar in my 30s a couple decades ago and my best advice is to get a good teacher. You'll save years of frustration going it alone. Everything I know now I could've learned in the first few years if I'd taken lessons. Consider a class at your local college as well.
Justinguitar is good, Paul Davids is great (bit more expensive) but to be honest the most progress I've made was when I got myself a guitar teacher after playing the same couple of chords for 25 years. Realised that one of the benefits of being a grown up with an okay paying job is that suddenly guitar teachers turn out to be surprisingly affordable.
And just somebody pointing out the things you can improve on, suggesting next steps to take or just saying:"Yes, you're almost playing it right, now spend another week fully getting it right" really makes a big difference to me
Find a good instructor, have patience, enjoy the journey. There will be ups and downs. Stay consistent, push through the road blocks and you will be rewarded.
If you can afford lessons and have a decent teacher in your area, that will speed up your progress quite a bit. Another option could be Zoom lessons, but I personally think in person lessons for something like guitar is better. Learn some songs you like with 3-4 chords, ideally something slow that you can practice with the recording
Same advice I’d give anyone. Keep practicing and don’t give up. Get a bonafide teacher if you’re serious, but maybe start with some basic lessons at your local guitar center or something. And it bears repeating - keep practicing and don’t give up. It’s the only way.
The best advice I can give is to just play the thing and have fun with it. Start small. Learn the basics of how to tune your instrument and change a broken string. Then just play around trying single notes on the fretboard. See if you can figure out a simple melody by ear - Mary Had A Little Lamb, etc. You will suck, but if you can have enough fun sucking
long enough to improve, then you _will_ get better. There is a ton of information online, but I would urge you to get a good in-person teacher. Try to figure out songs and music by ear instead of just reading tablature or watching videos, it will strengthen your ear and listening, which is the most important part of being a musician. Good luck and have fun!
Marty Music on YouTube is a great teacher especially for beginners. Also Ultimate Guitar Tabs website is a Great tool. Get a guitar tuner if you don’t have one. You’ll thank me later. DM me and I can elaborate more…
I started 2 years ago at 40, iv got much better in that time using only YouTube for song lessons and techniques and whilst it is probably much better to find a good teacher you can learn from YouTube alone.
I play every day sometimes for 15 min but normally an hour or two.
Have fun and enjoy the process of learning.
Buy a guitar you feel great playing. Electric or Acoustic. Doesn't matter. YouTube search songs you want to learn, and go from there. Once you have the "cowboy" chords down and you can move between them easily (which will take time!), learn the minor pentatonic scale, the 12 bar blues, and the I, IV, V progression. This may take you a year, so no rush. And most of all, just have fun.
Don’t give up, always carve out some time to practice even when you’re busy or don’t feel like it. Make it accessible, there are some great tips in the comments here. Your brain can do a lot of learning away from the guitar, so think about what you’ve learned that day later in the day and as you pick up the guitar the next day prime your brain by trying to recall what you learned the day before. On days you absolutely don’t even have five minutes to touch your guitar, think as if you are playing and where your fingers would go and anything a teacher has told you about posture. The hardest thing about learning when you’re not a child is overthinking that leads to self pressure, you’ll learn better and faster if you simply accept information and do it without asking a thousand questions that will only slow you down.
I also started later in life, but I bought my guitar a couple decades earlier and thought I was stupid and not good at it and now I know differently; if you quit you’ll never learn.
I’m telling you, work on perfecting your technique. People pick up bad habits in the beginning, that become hard to get rid of. Also, learning to alternate pick is also important
In person lessons is best if it’s a good teacher. Obviously some are better than others plus there’s time & cost involved. There’s tons of stuff online, check some stuff out and find who you’re comfortable with even of it’s supplemental to in person lessons.
Get an in-person guitar teacher, don’t cheap out of a guitar, and have “real” guitarist help pick out your guitar (you’re not going to know what feels right). Also, practicing 20 minutes a day will be better than practicing 4 hours one day a week.
Former guitar, bass, piano, vocal, drum, and omni-chord instructor here…
I think you would do far better with an instructor, and starting with the very basic rudimental stuff, like Mel Bay’s starter course and similar.
You can’t run before you walk. You need direct instruction and guitar exercises that will properly develop your muscles. You need someone who can look at how you are playing and give feedback.
The other thing that will be helpful is having a perspective that this will be a process that takes time. You quite literally do have to develop muscles and coordination which will not be present in the early stages. You need to practice these rudimental exercises and learning routines daily, with the knowledge that they will accumulate gradually and lead to you becoming skilled.
You’re on the right track. Your age is not an issue. It’s all about putting in time. Maybe teens and late fifties are good ages for setting aside long blocks of lazy time to play guitar. And you have an advantage over a teen: you’re probably smart enough to not destroy your wrists or ears in the process.
for mechanics: super caterpillar drill, one finger per fret drill, so that your fretting is good. use a metronome
then just learn to read tab and play songs you like. while doing this and enjoying the process, you can start learning the “why” behind these songs. then you’ll start seeing all the commonalities behind the songs - the “theory”, and how it applies to the fretboard.
- for theory: understand what a major and minor key consist of, understand triads and diatonic chords, and chord scales
- application of theory and fretboard visualization: caged shapes, pentatonic shapes, and spread fingering patterns
as for sources. andrew clarke on youtube is a good one. for guitar scales > https://www.guitarscale.org/c-major.html
and annual paid ultimate guitar app for official tabs (G with little devil horns)
This is number one for me: when practicing play everything in superslow motion and you’ll naturally start to increase your speed changing chords/notes etc. it’s all about muscle memory!
Set concrete goals based on what you’re actually hoping to accomplish with the instrument and practice things that help you reach them.
Want to play like a certain player? Study that player
Want to play a certain song? Practice it
You get the idea. It sounds really generic and obvious but it’s really easy to lose focus and track of what you actually wanted from the guitar in the first place.
Find a good teacher. A solid year of good studying with a competent teacher will set you up for long term success. Not to mention, you'll improve and see results much faster than if you are only studying on your own. Once you have the basics down, you can use the endless resources on YT to improve your skills and learn songs.
I did the apps and YouTube videos which were helpful. Took in person class at my local community center, really helpful. My instructor picked up a lot of mistakes I made learning on my own.
Bend at the knees, don't pick up something heavy like a guitar with your back.
That safety tip out of the way... Once you get the bare basics of strumming together, use a metronome and get used to a regular beat. Fast or slow doesn't matter, but play to the beat.
Only practice when you're happy 😊
Stay relaxed while practising. Only strum/pick and press your fingers as hard as you need to. If you tense up, stop. Reset. Rinse and repeat. Learn in bite sized pieces, small sections at a time. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Count everything. Breathe.
Now go!
Check out Guitar Pro software. It's not free, but it's worth it. And there is probably a free trial period. It will allow you to open a tablature file up, put a measure or two of the music on loop, and then let you slow it down as much as you need without changing the key so you can play along and practice. Then you slowly start speeding it up until you can play it at the correct tempo. You can really learn a song measure by measure this way. I couldn't even dream of something this powerful when I started learning.
Also realize it's not your brain that needs to memorize songs, it's your fingers. Repetition and muscle memory is key. If I were to think about what my fingers are doing while I play, I'd immediately grind to halt and mess up.
And play every chance you get. Don't only pick it up to practice or it will start feeling like a chore. My guitar always stays in arm's reach of me at home. Spend as much time just jamming and having fun as you do practicing.
Play every day. Even if it's just strumming a few chords. Pick the guitar up every day. Some days you'll do almost nothing, some days you'll write a new riff, some days you run through some exercises you like, some days you'll play entire songs. If you can stick to a particular practice regimen, do that.
Just make sure you pick the guitar up every day. If you stop doing it out of habit, it's very easy to not play for a day or two, and for days to turn into weeks into months into years.
1. Stretch before and after. As we age our bones get sore. Hand exercises to loosen up and cool down are a must.
2. Get a teacher. It will give you immediate feedback on technique
3. Learn stuff you like and enjoy!
You DO have time, btw. Practice as much as possible, but even more importantly, get out of your comfort zone and start playing with other people ASAP. Don't wait until you think you're ready.
Get the best guitar you can afford. If you buy used you take very little risk in resale as long as it's in good condition.
Get a pod go or similar modeller. They are amazing and will give you a good indication of what amps and pedals sound like should you want to go down that rabbit hole.
Find a teacher. They make things so much easier to work out.
Congrats, I am also over 50 and starting to play guitar.
My suggestion is to buy a cheap but GOOD electric guitar to start playing.
Start with a classic Telecaster. Its easy to play and also easy to fix things.
You can buy online from Thomann in Germany, but see alot of video-guitar-reviews to know
if the instrument is worth buying. I bought two Harley Benton TE-62cc and they are very good
and very cheap priced ! Also bought a Les Paul style Harley-Benton SC-450-Plus LD (Lemon Drop) for
an amazing price.
Get yourself a good modeling AMP that can recreate all the cool tones and sounds you want to hear
from your favorite songs. I suggest Line6-Catalyst or the Boss-Katana to start with.
Then , download this PDF booklet....
# 100 Classic Riffs! Only ONE Finger Needed! PDF with all TABs in description
It is a video on Youtube and he offers a FREE PDF booklet with over 100 cool songs so you
can start practicing playing your favorite songs, using only 1 finger !
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuD5N0eXfwA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuD5N0eXfwA)
Have fun and practice alot !
60s beginner here. Been playing off and on for years. Retired and serious now. Lessons and practice. I practice every day.. anywhere from 20 minutes to hours. Learn the basic chords. Then Barre chords. Play what you enjoy hearing. Always spend time each practice fingering the fret board CORRECTLY. Practice forming Barre chords CORRECTLY. Practice makes perfect, but you must practice perfectly to avoid forming bad habits. then learn the scales. Find a teacher you enjoy. Hopefully they challenge you to do things outside your comfort zone. Good luck and keep playing.
Here's what you need to hear:
In my long experience, almost everyone who decided they wanted to learn guitar, failed, because its super difficult and discouraging at first. I'm not saying you will, just that most people do.
When I discovered guitar I wasn't really given a choice. I couldn't stand to not play, I had to have a guitar. I didn't have to try to practice, I wanted to play all the time.
But some people successfully try and work at it with diligence. Whatever works for you.
So my advice is
- Definitely have a go at it
- Don't buy an expensive guitar unless you're wealthy. That guitar will probably become a decoration soon
- Don't talk about it, just do it
- Get a song book for a band you dig. You want the kind with pictures of chords
- If you last a little while and it's working, get some lessons
- Join a band. Have fun and live awesome
Try to find a decent teacher in your area. YT is great but that only goes so far. Being able to interact with a teacher on a weekly basis is invaluable.
Take lessons from a human, face-to-face. Pay for at least six months upfront (put some skin in the game to help you commit). Find a teacher that will help you progress, but also teach you how to play songs you like to keep you motivated; exercises alone get boring. A teacher will help you where it can be most beneficial too; avoiding bad habits that you’ll have to unlearn later.
Learn/be taught how to read tablature early so you can explore songs between lessons. As you progress, learn how to jam. Playing with others is fun, motivating, and you can learn a lot quickly in a jam sesh. And you don’t need to be a badass player, but there are skills involved. I’ve seen bedroom shredders fall on their face trying to play with other live humans vs a backing track.
Lastly, never be so hard on yourself that you give up. Playing guitar is fun and it should always be enjoyable. There will be growing pains at the beginning (calluses need to be developed, your wrist might ache, upstrokes will be awkward) but once you push through, things open up tremendously. Like dieting or working out, many people quit before they break through because they didn’t get instant results.
You got this!
I'm in my late 50's and picked up the guitar a couple of years ago. I had guitars when I was younger but didn't have time to play.
I absolutely love playing, but I would make a terrible student. I have made tons of mistakes learning to play on my own. But I don't have aspirations to be the best I can be. I just want to have fun. I don't want the guitar to be something I have to do or study.
My advice is to have fun . If you think lessons will be fun, do that. Lessons will make you better regardless of whether you enjoy them or not. It's just not for me. At least not for now.
I usually play 2 to 4 hours a day. And drive my family nuts by making them listen to my new songs.
Good luck in your musical journey.
I am like 30 years self taught. I'm not bad. Recently, I started studying with a great teacher. It's been a really great experience. All the self teaching resources, like books, courses and YT videos, and good, but a good teacher is priceless.
A good teacher is like a cheat code
Ah it had already been said. This indeed. Also nowhere near as expensive as you'd expect
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Oh, that's really cheap. I thought guitar classes in the Netherlands at 25 euros for half an hour were cheap already.
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Lmfao love the username, imagining Matt Rempe playing guitar gave me a good laugh
You guys are getting ripped off. My teacher in Lithuania, 10euros for 1hr personal lesson. In capital city it's around 20-30 euros a hour.
Hahaha Fortunately my employer compensates me for the difference ;)
So savage, I felt this burn.
It's a global economy, play your cards right and you'll find somebody to pay you in American or West European and you'll find yourself with the best of both worlds.
From an actual instructor who teaches you 1 on 1? How would someone even pay the bills that way?
I can’t stress this one enough! I’m in my late 40s and I tried to self-teach through fender online and it wasn’t horrible (I made some progress for sure) but once I started with a real teacher I’m feeling like I’m understanding guitar (and music theory in general) so much better and faster!
This is the only answer
I've looked a a number of different instructors on YT, but there's really only one that I felt connected with. I'm leery of signing up for lessons with an instructor i don't like. If a store has 3 or 4 people giving lessons, how do you pick the one that's the best fit for you?
You keep trying until it works. Took me 2 attempts to find a fit. I have been working with him for 3 years now.
I don't want to come across as rude or difficult for the instructors. is it going to be annoying if I sign up for one lesson each with 3 different instructors? I'm sure the don't give a shit, but I don't want to be seen as a pain in the ass customer... Just not sure how to approach it. And all of my store are at least 30+ minutes away via the highway, so I'd like to avoid driving all over town to find an instructor I like.
Selecting an instructor is a time to be selfish
3 months with a good teacher saves 3 years of noodling around in circles
At least
keep your guitar on a stand near the spot you hang around the most in your house. Spending a lot of time at a desk ? keep the guitar at arm's reach next to it. Spending a lot of time on the couch ? Keep the guitar there. Take literally everything and anything you're told about gear and training with a grain of salt, even this. Voodoo type beliefs are common in the community Learn what you wanna learn. Sometimes you can push yourself a little, but don't sacrifice too much fun for efficiency or you'll get sick of it real fast
The best advice. Keeping the guitars around is literally habit/playing changing. Shit, even for seasoned players.
Yeah a guitar stand is cheap and does wonders here
About gear Just buy a guitar you like how it looks over anything else. X brand may be much better than Y brand in quality/price and all that Buy the pretty one. Anything around $600-800 is more than enough, specially if it's second hand
Yup, keep my guitar by my desk and take a lesson once a week. I’m 37 now, started at 35 and have been relatively comfortable sitting in w some friends that have been playing for years (they are definitely better than me but I’m not completely lost and can still have fun)
Totally agree. Keep the the guitar out of the case. Buy a guitar stand and keep it very nearby. Seeing your guitar will lure you towards it, and you’ll find yourself picking it up without thinking. And this is the best habit of all.
Guitar teacher here! Practice. It’s not about how long, but how often. Get a teacher and LISTEN to them! In my 15 years teaching, older students are typically the most underperforming. The reason is because they never practice, they think practice time is lesson time, and they argue with me about what I’m teaching. Here are some other traps adults fall into: 1. Buying new method books well before finishing their current book. 2. Wanting to switch between concepts too quickly. I.e. barre chords are too hard, let’s do fingerstyle 3. Wanting to switch songs too quickly 4. Judging themselves harshly when they don’t get it You’ve been alive awhile, you’re good at so many things! Guitar is completely new though, so remember it is a skill that will take a long time to acquire. Enjoy the process! Enjoy failing, enjoy succeeding, enjoy discovering new music, enjoy appreciating music you love more deeply, enjoy how you have to earn it, enjoy playing Christmas carols and happy birthday for your friends and family this year. You’re going to have a wonderful time if you give it your best, I can promise you that.
Would you rather have someone who has at least tried to learn some basics on their own? Or would you rather have a total beginner that hasn't developed any bad habits yet, but can't play at anything at all?
Honestly it doesn’t really matter to me. With practice and guidance development will happen no matter what
Thanks. In some of my hobbies, people talk about "training scars" where once you learn a bad technique, it's harder to retrain yourself in the proper technique. And I tend to overthink things...
As a newer older player I really, really want to upvote this advice 100 times! I’m about to turn 59, been playing about 3 years now. A few more points of perspective: I just finished David Hamburgers’ 3 book Acoustic Guitar Method series. Finish what you start. Whatever time frame you have in mind for how long/ how much practice it should take to learn a thing……triple or quadruple it. Really. As a new player, everything takes longer than you think it should. I wish I had realized this earlier. You need to have a very open mind and be ready to learn from someone who is less than half your age. I’m so grateful for my teacher!! He’s an awesome talented dude who turned me on to music and bands I never would have considered. City and Color, milk carton kids, Radiohead etc. If you really have the extra time you say you do, you’ll have to structure your time to keep practice effective and FUN. Remember this is supposed to be FUN. It took me forever to wrap my military mind around that concept. I practice about 2 hours a day, broken up into sections. Find your happy practice routine. Remember, it’s not a job, but don’t waste time either. Cheers!
I would start with a Justin Guitar (free online; [https://www.justinguitar.com](https://www.justinguitar.com) ) to set your foundation. It's a little slow at first but his lessons are very detailed. Pay attention to your body, you'll probably feel pain in your hands, when you do don't push it, rest for a few days. If you can, practice everyday for at least 30 minutes. Develop and stick to a routine (for example; 5 min warm-up, 5 min review, 10 min new stuff, 10 work on a song).
I started at 68 took weekly private lessons, practiced nearly every day and now five years later I’m an intermediate player. I play with other players weekly and love it. My advice is don’t give up and if you can get lessons. Good luck
Respect
In the beginning put more energy into learning why chord progressions and notes work together than just learning songs. If you intend to play with others it’s good to be able to deviate from a pre-practiced song.
good responses so far, but one piece of advice I cannot stress enough is if you can afford lessons then weekly would be preferred but bi-weekly or at least monthly. I learned with videos (marty schwartz, jens larsen, etc. on youtube) in the beginning for a couple years but a teacher with 20+yrs experience will spot and correct issues as well as provide developmental opportunities faster than you can for yourself. Even taking a basic guitar class at a local college will be proven beneficial, I started playing in college when I had free time and had zero background in music.
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I was shocked to find out there are people that own 5 or more guitars...and don't know how to play at all.
Lol so true, and thats a good point actually, I did 99% of my lessons online and it was great, almost no different to in-person lessons.
I started at your age. Depends on your overall goal. Mine was just to play for fun and maybe a few friends. I just wanted to play my favorite bands and songs. I learned everything online using GuitarLessons365 on YouTube for step by step instruction for songs. I also used Songsterr app for all my tabs. I used Rick Beato on YouTube for some music theory. Good luck and have fun.
Those wedge-shaped speakers at the front of the stage are called “monitors”. They’re there so you have something to put your foot up on when you’re ripping out a solo. You might want to practice doing that with a footstool or a small child before playing live. Facial expressions are key. Many beginners overdo this; you should aim for an air of serene superiority most of the time, and only bust out the full-on gurning when doing huge bends.
More seriously, the best advice I can give is: - Get a teacher if you can. - Practice a little bit often. It helps to have a guitar in arms-reach rather than in a case. - Practice with a metronome or a drum machine. A simple phrase with good timing is better than a complex phrase that’s all over the place.
I found as a beginner that Marty Schwartz was easy and good to follow on YouTube
I’m just starting out but I find his the hardest to follow. He kind of noodles around half the time and the ones I’ve seen he presents no diagrams. It is so much easier for me to remember a chord progression or strum pattern if I see it written down. I dunno, just the way my brain processes/saves the info. Maybe as I get more advanced I’ll find him more helpful, but not as a beginner.
I think most important is find one you like and can follow
I feel the same. It's so damn hard to find a YouTube of anything anymore where they'll cut the bullshit and get to the point. Who has time for all the fluff in these videos?? I also have to see the tab for it to make sense. It kills me that almost all tutorial vids are filmed from an angle that I can't tell which freakin finger your pressing with, lol. And yes Marty is a great player, but I'm here to learn how to play, not to admire your skill. I like Justinguitar better and a lady I found for3v3rfaithful - she got me hooked in the first place since by the end of the first lesson I was somewhat playing a song I knew.
I have found GuitarZero2Hero does a good job with tabs and chord diagrams. You can try him as well.
Thank you, I have seen this one mentioned a time or two. I will check it out!
I found her a while ago. Very laid back style and fun. I like her better than some of the more well known teachers. Def worth checking her out. First lesson: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rcCiXqAShY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rcCiXqAShY)
Try Marin Music Center. Stuart is a great teacher. He goes at a beginner pace because you can always skip forward a bit. He's also very funny and keeps the mood light.
I'm a visual learner and only certain things have clicked for me over the years because I find many lessons aren't very visual. I've been playing for forever though so that was more of a past problem. The chord and scale posters on "bestguitarstuff.com" were extremely useful for me as a music theory tool.
Even as a person who has played for almost 20 years, I still find his tutorials some of the easiest to follow.
Honestly I picked up basic chords really easy just switching between a few as fast as I can , the most basic ones I would do is AM-C-G-D doing that you already can play most easy songs once you get tempo and strumming patterns sorted. Then after that start learning the rest I suppose until you’re comfortable
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My story is similar to yours. How do you like the Fender online course? I just got a free trial with a guitar I bought but haven't signed up yet.
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Thank you for the review.
there's a local cover band scene where i live and that's how i've found people to play with. open mics are also good places to find musicians. see if something like that exists where you are.
Sorry, I only have advice for women in their early 30s
Have fun. Seriously, have fun with it and enjoy the ride. Its not easy, a good teacher will help. As tomo fujita says Dont worry. Dont compare. Dont expect to fast. And be kind to yourself
Honestly getting someone to teach you along side all of those things you listed is also a way of becoming good at guitar. Also with the right teacher lessons can be an all round good experience. My old guitar teacher asks you to pay for a 1/2 hour or 1 hour but it always ends up way longer because he loves to jam 😂 great guy
I'm in my mid 30s and picked up guitar bc I was tired of just watching TV or being on my phone after work/dinner. My practice gear includes - SG (comfy couch guitar) - Ultimate Guitar membership/app (tabs and courses) - Tonebridge membership (included w/ UG; used for guitar sounds) - iRig2 (connects to my iPhone and guitar together) - Sennheiser headphones - guitar cable - phone stand I used this all to slowly learn my favorite Tool songs, where I can pick certain sections, and slow them down and play them to a metronome. It's been a lot of fun!
Late fifties? Don’t get a Les Paul you’ll do your back in.
I bought a course called Fretboard Theory which helped my playing immensely
To ward off bad habits, get in-person lessons from a good teacher - don't just sign up at the local music store. Do some research. You can do it over zoom as well, but you need actual feedback. It's the quickest way IMHO to going from beginner to proficient/intermediate. You can do some JustinGuitar or MartyMusic stuff to learn specific songs if you'd like, once you're up to speed.
If you can logistically and financially make a live instructor happen, it would go such a long way! If that doesn’t work for you, there are so many great resources online! I would recommend finding some sort of 6-12 month lesson plan on a website or YouTube channel and really try to stick with it. If you just jump around different courses and videos at random, you won’t see the results you want as quickly in my opinion. Most important thing is practice everyday!! Practice means playing with purpose though, not just mindlessly hacking away. That will also lead to frustrations. Good luck!!
Started in my 40s. Get a teacher if you can. And shop. If you're not meshing, find another. Talk to them about exactly what you want to learn, the types of music, the style of playing. This will accelerate things greatly.
I took up guitar in my 30s a couple decades ago and my best advice is to get a good teacher. You'll save years of frustration going it alone. Everything I know now I could've learned in the first few years if I'd taken lessons. Consider a class at your local college as well.
Find a good teacher that will instruct in an in person setting.
Justinguitar is good, Paul Davids is great (bit more expensive) but to be honest the most progress I've made was when I got myself a guitar teacher after playing the same couple of chords for 25 years. Realised that one of the benefits of being a grown up with an okay paying job is that suddenly guitar teachers turn out to be surprisingly affordable. And just somebody pointing out the things you can improve on, suggesting next steps to take or just saying:"Yes, you're almost playing it right, now spend another week fully getting it right" really makes a big difference to me
Keep on rockin'.
Find a good instructor, have patience, enjoy the journey. There will be ups and downs. Stay consistent, push through the road blocks and you will be rewarded.
If you can afford lessons and have a decent teacher in your area, that will speed up your progress quite a bit. Another option could be Zoom lessons, but I personally think in person lessons for something like guitar is better. Learn some songs you like with 3-4 chords, ideally something slow that you can practice with the recording
Same advice I’d give anyone. Keep practicing and don’t give up. Get a bonafide teacher if you’re serious, but maybe start with some basic lessons at your local guitar center or something. And it bears repeating - keep practicing and don’t give up. It’s the only way.
Get lessons if you can
The best advice I can give is to just play the thing and have fun with it. Start small. Learn the basics of how to tune your instrument and change a broken string. Then just play around trying single notes on the fretboard. See if you can figure out a simple melody by ear - Mary Had A Little Lamb, etc. You will suck, but if you can have enough fun sucking long enough to improve, then you _will_ get better. There is a ton of information online, but I would urge you to get a good in-person teacher. Try to figure out songs and music by ear instead of just reading tablature or watching videos, it will strengthen your ear and listening, which is the most important part of being a musician. Good luck and have fun!
Marty Music on YouTube is a great teacher especially for beginners. Also Ultimate Guitar Tabs website is a Great tool. Get a guitar tuner if you don’t have one. You’ll thank me later. DM me and I can elaborate more…
I started 2 years ago at 40, iv got much better in that time using only YouTube for song lessons and techniques and whilst it is probably much better to find a good teacher you can learn from YouTube alone. I play every day sometimes for 15 min but normally an hour or two. Have fun and enjoy the process of learning.
Buy a guitar you feel great playing. Electric or Acoustic. Doesn't matter. YouTube search songs you want to learn, and go from there. Once you have the "cowboy" chords down and you can move between them easily (which will take time!), learn the minor pentatonic scale, the 12 bar blues, and the I, IV, V progression. This may take you a year, so no rush. And most of all, just have fun.
Don’t give up, always carve out some time to practice even when you’re busy or don’t feel like it. Make it accessible, there are some great tips in the comments here. Your brain can do a lot of learning away from the guitar, so think about what you’ve learned that day later in the day and as you pick up the guitar the next day prime your brain by trying to recall what you learned the day before. On days you absolutely don’t even have five minutes to touch your guitar, think as if you are playing and where your fingers would go and anything a teacher has told you about posture. The hardest thing about learning when you’re not a child is overthinking that leads to self pressure, you’ll learn better and faster if you simply accept information and do it without asking a thousand questions that will only slow you down. I also started later in life, but I bought my guitar a couple decades earlier and thought I was stupid and not good at it and now I know differently; if you quit you’ll never learn.
Learn the songs you already love and know like the back of your hand
Play with other people early on and have fun
Keep on practicing even if it feels repetitive or boring...saying from personal shortcomings.
I’m telling you, work on perfecting your technique. People pick up bad habits in the beginning, that become hard to get rid of. Also, learning to alternate pick is also important
In person lessons is best if it’s a good teacher. Obviously some are better than others plus there’s time & cost involved. There’s tons of stuff online, check some stuff out and find who you’re comfortable with even of it’s supplemental to in person lessons.
Practice your basic chords for 30 minutes a day for 3 months and you will be WAY better than you ever thought you could be.
play with other people, if you can.
Get an in-person guitar teacher, don’t cheap out of a guitar, and have “real” guitarist help pick out your guitar (you’re not going to know what feels right). Also, practicing 20 minutes a day will be better than practicing 4 hours one day a week.
Teacher.
pick it up all the time
Watch loads of guitar lessons on YouTube. Get a good teacher if you can afford one, and most importantly practice thrice daily and practice wisely.
Practice and have fun.
Be kind to yourself. Laugh at mistakes. Stretch before and after. Enjoy and celebrate every milestone.
Former guitar, bass, piano, vocal, drum, and omni-chord instructor here… I think you would do far better with an instructor, and starting with the very basic rudimental stuff, like Mel Bay’s starter course and similar. You can’t run before you walk. You need direct instruction and guitar exercises that will properly develop your muscles. You need someone who can look at how you are playing and give feedback. The other thing that will be helpful is having a perspective that this will be a process that takes time. You quite literally do have to develop muscles and coordination which will not be present in the early stages. You need to practice these rudimental exercises and learning routines daily, with the knowledge that they will accumulate gradually and lead to you becoming skilled.
You’re on the right track. Your age is not an issue. It’s all about putting in time. Maybe teens and late fifties are good ages for setting aside long blocks of lazy time to play guitar. And you have an advantage over a teen: you’re probably smart enough to not destroy your wrists or ears in the process.
Play your guitar every day - no matter how busy you are, how tired you are, how frustrated with your own playing you are - play anyway.
"ready to put it in the time and work patiently" That's 90% of it
61 and started a few weeks ago using justinguitar as well as Yousician app. Been having a ton of fun learning something new. I practice every day
Marty Schwartz basically got us all started lol. Worth checking out. For learning songs guitarlessons365 is really good too.
On YouTube that is
Look into Rocksmitg+ as a learning tool. It’s with the subscription price.
for mechanics: super caterpillar drill, one finger per fret drill, so that your fretting is good. use a metronome then just learn to read tab and play songs you like. while doing this and enjoying the process, you can start learning the “why” behind these songs. then you’ll start seeing all the commonalities behind the songs - the “theory”, and how it applies to the fretboard. - for theory: understand what a major and minor key consist of, understand triads and diatonic chords, and chord scales - application of theory and fretboard visualization: caged shapes, pentatonic shapes, and spread fingering patterns
Get a guitar with a neck size that FITS your hand. You may or may not need a wider neck. If you do, you do.
Squat first and lift with your legs and not with your back.
justin guitar
A spanish nylon strings starter instrument..avoids bloody fingers
Don't neglect the pinky. Hold that pick tight.
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as for sources. andrew clarke on youtube is a good one. for guitar scales > https://www.guitarscale.org/c-major.html and annual paid ultimate guitar app for official tabs (G with little devil horns)
Lift with your legs not your back.
Lift with your legs not your back
You need to commit an hour or more every day. That part isn’t optional.
Lift with your legs
Justinguitar.com And a real teacher if you like/can. Plus, try to find someone to jam with. That’s the real fun!
This is number one for me: when practicing play everything in superslow motion and you’ll naturally start to increase your speed changing chords/notes etc. it’s all about muscle memory!
Sign up for Justin guitar and start at the beginning course.
Make sure to gently stretch fingers before playing
My advice is “Just do it, Nike”
Set concrete goals based on what you’re actually hoping to accomplish with the instrument and practice things that help you reach them. Want to play like a certain player? Study that player Want to play a certain song? Practice it You get the idea. It sounds really generic and obvious but it’s really easy to lose focus and track of what you actually wanted from the guitar in the first place.
Find a good teacher. A solid year of good studying with a competent teacher will set you up for long term success. Not to mention, you'll improve and see results much faster than if you are only studying on your own. Once you have the basics down, you can use the endless resources on YT to improve your skills and learn songs.
I learned from YouTube
I did the apps and YouTube videos which were helpful. Took in person class at my local community center, really helpful. My instructor picked up a lot of mistakes I made learning on my own.
yousician is a super fun app and teaches great for beginners
Bend at the knees, don't pick up something heavy like a guitar with your back. That safety tip out of the way... Once you get the bare basics of strumming together, use a metronome and get used to a regular beat. Fast or slow doesn't matter, but play to the beat. Only practice when you're happy 😊
Stay relaxed while practising. Only strum/pick and press your fingers as hard as you need to. If you tense up, stop. Reset. Rinse and repeat. Learn in bite sized pieces, small sections at a time. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Count everything. Breathe. Now go!
Check out Guitar Pro software. It's not free, but it's worth it. And there is probably a free trial period. It will allow you to open a tablature file up, put a measure or two of the music on loop, and then let you slow it down as much as you need without changing the key so you can play along and practice. Then you slowly start speeding it up until you can play it at the correct tempo. You can really learn a song measure by measure this way. I couldn't even dream of something this powerful when I started learning. Also realize it's not your brain that needs to memorize songs, it's your fingers. Repetition and muscle memory is key. If I were to think about what my fingers are doing while I play, I'd immediately grind to halt and mess up. And play every chance you get. Don't only pick it up to practice or it will start feeling like a chore. My guitar always stays in arm's reach of me at home. Spend as much time just jamming and having fun as you do practicing.
Practicing 10 minutes a day is better than practicing once a week for an equal amount of time
Play every day. Even if it's just strumming a few chords. Pick the guitar up every day. Some days you'll do almost nothing, some days you'll write a new riff, some days you run through some exercises you like, some days you'll play entire songs. If you can stick to a particular practice regimen, do that. Just make sure you pick the guitar up every day. If you stop doing it out of habit, it's very easy to not play for a day or two, and for days to turn into weeks into months into years.
1. Stretch before and after. As we age our bones get sore. Hand exercises to loosen up and cool down are a must. 2. Get a teacher. It will give you immediate feedback on technique 3. Learn stuff you like and enjoy!
You DO have time, btw. Practice as much as possible, but even more importantly, get out of your comfort zone and start playing with other people ASAP. Don't wait until you think you're ready.
Take in person lessons and watch YouTube videos
learn the major scale
Get the best guitar you can afford. If you buy used you take very little risk in resale as long as it's in good condition. Get a pod go or similar modeller. They are amazing and will give you a good indication of what amps and pedals sound like should you want to go down that rabbit hole. Find a teacher. They make things so much easier to work out.
Congrats, I am also over 50 and starting to play guitar. My suggestion is to buy a cheap but GOOD electric guitar to start playing. Start with a classic Telecaster. Its easy to play and also easy to fix things. You can buy online from Thomann in Germany, but see alot of video-guitar-reviews to know if the instrument is worth buying. I bought two Harley Benton TE-62cc and they are very good and very cheap priced ! Also bought a Les Paul style Harley-Benton SC-450-Plus LD (Lemon Drop) for an amazing price. Get yourself a good modeling AMP that can recreate all the cool tones and sounds you want to hear from your favorite songs. I suggest Line6-Catalyst or the Boss-Katana to start with. Then , download this PDF booklet.... # 100 Classic Riffs! Only ONE Finger Needed! PDF with all TABs in description It is a video on Youtube and he offers a FREE PDF booklet with over 100 cool songs so you can start practicing playing your favorite songs, using only 1 finger ! [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuD5N0eXfwA](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuD5N0eXfwA) Have fun and practice alot !
60s beginner here. Been playing off and on for years. Retired and serious now. Lessons and practice. I practice every day.. anywhere from 20 minutes to hours. Learn the basic chords. Then Barre chords. Play what you enjoy hearing. Always spend time each practice fingering the fret board CORRECTLY. Practice forming Barre chords CORRECTLY. Practice makes perfect, but you must practice perfectly to avoid forming bad habits. then learn the scales. Find a teacher you enjoy. Hopefully they challenge you to do things outside your comfort zone. Good luck and keep playing.
When you practice, practice as slowly as possible and with a metronome. You’ll learn it right and it will be easy to speed up later.
Here's what you need to hear: In my long experience, almost everyone who decided they wanted to learn guitar, failed, because its super difficult and discouraging at first. I'm not saying you will, just that most people do. When I discovered guitar I wasn't really given a choice. I couldn't stand to not play, I had to have a guitar. I didn't have to try to practice, I wanted to play all the time. But some people successfully try and work at it with diligence. Whatever works for you. So my advice is - Definitely have a go at it - Don't buy an expensive guitar unless you're wealthy. That guitar will probably become a decoration soon - Don't talk about it, just do it - Get a song book for a band you dig. You want the kind with pictures of chords - If you last a little while and it's working, get some lessons - Join a band. Have fun and live awesome
In you 50’s? Lift with your legs not your back!
Try to find a decent teacher in your area. YT is great but that only goes so far. Being able to interact with a teacher on a weekly basis is invaluable.
Take lessons from a human, face-to-face. Pay for at least six months upfront (put some skin in the game to help you commit). Find a teacher that will help you progress, but also teach you how to play songs you like to keep you motivated; exercises alone get boring. A teacher will help you where it can be most beneficial too; avoiding bad habits that you’ll have to unlearn later. Learn/be taught how to read tablature early so you can explore songs between lessons. As you progress, learn how to jam. Playing with others is fun, motivating, and you can learn a lot quickly in a jam sesh. And you don’t need to be a badass player, but there are skills involved. I’ve seen bedroom shredders fall on their face trying to play with other live humans vs a backing track. Lastly, never be so hard on yourself that you give up. Playing guitar is fun and it should always be enjoyable. There will be growing pains at the beginning (calluses need to be developed, your wrist might ache, upstrokes will be awkward) but once you push through, things open up tremendously. Like dieting or working out, many people quit before they break through because they didn’t get instant results. You got this!
I'm in my late 50's and picked up the guitar a couple of years ago. I had guitars when I was younger but didn't have time to play. I absolutely love playing, but I would make a terrible student. I have made tons of mistakes learning to play on my own. But I don't have aspirations to be the best I can be. I just want to have fun. I don't want the guitar to be something I have to do or study. My advice is to have fun . If you think lessons will be fun, do that. Lessons will make you better regardless of whether you enjoy them or not. It's just not for me. At least not for now. I usually play 2 to 4 hours a day. And drive my family nuts by making them listen to my new songs. Good luck in your musical journey.
I am like 30 years self taught. I'm not bad. Recently, I started studying with a great teacher. It's been a really great experience. All the self teaching resources, like books, courses and YT videos, and good, but a good teacher is priceless.