I’m in my mid fifties and 30 yrs ago when i moved from Glasgow to London i bought a Fender acoustic guitar with the intention of learning to play. I took zero lessons and tried to learn from a book. I do not remember learning even one chord before i gave up and got rid of it.
Roll on to March 2022 and one of my wifes friends visits us from the Netherlands. He plays jazz guitar and keys and he asked me if i could drive him to our local Guitar store as he’d like to check it out. I’d never been in to it but would go for a pint every monday night in the pub next door. Well, imagine my surprise when i did go in and discovered it was Tardis like and was full of lovely guitars. I was mesmorised by them all. That store was Andertons in Guildford. I had no idea it was famous on youtube throughout the world. I do now though.
So two weeks after that visit i couldn’t get guitars out of my head and i went in and had another look around and chose a nice shiny Gretch Electromatic and that was that. JustinGuitar was discovered and i set off on my journey to learn once again. It took me about six weeks to get through grade1 and that’s where i have stopped so far. I work for myself and i had been taking my guitar with me on the road around UK practicing in hotel bedrooms when i had a moment. Then in mid summer my wife had an accident and our landlord decided to evict us to sell the house. Several months of chaos ensued and guitar playing and practice ceased while we searched for a new home and tried to get my wife back to health.
Now it’s Dec 2022 and for last three or so weeks i’ve been going back through grade 1 quickly and then playing my favourite songs one at a time to try to get me back in the rhythm of it all. Oh and i bought a Telecaster ( i had always wanted one). I recorded myself playing a few songs over weekend and will post them in safe space for feedback before i move on to Grade 2.
Hi Gordon, welcome. I hope the months of chaos you endured are now on the rearview mirror (as it looks they are). Having a chance to go over grade 1 again may help you to build a better guitar playing foundation.
Welcome aboard but forgive my bluntness if I say: “This Community cannae take no more Gordons, Captain!”
(If you hail from Glasgow, you’re likely to have a good sense of humour and this is really a dig at someone else )
Look forward to listening to your recordings when you’re ready
Hey Gordon, that’s awesome, great to hear you are getting your groove going. I dreamed of playing for many years and finally started 10 years ago when I was 53. It’s so very worth it and my wife has commented many times how glad she is that I decided to start playing. It’s opened up a whole world of friends and experiences we wouldn’t have had otherwise.
Welcome! I’ve definitely enjoyed my two visits to Scotland. Mostly Edinburgh and Glasgow, but also went up to Pitlochry to see a friend. I’d love to visit again, but it’s unlikely.
Welcome Gordon. I’m a newbie as well, in fact I posted my first video today. I would thoroughly recommend getting involved in the open mic night, even as as a viewer. The latest one is this Saturday. Where are you in Scotland?
Hello Gordon, welcome to the community and thank you for sharing your story. I hope your wife is back to health and your home issues are sorted.
The Andertons you visited is also quite local to Justin - he has appeared in some of their videos and he created a series of one-to-one video lessons with Lee Anderton: https://www.justinguitar.com/playground/rut-busters
If you need any help, encouragement or guidance just ask.
Cheers
| Richard_close2u | JustinGuitar Official Guide, Approved Teacher & Moderator
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