I bought my guitar a year ago as a complete beginner, aged 55. My aim was to pick it up and play it every day, no minimum time limit, no pressure (which turned out to be the right decision because the early finger pain meant a couple of minutes were enough some days).
Well, a year later, there’s only been one day where I haven’t picked it up and I don’t think anyone would blame me for not playing that day if I explained why. I have been through grades 1 & 2 in that year and am now starting consolidation, which I have decided will take as long as it takes, it could be another year. I am a lefty learning righty which probably is slowing me down.
It’s given me even greater respect for musicians, my goodness it’s not easy but very rewarding.
Good to meet you all, I have found the community very supportive and useful.
Hey Kim, welcome to the community. You’ve made playing guitar an integral part of your lifestyle. Good on you. I started playing when i was 53 some 10 years ago and it gives me much joy to be able to make my own music. Keep at it, the fun just improves with time.
Hello Kim and welcome to the community. Wow, playing every day and working through two grades is an impressive beginning. You do right to consolidate … are you / have you been learning songs, lots of them?
I am certainly trying to learn songs, but the pesky things won’t stick in my head. I find I still can’t make it through a song from memory without either forgetting the chord sequence, fumbling a chord change, getting out of time (foot tapping whilst doing everything else needs work), missing the strings on a strum (who suddenly moved the guitar? ), or If all that’s going well, I can’t remember the words!
I have the app and beginner books 1 & 2 and for consolidation am drawing up a spreadsheet of songs that allow me to practice different skills (F chord, finger style, power chords, C to G changes, (I still can’t air change to anything with more than 2 fingers), Sus chords, 7th chords, old faithful strumming etc). It would be great if the App allowed you to find songs to help you practice certain skills.
My consolidation goal is to have some songs that I wouldn’t be embarrassed to play and sing to in front of someone as I can make it through them without making mistakes.
The good news is I can now play without looking at my fretting hand!
May I ask why you are learning righty?
Is your right hand your dominant hand for rhythm? (that’s possible if you have “mixed handedness” like me although left is clearly dominant for rhythm)
Being able to play without looking at your hand is very valuable!
If your strumming is solid, you’ll find a way to play, remember and even sing without issues if you keep it up BUT you woudn’t be the first being held up by using the “wrong hand”.
I read lots of advice before buying a guitar, but it seemed to boil down to try a guitar and see what feels most natural. I live in a rural area and it’s an hour’s drive to my nearest guitar shop, who didn’t have any left handed guitars in stock, and holding a right handed guitar upside down in lefty position felt really awkward, it felt more natural holding it right handed. As I couldn’t play at all I had nothing else to go on.
Added to that, I have struggled to translate right handed instructions to lefty in other areas of my life (my right handed Mum never did manage to teach me how to knit) and the world is full of right handed guitars. I wanted to be able to pick up another guitar in years to come at a friend’s house or a party and play it, the chances are that would be a right handed guitar most of the time.
Having said that, once I started learning, I finally understood why it’s harder to learn right handed if you are a lefty, this was never properly explained anywhere in my early research. I really can’t face starting again from scratch after investing over a year’s worth of effort!
That might not be the only test you can do BUT it is a very strong one; what feels more natural. Nobody here will force you to start over again either
I usually ask people to grab a broom and start to “play” and grab a wooden spoon from the kitchen and start hitting the beat on a pot. What hand did they use?
An upside down guitar an feel strange but a broom makes no difference
Anyway, Justin taught himself to play lefty in order to undergo what beginners do. if strumming feels natural and keeping a rhythm can be done without thinking, you shouldn’t worry too much. If it remains to be inconsistent and you find it difficult to instantly pick up where the ACTUAL beat is going (= NOT restarting but picking up the beat of the backing track/band), then you might be somewhere in between.
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,…good for you to step out of the shadows and introduce yourself 
), or If all that’s going well, I can’t remember the words!