My name is Juan Carlos, and I’m writing from Barranquilla, Colombia.
I’ve been trying to play guitar for about 30 years now — a true eternal beginner! Somehow, I always found excuses not to move forward.
I’ve been following Justin’s lessons for quite a few years, but about three months ago I decided to get more serious and commit to practicing again. That’s why I finally decided to join the community and start posting here.
Double challenge for me: the guitar and the language!
I joined because this community seems really kind and supportive, and I’m looking forward to sharing my progress, asking questions, and learning from all of you.
Nice to meet you all! I’m open to any advice, suggestions, or constructive criticism that can help me improve.
Welcome, Juan Carlos! You’ve found a good place to learn guitar — lots of helpful, knowledgeable people here. I hope one day to play guitar as well as you write English!
You’re in the right place here mate. Great lessons, and a great community.
One bit of advice to get you going for steady progress.
“Practice on the days that you eat…”
Hey Juan
I wish you well. i’m very similar and am enjoying the trip without worrying too much about the destination. From your post the language is going well. I find the practice fun this time.
I recommend the app with the songs to practice. My daughter was just pissing herself laughing as I was singing and playing along to “for what its worth” Buffalo Springfield. Its never been fun before so am optimistic about the future. I will never be great but i can entertain the kids and the dogs
Yes. After a few years, I’ll have to think about what I’ll do with my retirement. There are still about 11 years left, so I hope to play something for the kids before then. My dog (Copper) is happy.
Hi Juan
Nice to meet you
I still think of myself as a beginner too
This community is really kind, supportive and encouraging
Looking forward to hearing more from you
I don’t think you need to worry about the language. Your English seems perfect.
I spend time every year in Colombia and go a couple of times a year for work and because my wife is Colombian. In 2023 I spent 6 months travelling around Colombia by motorcycle - the most beautiful country in the world. I’m a biologist, so for me Colombia is a paradise.
If you are living in Barranquilla then you have fantastic music all around you. Do you try and play any Colombian music?
Bienvenido, Don Juan!
Any honest guitar player is an…
We’re quite an international community here and I don’t recall ever seeing any rules stating we had to communicate through ‘English’
I’m pretty sure if you typed a post in Spanish, many of us would put that baby through the Google-Translate-Algorithm so fast it would make your head spin
Next step is to share pics of your guitar(s) and possibly even a sound sample
Hi Brian,
It’s about time you read Richard’s introduction/welcome posts ( I believe there are the links to find) …there you can find that English is the language to communicate (small excursions in between no problem natuurlijk ) but several people have been “reprimanded” for this in the past by the moderators (in a friendly way, of course )
Greetings
Edit:
Quote from Richard to not waste your time for looking because you are hoping to make fun of me :
Please avoid using excessive ‘internet shorthand’ … cos sum ppl find it hrd 2 fink wen lik dis. We understand there are languages barriers and everyone is more than happy to work around this. If English is not your first language then just do the best you can
You’ve found the perfect place for your guitar journey and your ongoing improvement.
The courses and song tutorials are very well structured, comprehensive and motivating.
The language shouldn’t be a major problem, the community is very international.
When joining JustinGuitar I had quite similar worries, because English isn’t my first language either. But the tutorials are great to follow - and if you don’t understand a detail in the first place, you can always watch the video again - or ask in the forum. It’s an awesome community with lots of friendly and helpful teachers and members.
Have lots of fun and success on your musical journey
Hi Juan, welcome to the community forum. I was a beginner for 45 years before committing to carefully following all of Justin’s lessons and practice plans. I found the lessons in grade 3 to be especially useful for helping me make the big step to grade 4 lessons. The most important thing I learned from grade 3 is how to learn and practice guitar, that is, how to become my own teacher. Have fun. You have a lot of time before retirement to learn a lot of songs.
Somehow, I always found excuses not to move forward.
”
…there you can find that English is the language to communicate (small excursions in between no problem natuurlijk 
)
in my face later ) 
