Jump to content

Possible to relearn guitar in your forties?


walker834

Recommended Posts

  • Members

I picked up a guitar in my early 20's and ahve been playing it off and on for years. Thing is I never really learned how to play. just learning songs by tablature and coming up with stuff on my own. I think I learned one basic blues scale which I do runs on but I can't really solo for crap other than the stuff i've just come up with. Weird thing is i actually have some talent if i weren't so lazy. I've never gigged. just played for my own enjoyment. I've learned so many songs and forgotten so many songs. I'm just starting to go through and relearn songs I forgot how to play. What i really need are lessons and to learn some scales and just basic core discipline when it comes to basic stuff. I learned some basic chords and scales very early and just ran with it. I don't play overly fast but I shock myself with some of the stuff I come up with sometimes. To think if i actually knew how to play. Such a waste of talent between jobs and life just never fully focused on it. Was thinking of taking some blues or jazz lessons to learn scales and stuff like that and different licks. I basically just know a lot of rhythm type stuff at this point. Tap your feet etc.. I did learn that much basic stuff at least.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Two big tips from me.

 

You're far better off playing say 30 minutes a day rather than 3.5 hours one day a week. (preferably an hour a day but you get the picture, DAILY)

 

Speed comes after accuracy, build muscle memory rather than racing through inaccurately.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

That's true. I'm very basic at this point. I do come up with some pretty good riffs though. I don't think i'll ever be a great soloist. I dont think i have the finger speed for it. I'm thinking learning scales and disciplining myself would be good for my playing though to expand it a bit. I am a first aid guitarist vs a physician though for sure.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members
of course it is....why wouldn't it be?

^ This. I stopped playing guitar sometime in the 80's after having played for 15 years or so. Then, in 2003, I got inspired to write a hymn for our church's centennial. Since I don't play anything that doesn't have frets and since I didn't want to write a hymn on a banjo, I got out my guitar--a 12-string that hadn't been tuned in years, no less--and started strumming. I've been "back in the saddle" ever since.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I'm one of those two hand tapping / Neo Classical / 80's shred guitarist .... but man, the Blues are like touching the face of god type things on guitar.

I love it now, I can play Ozzy, Pantera, Cream, Metallica, Beatles or SRV at gigs now ..... Ah, the freedom of not being locked into one style !!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

^ This. I stopped playing guitar sometime in the 80's after having played for 15 years or so. Then, in 2003, I got inspired to write a hymn for our church's centennial. Since I don't play anything that doesn't have frets and since I didn't want to write a hymn on a banjo, I got out my guitar--a 12-string that hadn't been tuned in years, no less--and started strumming. I've been "back in the saddle" ever since.

 

I quit playing for 4 years in the 1990's, after being a traveling musician for a few years.

One day, I just pulled the guitar out of the closet and fell in love with playing and creating music again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

^ This. I stopped playing guitar sometime in the 80's after having played for 15 years or so. Then, in 2003, I got inspired to write a hymn for our church's centennial. Since I don't play anything that doesn't have frets and since I didn't want to write a hymn on a banjo, I got out my guitar--a 12-string that hadn't been tuned in years, no less--and started strumming. I've been "back in the saddle" ever since.

 

Similar story here. I was in a band in high school in the late 70's but pretty much stopped playing entirely from the 80's to the early 2000's. I got inspired to play again after a cousin of mine decided to pick up the guitar for the first time in his early 40's.

 

One thing (for me) that has advanced my abilities is to play with other people... I can only musically masturbate so much, the real joy in my opinion is to do it with others.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My brother-in-law is in his early 50s, and he's recently started relearning how to play, and is doing very well.

 

You don't need to be young to enjoy playing music, and you can start at any age. Playing for your own enjoyment and recreation is all the reason anyone really needs IMHO.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...