Hi y’all,
greetings from Berlin, Germany! I’m so happy to meet you fellow guitar enthusiasts.
My name is Sonja, I am currently 29 years old and originally started playing the guitar 18 long years ago. Like many of you I had a rocky guitar journey before finding Justin.
Growing up, my dad introduced me to a lot of 70s and 80s Hard Rock and my first musical memory is a Deep Purple song (which is still my favourite song to this day). I’ve always admired virtuos guitarists and dreamt of playing like them, just as many of you probably did as well.
It was just a matter of time that I started playing myself when I was 11. In the beginning, I progressed quite quickly but even though I took lessons for 7 years, my progress got slower and slower, the fun began to dwindle and the frustration rose. This happens easily if you just learn to play songs and rarely actual technique on how to play properly. Most of these songs weren’t even ones I liked. We just went through the repertoire of my teacher and at some point I did not dare anymore to play songs I liked because I felt like my bad playing was ruining them. Even though after 5 or 6 years the playing was somewhat decent, I never had the courage to play with other people, since I always felt like I wasn’t good enough and wasn’t even worth playing music I liked.
So after finishing High School I happily took on the excuse that in University I just didn’t have time to play anymore. I was so frustrated that I didn’t pick up my beloved guitar for years.
Finally, last winter I picked up my accoustic guitar and started fooling around with some campfire style fingerpicking. I’m a leftie but play the right-handed way (my former teacher had never asked me about my dominant hand - he found out after he had been teaching me for five years). So accoustic fingerstyle was much easier since most of my struggle used to be rhythm and picking.
But those dreams about playing Hard Rock, Blues and AOR lead guitar were still lingering somewhere far in the back of my mind, burried under those years of accumulated frustration.
A few weeks ago I finally stumbled upon a video on Youtube reviewing Justin Guitar’s beginner course and decided: “Why not?!? Let’s just start from the beginning and see if maybe this time I can get somewhere and maybe even enjoy it!” There was nothing to loose anymore.
And so far it has been incredible! Even though I knew a buch of stuff like the open chords, there were so many new insights. Let me tell you, the way you hold your pick during alternate picking is SO important! I never knew that playing can feel so fun!
Now, the goal is to really try to get those foundations down well to maybe one day live the dream of playing the music that has been inside my heart for so long and never had a way to be expressed.
I’m curious about where this journey will lead.
I got her for my 12th birthday and it was love at first strum. She’s very happy that she finally gets some love again after spending many years in the attic.
If you read this far: I hope you have a wonderful day!
Keep on rockin \m/
I started playing at 11, took lessons for a few years, and played until I was about 20. I then took 45 years off before picking up a guitar again. Like you, I started with JG from Grade 1 and already knew a lot of things. I scraped off a lot of rust and picked up new skills by this approach. I’m a much better player now than was then and am having fun learning new techniques and theory and SONGs. And, like you, I still have the guitar that my parents got for me when I was 11
A very warm welcome to the forum from another German (from Dortmund).
You’ve found the perfect place to make your dream come true. I’m quite new and a complete beginner, and I’m enjoying every minute here, and surely you will, too.
The course and the lessons are great and very comprehensive. And here in the forum there are many kind and helpful members.
Parts of your guitar story sound very familiar to me.
You have a beautiful guitar, and she surely deserves a lot of love love after the time in the attic.
Have lots of fun and success on your musical journey and keep on rockin’ !
Great you found Justin’s course to rekindle your joy of guitar.
For me, it really helped me to keep being engaged in learning my first instrument a bit later in life. Still so much to practice, but the journey is half of the fun (with a good teacher ).
Not shilling or anything, but if I understood correctly you’d like to write your own music someday. If so, I highly recommend Justin’s Music Theory course. I’d say start it along Grade 2. I think the first grades are free to try. I tried some other resources to get into basic music theory and only Justin’s course alongside learning songs made it click for me so far.
But if you already played as long you may already know or feel music theory, but as always Justin’s teaching has lots of good wisdom nuggets and learning methods to really understand it and apply it to the guitar.
Anyway, same to you too: Keep on rockin’ in the free world!
Welcome, Sonja. That’s a very pretty guitar. I am glad you decided to start up again. I started for the first time in January, and I’m long past age 11 or even 29, but it sure is fun, even if I’m never going to be a rock goddess!
You are completely right, in the long run I’d love to write my own music (or rather make music by improv - been there before and it’s loads of fun)!
When I was still in school I used to be really deep into music theory but thb a lot is forgotten nowadays so I’ll gladly check out Justin’s lessons.
Thanks for the recommendation!
So glad you picked your guitar back up again and enjoying the ride so far. What a beauty you have there!
Also played a lot when I was a teen (self taught, I already was having piano lessons back then) and dropped during university years. Restarted my journey about 1 year ago. Bunch of other people have comparable experiences, so you’re in good company here.
For now, I just wish you loads of fun on your way!
Welcome to the community, nice to hear from another German. Apparently I was conceived in germany although I have scant recollection of the event. I was born 12 days after my family migrated to America so I was dubbed the family volkswagen as I was made in Germany and shipped to America
Campfire songs on acoustic played fingerstyle is the vast majority of what I do although I really loved hard rock in my teens. Look forward to hearing more from you
Welcome to the forum Sonja. You’ve certainly found the right place for someone who restarted and many of us have (many times). Yes there will be lots of stuff in the early lessons you will already know but I found a mountain of things and bad habits I was not aware of !.
Be sure to shout up if you have any questions, folk here are only too willing to help.
Hi Sonja! I’m a bit late to the party but sending you a very warm welcome from another German! It certainly is a good decision to join the forum. Congrats on picking up the guitar again, seems as if you have a solid basis to build on already! That’s a great starting point and I’m sure you’ll reach your goals to play your rocky tunes and some blues in a reasonable amount of time. Have fun and enjoy the process and reach out for belp and advice, whenever you need.
Nice guitar. It’s sad to hear that your teacher put you off playing guitar but now you have found JustinGuitar hopefully you’ll be loving your guitar for all the enjoyment it can bring.
Hi Sonja. Welcome to the community, What a lovely looking guitar.
Seems to be a thing about old music teachers teaching songs that don’t inspire you to play.
Sound like you have loads of time to start rocking stuff you like and want to play
A
It’s not often you meet ‘young ones’ whose first musical memories are Deep Purple-
Props to your Dad
Really happy for you that you decided to take it up again, and how cool that you already have a head start. You’ll be flying!
After wanting to visit Berlin my whole life I finally got around to it and visit twice in the last couple of years. I shared my first trip (including my ‘Berlin playlist’ on the old forum and had a link to it somewhere in our new one here, but it has now become defunct.
I might see if I have it saved somewhere and resurrect it, as it brings back fond memories (although would probably be more relevant to your Dad )
Look forward to following your progress
).
and a long time of keep on playing 
Welcome to the group Sonja.
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