Hi all, I’m Eric from Devon.
Had my midlife crisis at 40 and now at 52 I want to learn the guitar. For no other reason than I wanna!!!
So now I’ve all the gear and no idea!
I spent a long time scoring youtube and have picked up a few basic skills but have also found that my stumpy sausage fingers and arthritic knuckles struggle to form and keep shapes on the fret.
Hoping Justin’s courses can help me acquire the knowledge i need to play the way i have to!!
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Hi Eric,…
Welcome,… and you can stop hoping,…you found and start learning now 
I wish you a lot of fun 
Greetings,Rogier
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Welcome to the forum Eric
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Hello Eric and welcome to the forum 
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Hey Eric. Welcome to the forums. I started over ten years ago at the age of 53 and just love playing guitar. Very rewarding. When I started a friend who was very good with guitar suggested a wider neck guitar to get started. In your case maybe even a nylon string guitar might give more room for your fingers. It doesn’t limit you from using a narrower neck guitar in the future. Don’t let the size of your fingers worry you, look at some of the black blues players, their hands are enormous. Look forward to hearing more from you.
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That will do it !
Welcome.
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Welcome Eric. Just the simple fact that you wanna learn is enough to help you succeed. 
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Welcome Eric! Rock on!
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<<best reason I can think of!
It seems a lot of us here have started in our 50s or 60s. You’re just in time (pun intended
)!
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Hey Eric, 51 here, you can learn at 52 but you’ll need at least 1 more guitar than you own now
hth
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Welcome Eric! Good on ya for jumping onboard the guitar train! Enjoy! 
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Thank you all for the warm welcome and words of encouragement.
The mind is willing and eager but the body is too messed up to comply!!!
Should be an interesting journey!
Eric
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Hello and welcome to our community Eric. 
You have to show those fingers who is the boss and I’m sure with the help of Justin’s course you’ll get to where you want to be.
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I think I’ve had two midlife crises (I’m in my fourth career), and after decades of starting and stopping on the classical guitar, I finally got an electric this year at 51 years old, and it’s been very satisfying so far.
Discomfort with chords (particularly that F chord, of course) seems to be an inevitable part of the process, but stretching, warming up, and practice seems to do wonders for me.
Hope it all works out for you!
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Hello Eric and welcome to the community.
Of course they can and you will learn with patience, knowing that there will be frustrations, going through the ordeal of thinking your body, hands, fingers are the wrong shape and don’t work etc etc.
Justin’s courses have helped thousands learn to play - young and old. Good luck with it.
Cheers
| Richard_close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide, Approved Teacher & Moderator
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Many thanks to the community for all the words of encouragement.
I will document my learning on this page Smooth learning - #18 by ericsmoothy should anyone wish to follow me.
I will update periodically to show what progress Im making.
Thanks all once again
Eric
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Hello Eric,
My family crossed the pond from Devon in 1858 to settle in Ontario, Canada where I am now. I haven’t yet visited England, but hope to soon to trace my family roots. I have seen videos of Devon and it looks absolutely beautiful!
Wishing you the best in your guitar journey,
Christina
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Eric, welcome to the community. I think that with patience and practice you will be able to play the guitar in spite of problems with your fingers. Before you give up, look at the discussion for Grade 1, Module 4 on Beginner Finger Stretches, where several stubby fingered and older guitarist (including myself) discuss our issues and solutions to short fingers. You can find it in the community course section or go to Justins website Grade 1 and click on the discussion tab for the Module 4 lesson on Beginner Finger Stretches. Good luck with your playing and above all, have fun.
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