Really enjoying my guitar lessons

[alde]

I had the opportunity to learn guitar as a 14 year old kid from a neighbor who was a pro. My brother gave me a guitar (wish I still had it) but I was more interested in fishing and whatever. Now I'm a 57 year old beginner and I absolutely love it. My teacher keeps me interested and challenged and wants to teach me what I want to learn.

Anybody else start a musical instrument later in life? What do you see as your biggest challenges? For me I think I have to work harder to learn and remember things than I did 20 or so years ago. Also I really have to work hard to keep time with a metronome but I know that just comes with practice.

BTW that guitar that my brother gave me was a beautiful 1970's American made Stratocaster. If I remember right I traded it for a set of goalie pads. Not too bright eh?

 

[jmr986]

Yep, similar situation. Took lessons for a few years when I was 12. Moved and stopped taking lessons. Started up again at 59. And, yes have problems remembering songs. The only good thing is at 12 it took me 2 years to pay my dad back for my guitar and amp. Now I can afford them and bought 4 more!

I did keep my original

 

[alde]

Yep, similar situation. Took lessons for a few years when I was 12. Moved and stopped taking lessons. Started up again at 59. And, yes have problems remembering songs. The only good thing is at 12 it took me 2 years to pay my dad back for my guitar and amp. Now I can afford them and bought 4 more!

I did keep my original

View attachment 364520

I'm glad I'm not alone. Here's my main guitar that I scratch built with the help of a luthier friend.

 

[Rustyt1953]

Al, I saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan in '64 and lost my mind. I jumped in with both feet and never looked back.

I took jazz theory, off and on, up until just a few years ago. The learning never stops.

I wish I lived closer so I could scrub one off with you.

 

[alde]

Al, I saw the Beatles on Ed Sullivan in '64 and lost my mind. I jumped in with both feet and never looked back.

I took jazz theory, off and on, up until just a few years ago. The learning never stops.

I wish I lived closer so I could scrub one off with you.

That would be a blast. I would love to have someone to jam with. I have a couple of neighbors who play but they haven't talk to me much after they saw all the reloading gear in the garage.

 

[Ole Joe Clark]

I stopped playing for about 10 years, after selling my Gibson Super 400. Wished I had never stopped playing and selling the Gibson.

Now I play acoustic only, bluegrass, gospel and some old country, no drinking or chasing stuff though. Have two Martins that are really nice guitars, I'm still finding notes that I didn't know was there.

I love to play rhythm for the hotshot pickers, and like to add some diminished and 9th chords in if it sounds ok. Drives the bluegrassers crazy.
I think I'm crazy sometimes because when I hear a song I really like, I start listening to the chord progression and the structure of the tune.

Keep working on it and play with another musician whenever possible.

Have a blessed day,

Leon

 

[rustythread]

I quit playing many years ago, when the progressive hearing loss got serious enough that I could neither tune a guitar nor carry a tune myself.

Now that I have decent hearing aids and am losing my vision, Im gonna try to take up the guitar again. Gotta get the flood damage fixed first, but have contacted jgravity in St Louis about bringing in the repair work.

 

[Rustyt1953]

I quit playing many years ago, when the progressive hearing loss got serious enough that I could neither tune a guitar nor carry a tune myself.

Now that I have decent hearing aids and am losing my vision, Im gonna try to take up the guitar again. Gotta get the flood damage fixed first, but have contacted jgravity in St Louis about bringing in the repair work.

I hope you jump back in.

 

[labworm]

Guitar playing, some have it some don't, I was with the don't crowd.

Had a nice Washburn Acoustic but was only able to play the "Third Man Theme" on one string.

alde keep practicing and maybe you can play a few tunes in the next hockey thread. GO BRUINS

 

[wood714]

My dad gave me his near perfect 1953 Martin D18 that he bought in 1954. He's been playing his D28, and Gibson Mastertone lately.

I honestly think I have some tendon damage in my left hand, because after 2 years I still can't switch cords fast at all.

 

[Andy Lowry]

I grew up as a fairly serious piano player (classical) and let go of it about twenty years ago. Took up the guitar at 55 because I thought it would be fun to be able to just fool around with having to use sheet music. I'm mostly doing blues. The classical background means I can't improvise much, but it's fun anyway.

 

[Rustyt1953]

I honestly think I have some tendon damage in my left hand, because after 2 years I still can't switch chords fast

Doc Watson once told me: "It's not what you play but what you don't play." Every hole doesn't need to be filled.

 

[alde]

I went into my lessons knowing some open cords and the ability to change between some cords fairly well. My teacher has focused on keeping time with a metronome. After a half dozen lessons we are not learning songs yet but I can definitely see where he's going. As he put it were laying down a strong foundation to build on. That makes perfect sense to me.

I practicing everything the teacher gives me but as an aside I'm trying to get to a point where I can play a song. My ultimate goal is fingerstyle blues and I'm doing the excerises in the book Contemporary Travis Picking by Mark Hanson. By the end of the book he has you playing a fairly complex version of Freight Train. He has a second book after that. I brought the books to my last lesson and we decided to spend at least some of our time working from them.

 

[gregintenn]

My dad gave me his near perfect 1953 Martin D18 that he bought in 1954. He's been playing his D28, and Gibson Mastertone lately.

I honestly think I have some tendon damage in my left hand, because after 2 years I still can't switch cords fast at all.

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[gregintenn]

I'm glad I'm not alone. Here's my main guitar that I scratch built with the help of a luthier friend.

I am impressed! That is beautiful.

 

[peterGun]

I played bass back in the 70's for a couple years, took it back up in 2005 for church praise band.

played every Sunday for about 10 years, Still play on occasion but now I'm more of a sound man.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[gregintenn]

I bought my kid a Taylor Big Baby for his birthday. He has about driven his mother and myself nuts, but seems to be learning rather quickly.


For a small, inexpensive guitar, that thing sounds and plays amazing.

 

[federali]

Guitar and Age

I took guitar lessons as a pre-teen and into my teenage years. I got to be good enough to join various combos and play gigs but I was no Johnny Smith or Django Reinhardt. Once I retired from federal service and the kids were grown and gone, I again took guitar lessons but the big difference was the difficulty in remembering what I was being taught. It went in one ear and out the other.

Age and the slowing of reflexes made some moves slow and sloppy, particularly the hammer-on. My fingers were too slow. I'm also learning mandolin but a natural tremor in my right arm prevents me from using the tremolo picking technique so important to mandolin playing.

 

[Tradewind36]

I'm 70, bought a new Strat last week, been a while since I played.

 

[Duster340]

I started playing over 40 years ago. My old brother was a working musician in a pretty good band and taught me the basics. Enough to play Zeppelin, Allman Brothers, Skynyrd, Sabbath etc. An old bluesman lived down the block and stopped by the garage one night while I was jamming with my buddies. We struck up a good friendship. He taught me some great blues licks. He has since passed, but man that old man could play and sing the **** outta them blues. Great times