Hi everyone, I’m 63 years old and recently decided to pick up the guitar to keep myself busy after retiring from a 40 year career in the tech industry. I’m located in the Merrimack Valley, north of Boston. When I started looking into ways of learning guitar online JustinGuitar kept being recommended, so here I am. I’m using the app on my iPad and currently struggling with the fingerings of the D and A chords in Module 1.
Currently I’m playing my daughter’s Ibanez electro-acoustic, which didn’t make the move to grad school with her. I’ve told myself that if I’m still playing after a year, and feel I’m making progress, I can get my own guitar. I played the flute in high school band, so I’m familiar with the idea of “you just need to practice until it becomes muscle memory”, and I know just enough music theory to be dangerous. Not much about chords or chord progressions though.
Welcome Steve, to a great place to learn guitar and meet musicos from around the globe. My son and daughter both got guitars they took to college. Then came life and they just sit in a closet (the guitars, not my kids). A high school trumpet player whose horn never made it to college, I decided to learn guitar to at age 64. Three years later I’m the one who can play, they love it and they wish they had time restart their journey. Have fun, play songs!
Hi Steve
It’s lovely to meet you too!
I think you’ll make good progress if you keep following Justin’s lessons, then get your own guitar when you’ve been playing for a year (pictures please) but just warning you, it probably won’t stop there… you’ll get the GAS and be all addicted… but I agree with Rogier, life is going to be even more fun
Hi Steve and welcome learning guitar is and should be fun, the Bee Gees wrote a song called Massachusetts this time next year you may be able to play it looking forward to a rendition.
Welcome, and high five to a fellow high school band flute player! I hope you stick around, both with the guitar and here on the forum. Guitar is quite fun, even if it took my melodic-instrument-trained brain a while to really understand the point of learning all these chords.
So many chords! So many shapes! The same chord played a dozen different ways and locations! 6ths, 7ths, 9ths, 11ths, 13ths! Are the music gods trying to make us crazy?
Hi Steve.
Great to have you onboard here on ‘the’ forum. It’s a great place to hang out and you’ll get much inspiration and help from the folks here.
Great that you have access to a guitar and a great plan for the future for getting one that you pick out too.
Keep at it. Playing guitar is a life long adventure. There seems to me to always be something that you will want to work on.
Sounds like you’ve got some music in your background too. This will be helpful in your quest imho. Many folks here were playing in band in high school. Including me. My band instrument was trombone. And that theory you learned back then will come back. And what don’t come back, you’ll learn again, or maybe even learn something new about theory.
Remember to have fun. This is what it’s all about for me. When your making music, it really is fun. It’s something that not everyone does.
Anyways, good to meet you too!
Keep at them A and D chords. You’ll get them. They will be most useful as you progress along…
Also don’t forget to ask questions here. Any question. Folks will be chomping at the bit to help answer your questions. JustinGuitar imho is a learning forum for folks just like near everyone here. We all just want to learn to play. And supporting our fellow players is what it’s all about here.
Personally, I think guitar design is a conspiracy of luthiers. They need to keep us on our toes, or fingers, so we don’t get too musically complacent. Or maybe they’re trying to be kind and keep us endlessly entertained?
Welcome, Steve. I grew up in nearby North Reading. Started guitar late in life, too, last year. Loving it. Tried to make it 1 year without buying new gear, but only made it six months (to powerchord lesson) before I knew I was hooked, and I broke down and got the least expensive Squire ‘Strat’ I could find. And a Katana amp. No regrets. Loving this community and teacher, hoping you will too!
Welcome Steve! You found your way to Justin Guitar in a very similar way to me…even started at the same age with the same motivation. Hope to see you around!
We all have different approaches to learning, but I’ll share mine: at the beginning don’t let struggles hold you back too much. Some things will come easily, others will be bigger challenges. For now, if you can get your 30 changes per minute, I’d say you’re good to move on. Just keep that in your practice routine, and/or work on a song that exercises those fingerings.
Hey Steve. Welcome to the community. I’m also a retiree from the tech community and playing guitar is a lot more fun in retirement as there’s more time to dedicate to it. Look forward to hearing more from you.
Welcome to the group. My paternal line comes out of Massachusetts. My G-G-G-G-G-G-G-Grandfather George Robbins was in Chelmsford in the 1650s. I’ve never visited, but I’m told that the millstones from his grist mill are still sticking out of the ground at the site of his homestead.
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Justin is the greatest and “like a game” way to learn guitar. I wish you a great journey!