Started young and have played Guitar off and on for 50 years ! With the advent of the internet and sites like Justin Guitar, it has never been easier to learn. It’s awesome to see people starting to learn at any age. It’s such a fabulous activity and you will get great joy as you incrementally get better. Enjoy the process, it’s not always easy but worth it.
I play a ton of Beatles and my guitar hero Mark Knopfler. A fun fact: 10 years ago I started a tradition of recording a Christmas song each year with a backing track, I add guitar tracks and my 2 daughters would join me in singing. It’s been such a great tradition that I do an additional song with my wife. I’ve gone further and created music videos posted on youtube and facebook
Advice I have learned the hard way …
Play SLOWLY as you are learning new riffs, chords, etc.
Play as many type of guitars before buying any “holy grail” guitar. I made this mistake by purchasing a signature Martin that was absolutely the wrong guitar for me. Neck, body size etc are so important. The best guitar is the one you want to PLAY
Play along to backing tracks and record yourself. Making music is why you play; not learning new techniques !
Right-hand: play softer ! I see/hear people playing guitar and they just bang the hell out of it and it sounds awful.
I “think” I have finally settled on my final collection of guitars:
Taylor 12 fret grand concert. I’m 6’1" but still like the feel of a small guitar. It still has plenty of volume
Suhr 2004 Custom. One of the earliest Suhrs made. Single coils with Bridge Humbucker.
Suhr 2021 Custom with 2 Humbuckers. Still Waiting, ordered Mach 2021.
Welcome to the forum. It sounds like you have plenty of experience. I agree that the shiny new guitar you see online is not always the right one. I went through some guitars that look cool yet are not easy to play (BC Rich for example). Play the guitar that makes you happy and comfortable. I personally love my Martin guitar , but it is not for everyone. I love your bullet points of techniques too. I agree playing softer, even without a pick can sound better than aggressive strums . It sounds like you are a wealth of knowledge and advice. I have been playing using Justin guitar for about 2 years now and have made leaps and bounds in progress. The best thing I learned is to give myself time to absorb the materials and not rush things. Playing in time and with quality sound is better than a portfolio of 30 partial songs with poor technique. Nice to meet you.
Welcome to the community. Great to read your advice. I too bought the wrong holy grail guitar. Thankfully I bought it second hand so when I sold it I didn’t end up losing any money and it’s perfect for the new owner, who unfortunately doesn’t know how to strum gently so the rosette is now destroyed .
Hi. I didn’t mean to pick on Martin. Martin makes an excellent product. My particular Martin had a large V Shape Neck that I find uncomfortable and difficult. Large Body also.
