Learning at 50 Years Old?

[midusguitar]

Is it possible to learn to play acoustic guitar at the age of 50 and never having any music training at all?

[BydoEmpire]

Absolutely! Like at any age, it just takes time. Think about what you want to be able to do (play an F chord naturally, learn to play XYZ song), and set some goals to get you there. Finding a teacher who understands what you want to do will help. When you're first starting, it's going to feel a little unnatural at first. That's fine, just keep going and don't get discouraged.

[midusguitar]

Very cool. Thanks for the reply. I wanted to do this 15 years ago but bought a guitar and it just seemed so hard. Now I see many resources on the net. Have started teaching myself but feel very lost. Just found a teacher and am starting lessons this week. I need to learn a song to keep me motivated. Love stuff like Ray Lamontagne, Eddie Vedder, Neil Young, James Taylor, etc. Trying to figure out the strumming pattern for the song "Like Rock and Roll and Radio" by Ray Lamontagne. Anyway thanks for the ecouragement.

[BydoEmpire]

When you're starting out, keep it fun, and keep going. There's definitely a hump to get over. Before that hump, you might feel like you can't do anything. When you do get over it, it's going to feel great!

 

"There's only two things to remember: don't stop, and keep going." - Frank Zappa

[JonR]

Very cool. Thanks for the reply. I wanted to do this 15 years ago but bought a guitar and it just seemed so hard. Now I see many resources on the net. Have started teaching myself but feel very lost. Just found a teacher and am starting lessons this week. I need to learn a song to keep me motivated. Love stuff like Ray Lamontagne, Eddie Vedder, Neil Young, James Taylor, etc. Trying to figure out the strumming pattern for the song "Like Rock and Roll and Radio" by Ray Lamontagne. Anyway thanks for the ecouragement.

Neil Young is a good source of easy songs. Try "Heart of Gold"

 

You can watch what Ray Lamontagne does here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcM-xyHtSYQ

It's a pretty random strumming pattern. The important thing (with this tune as with ALL rhythm guitar) is to keep the hand moving at the same pace and in the same up-down way - that's what keeps the beat solid, which is the first essential.

There's a slight emphasis on beats 2 and 4 (the 2nd and 4th downstrokes in each bar), which is standard, but this varies, and there are no special accents or rhythmic patterns elsewhere. Just keep the beat, and make sure you get your changes in time. The trick there is to leave enough time to be able to get the next chord right on the beat where it belongs - even if you have to leave the previous chord early.

When you're used to all your chord shapes and changes (so you can think about following the vocal, and not too much about the chords), then you can start to apply more interesting dynamic variety to the strums.

 

BTW, the older you are when you start, the longer it will take you. You need to be prepared for that. Your hands have got into habits of doing other things, they are less flexible for strange new tasks like guitar playing. Luckily, the older you are, the more patient you tend to be!

It IS difficult in many ways (getting the chords clean, getting the changes on time), and it takes discipline and commitment to see it through. Practice every day, for as long as you can manage. Stop when you get bored, or when it starts to hurt; then go off and do something else. Try not to stop for any other reason...

 

(BTW, do make sure your position is good; don't fall into bad habits that will hold you back. A teacher is the best way to check, of course, but with no teacher, just look closely at how other players hold the guitar, and check yourself in a mirror. Keep those fret hand fingernails as short as they will go. When you have trouble with a chord, try other fingerings or other hand positions, esp where the thumb is. There are recommended hand positions to start from, but the important thing is to stay flexible, and think about economy of finger pressure.)

[polishpaul]

Welcome to the Loft....best place on the net to learn anything about guitar! If you have any questions, just ask. There are some pro players here (I'm not one of them yet ) and we are all happy to help. I've had a lot of help myself here and my playing is coming along nicely now.

 

Bydo wrote about "the hump" and we all know what that is. It's easy to start thinking you're on an impossible mission, but believe me the early frustrations disappear if you just keep going....get through it, and enjoy a wonderful journey of music and self-discovery.

 

Can I slip in the cliche? Okay, thanks.

 

 

It's the journey which is important rather than the destination.

 

 

The best beginners resource is without doubt this:

 

http://www.justinguitar.com

 

You can't go wrong with Justin. His lessons are so good he got praise from Queen guitarist Brian May! All free, but you can donate something if you like.

 

 

I'm 56 next month and have been playing regularly for the past couple of years, after twenty years of frequent breaks. I can't think of anything better than taking up guitar, no matter at what age. The rewards are immense and the feeling of satisfaction which comes with each step forward is wonderful.

 

 

If your budget allows, I'd recommend having a go on classical as well as acoustic. The strings are further apart and don't punish the fingertips so much in the early stages. Nice sound, too.

Definitely worth using both fingerpicking and plectrum (pick in the States) techniques from the off. Then there's the hybrid technique which incorporates both.

 

Again....

 

It is somewhat daunting at the beginning, so much information and no way of doing much with it. Simple is good, and patience essential. Listen carefully to what you are playing, and always play any music theory examples you might be studying, no matter how slowly.

 

Learning to read standard music notation is an option and well worth the effort.

 

Good luck!

[midusguitar]

JonR,

Thanks for the direction. The Ray Lamontagne info is very helpful. Thanks again.

[poppytater]

Is it possible to learn to play acoustic guitar at the age of 50 and never having any music training at all?

I started learning guitar at age 54, I'm 57 now and loving it! Check out the acoustic guitar forum here at Harmony Central, lots of great guys who are happy to share their knowledge. Welcome aboard.

[midusguitar]

polishpaul,

Wow! this forum is very helpful. And I found the Justin Sandercoe site. He is just amazing. I love his version of David Gray's "This Years Love". Thanks so much.

[polishpaul]

You're welcome!

 

If you go down to the bottom of the main board and drop the Thread display options>Show threads from the...menu,you can click on "beginning" and check out the entire Lesson Loft archive.

[polishpaul]

Oh, and my music theory blog (link in my signature) is aimed at total beginners. It isn't finished but takes you through the major and minor scales after a general outline on how modern music theory came to be what it is.

[polishpaul]

Attached is something I wrote for beginners to music, in Miscrosoft Word. It's at my box.com account because it's too big to upload here:

 

https://www.box.com/s/b452e4d6371828b5e51e

 

I must put it on the blog.

[1001gear]

I think it's all about realistic expectations. And in that regard, provided you've acquired the maturity and patience, learning - actually learning a craft may come easier than at a younger age where you might pressure yourself into traversing time wasting directions.

[benzem]

 

Is it possible to learn to play acoustic guitar at the age of 50 and never having any music training at all?

 

 

YES!

[c+t in b]

It's absolutely possible to learn anything. However, keep in mind that, after age 22 our brains have finalized their ability to learn new concepts and skills with great ease. After this time, it typically takes twice as long to learn the same skill-set as someone who is below that threshold.

[girevik]

 

It's absolutely possible to learn anything. However, keep in mind that, after age 22 our brains have finalized their ability to learn new concepts and skills with great ease. After this time, it typically takes twice as long to learn the same skill-set as someone who is below that threshold.

 

 

I was over 22 when I took up the viola. That explains why it's taking me so much longer that the kiddies to play it decently.

[g/re/p]

http://bluesguitarunleashed.com/

 

http://www.guitarjamz.com/

[jonfinn]

 

Is it possible to learn to play acoustic guitar at the age of 50 and never having any music training at all?

 

 

Yes. The "Old dog/New Trick" mindset can very easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's only true when you believe it.

[polishpaul]

Yes. The "Old dog/New Trick" mindset can very easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's only true when you believe it.

 

[Tribal Techie]

 

Very cool. Thanks for the reply. I wanted to do this 15 years ago but bought a guitar and it just seemed so hard. Now I see many resources on the net. Have started teaching myself but feel very lost. Just found a teacher and am starting lessons this week. I need to learn a song to keep me motivated. Love stuff like Ray Lamontagne, Eddie Vedder, Neil Young, James Taylor, etc. Trying to figure out the strumming pattern for the song "Like Rock and Roll and Radio" by Ray Lamontagne. Anyway thanks for the ecouragement.

Sounds like you have some clear goals. This is best!

 

Now you need to make sure you get with a teacher who supports those goals and will help you achieve them rather than just putting you on some cookie-cutter lesson plan.

[Bajazz]

 

Yes. The "Old dog/New Trick" mindset can very easily become a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's only true when you believe it.

 

yup!

 

Actually, learning at age can be easier or harder, depending on how you do it. Harder if you bring bagage that slow you down, but easier if you take advantage of experience. Antony Robbins says that you must use former success as inspiration: Look back at a goal you reached and model it.

 

Good luck!

[DJ in FL]

I'm 67 and learning...and SENIOR learning is a bit different than some younger sites vow to promote.

Suggest you try GROUP lessons at some place like Community College...good start for basics...not big cost.

You want to have someone (an instructor) keep you from learng too many BAD habits early-on.

 

Learn a few chords, some Easy songs that you enjoy. There are THOUSANDS of TABS with words/chords all over the internet, so it gets back to PRACTICE, practice and practice.

MANY songs are 3 or less easy chords. If you can figure out I, IV, V, you will go a LONG way fast. (google it if you don't know).

[T-Pot]

While I have played for a long time altogether, there's been many periods where I didn't play for years - and I never was very good to start with:facepalm:

 

So when I was asked to join a covers band at age 52 and having to learn to correctly play 3 hours worth of tunes I was somewhat overwhelmed to put it mildly. Here's one thing that helps me a lot in memorizing and playing correctly:

 

Begin with playing REALLY SLOW! Practice in slow motion (if you've ever seen people doing Tai Chi you know what slow motion looks like). Use a metronome and get all the little details such as sounding each note correctly, fluency and accurate timing etc. right from the start before building up speed. This enables your mind to really concentrate on what you're doing and memorizing is a lot easier - and you also wind up playing the piece correctly:idea:

[Steadfastly]

I'm 58 and started around age 50. I'm not the greatest player but I'm not only playing but still learning and have learned to read music and have even improved my singing a bit along the way.

[Wayne2]

One thing I wished I'd done sooner was to get the guitar professionally set up by someone who knows what they're doing. It makes it so much easier to play.