eytonxav
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Hello,
I'm 64 and have been playing for about two years. I only play electric guitar (telecaster and Les Paul type), although I have an Acoustic for when I visit my DS/DDL and grandkids. I practice every day and, as you mentioned, you should too! You can't do this guitar thing "once in a while... forget about it!" Learning guitar is difficult at any age, but it can be done and IS satisfying. A few things that might help.
1. get the guitar re-strung and professionally set up (the action that is). Change the strings at least once every six months if you play every day.
2. play every day, seven days a week for at least 30 minutes. If you don't feel like playing one day, at least do 10 minutes and you'll probably find that, before you know it, you've done 30 minutes.
3. if you can, take lessons from a professional, but via Skype. It's a lot less hassle.
4. you could also start out with a basic online school like "TrueFire," "JamPlay" or "Guitar Tricks." This will cost $20 to $30 per month and will give you things to work on.
5. Don't jump around from platform to teacher or all-around YouTube. I have been guilty of this and it is confusing. Finish one complete course or lesson before you move on.
6. I would recommend you learn guitar tablature (tab) not music notation. I learned some notation (notes on the staff, etc.) when I first started and dropped it. I am sure it is helpful, but I don't think either of us will end-up being pit orchestra musicians. For me, it's too late in the game for that.
7. play around with the Chord Buddy a little, but your fingers will have to toughen-up so you can play the chords yourself. I doubt it does Barre chords anyway, which are important for playing electric guitar.
8. Start out with Rock, Blues, or Country, but avoid Jazz & Classical for now, as they are very challenging.
9. Consider getting stickers for the frets that let you know what the notes are. This can be very helpful for beginners. On the guitar, it is not easy to visualize the notes like it is on a piano.
10. Question: "Is it best to work on finger exercises first, learn to read music, just learn chords, etc?" Read music, no. Read Tab, yes. Finger exercises, yes. Learn only chords, no. Chords are for Rythym Guitar (harmony) and Notes are for Lead Guitar (melody). You need both.
Final thoughts: I think learning guitar is a great hobby. It's good for the mind and well being. I love it, despite not progressing as quickly as I want and being frustrated with it from time to time. Give it at least a year, play every day, don't switch lessons or teachers all the time, and enjoy yourself with it! Try to get into "Improvisation" as soon as you can where you play along with a backing track; this is quite amusing.
Best of luck to you!
Thanks for that info. I got my guitar back from the luthier and it does feel and sound much better. The original strings were rusted and needed lowering, so that has been a big help. There is so much info and options in the world of guitar playing, I have been kind of bouncing around a bit trying to pick something to go with, and that is probably a mistake.
I appreciate all the info provided from everyone on here and this is practically becoming a lesson game plan in itself. I hope others that are starting out like me can benefit from the thread, and that it re-motivates the more experienced players who have been away from playing for a while.