Hey from Australia, I'm Simone

[Simone_Plays_Guitar]

Hey guys! 14 days into learning the guitar for me. Finished work for the year and decided to go out and torture myself with learning yet another new skill eh why not

Played violin as a child with horribly boring theory, dabbled in keyboard throughout covid for some fun and decided to skip the theory and learning of proper technique, which of course only got me so far! Plus then couldn’t kick the bad habits I burned into my brain as a beginner mucking around.

Come Christmas holidays of 2024 I thought I should try again, this time guitar, and this time learning a lil theory and proper technique… Surely I can do this right???

Bounced around on youtube for the first week, even watched some of Justin’s videos throughout. Chucked my damn email into any site that offered free modules or sessions and can so far say nothing seems to compare to Justin’s site here

14 days in I can do chords, E, A, D, G, Em, Am, C… F is next but will tackle that one when I reach the right module haha

My fingers have been tingling with pins and needles since the start, but have calloused over now! (Thank god) with practice every day. Also found that filing my nails down on my fretting hand makes getting correct finger placement easier.

I’m 30 years old, almost 31 and I’m already battling with the thoughts of - I’ve missed my chance to get good at this - or my hands are too small - or my guitar is too big - wait no its cos MY STRINGS ARE TOO TIGHT I should get new strings - or I’m just never gonna get this right… - nah deep down I know I just need to keep practising.

Hoping to keep the momentum up into the new year and also around my return back to work after the holidays, prioritising time for practice.

I have a Stagg SA25 or something like that, acoustic.

I would be keen to learn 70s and video game soundtracks, yeah I reckon I’m niche haha. Ever heard the Farcry 5 theme song? Now that This Old World Is Ending by Dan Romer, that’s gonna be my guitar song goal, lots of beautiful guitar parts in there.

Would love to know how long you guys have been playing/learning and how you think you’re progressing.

Cheers Sim

[TheMadman_tobyjenner]

Welcome to the Community Simone.

For starters at 30 you have plenty of time to get good at this but don’t be in a rush. Looks like you have crammed a lot into those 14 days already but as I have said many times in the past, it is a marathon not a sprint so be methodical and take your time, you have plenty.

Best place to see how other are getting on or even how they approach things, would be to check out the Learning Logs section. Its a handy way of recording your progress and keeping yourself honest and on track.

Most importantly enjoy the ride, its a long journey !

https://community.justinguitar.com/c/community-hub/learning-logs/231

[roger_holland]

Hi Simone ,

Welcome here and I wish you a lot of fun and decades of guitar learning

Greetings,Rogier

[Avalon426]

Hi Simone
Welcome to the community
Yes, I agree, there’s not anything out there that compares to JustinGuitar. Take your time working through the modules and you can’t go wrong. And don’t be discouraged by F chord when you get to it, in my experience it takes quite a while to get down.
Most importantly, have fun on your guitar journey

[Boris1565]

Hi Simone, welcome to the forum. You are already on the right path by finding Justin Guitar.

@Simone_Plays_Guitar

I’m already battling with the thoughts of - I’ve missed my chance to get good at this - or my hands are too small - or my guitar is too big - wait no its cos MY STRINGS ARE TOO TIGHT I should get new strings - or I’m just never gonna get this right… - nah deep down I know I just need to keep practising.

This is difficult and requires you to put some time in to slowly improve. You will doubt yourself and find number of things that “prevent” you to do x or y. Those are misconceptions mostly, you will always find a way to play something if you practice and stay focused. There are some objective limitations, but most of them are either on a technically very high level or not completely restrictive, there is a way around.

[Simone_Plays_Guitar]

Very true - with everything I tend to cram as much in as possible to skill up fast but I should be careful not to burn out along the way. It’s definitely sounding like a multiple year journey Cheers I’ll check out that section!

[Simone_Plays_Guitar]

Absolutely! Justin Guitar has been best resource site I have come across, very grateful for it to be free and accessible to all

[Simone_Plays_Guitar]

Agree, my mind likes to find a reason why I can’t do something - e.g it must be my gear or my smaller hands… nope it’s just me being an amateur hahaha. Much more learning ahead as I go through the modules

[Richard_close2u]

Hello Simone.
Welcome to JustinGuitar and this fantastic community. Please take your time to look around and get to know the wider space.
https://community.justinguitar.com/categories

We are a supportive and encouraging group of students and guitarists from across the world. Essentially, we are all here for music and to improve as players. We truly are a ‘community’. Members help and support one another and a friendly, positive attitude underpins this. We hope that all - young or old, experienced or new players - adopt and foster the pay-it-forward ethos that Justin personifies and embedded all those years ago when he started the website and forum.

Also, please make sure to read the community etiquette announcement for some important information and guidance.

Last - many, many people have been where you are now. You have picked up some guitar skills but are unsure how best to proceed. The advice is always as you have been given. Reset. Default to zero. Go back to Grade 1 lesson 1 and work up from there. Pay special attention to the technique and training and developing good habits that are an essential component of Justin’s teaching approach. You can accelerate through lessons where you can physically do things and still take value from the learning they contain.
Good luck.

ps
We have online Community Open Mics.

Richard

[stitch]

Welcome to the forum Simone

[CATMAN62]

Hello Simone & Welcome!!!

Learning guitar is very challenging but also quite rewarding! Beware of the “sprint until you collapse” mentality… it’s common to reach a plateau & get the feeling that you’re not improving which can lead to burnout!
Keep going for sure but make sure to keep it lots of fun!!!
Good luck with your guitar journey!!!

Tod from New Mexico USA

[TheCluelessLuthier]

Welcome to the community Simone. While it is great to have goals, remember to enjoy the ride. That way you will stay on the horse.

[Ontime]

Welcome aboard, dont worry, 30 is not too late to start anything.

Video game songs are way cool. One that I have been wanting to learn is from a super old game called Command & Conquer Red Alert. Its called Hell March.

Red Alert C&C Soundtrack: Hell March (HD)

Its pretty heavy.

[tony]

G’day Sim, welcome to the community, quite a few aussies around here. Been playing acoustic now for well over 10 years and my start was certainly very much thanks to Justin. And I keep picking up new things from him regularly as well.

The neat thing for me, while the guitar seemed really hard at first but once I got my first song working all the way through, that’s when the light went off in my head and the fun started. It’s so cool, from my perspective, that I can pick up my guitar at any stage and pull a song or two or a dozen out of my back pocket and just sing and play away.

Australia has a great live music culture, lots of open mics and jams and such. Whereabouts do you live?

[sclay]

Welcome Simone, from a fellow Aussie.
Enjoy your early journey. Stick close Justins lessons, and reach out here for any help.

Cheers, Shane

[Simone_Plays_Guitar]

Thanks for all the replies guys looks like theres a really awesome community on this site, so cool to hear from people all over the world as well as Australia!

Had a read of the learning logs page last night and even that had awesome discussions about struggles people are encountering in their journey etc etc. makes it so much easier with the info and resouces all in one place here. Plus just goes to show I’m not alone in what I’m experiencing!

Looking forward to that time that everyone talks about, when the hand and mind connections just click

[SteveL_G99]

Hi Sim, welcome to the community forum. Have fun using what you have learned by playing some songs. I enjoy learning from Justin’s song lessons on the website that are organized by grade.

[CD02]

Welcome Simone,

Gradually more and more from Oz and NZ joining here. Good to hear you’ve decided to challenge yourself. Sounds like it’s going well with those chords under your belt.

Good luck

[Simone_Plays_Guitar]

Cheers Steve, have been practicising my chord changes to increase speed, because I noticed if I can’t jump between them quickly my songs dont sound like songs so have mastered the jump from A-D-E in random combinations about 60 times per min and can play the very basic tide is high song version so far haha

Playing a song helps it all click more imo!

[Simone_Plays_Guitar]

Its pretty cool seeing peoples experiences on the site who are from aus and NZ, surprised how popular it is! How long have you been playing?