Hi, my name is Richy and I am an absolute beginner at the age of 60, living in the Lowlands(Netherlands).
Being here a few months I am really enjoying all I read and watch on Justin’s community and lessons.
Playing guitar was always a wish but I never came to it until beginning of this year a friend of mine played a bit as we had a coffee…
I was sold, bought me a Richwood acoustic and I booked some lessons at a guitar teacher… Unfortunately there wasn’t a click at all and when I asked about the pain in my fingers, he just said “get used to it” without any explanation or tips so I stopped…
Then I came accross Justin’s lessons on Youtube and began reading and listening, the rest is history.
The key was to start with an electric…Got me a 2nd hand Epiphone Studio which turned out to be broken and after taking time to read, I took the plunge and went for a Fender Strat. Two days after I got it, a guy in the neighbourhood had one of his Telecasters for sale. We met and talked about guitars in his little studio and he played…wow.
So allthough I am struggling a bit, I love it and still dream of playing like a lot of you.
Thanks for reading my introduction, all the best.
Richy
Welcome, Rich. As you say it started for all of us with a first dream, and now you are with us making dreams reality. And of course we never stop dreaming, it’s a never-ending adventure. Have fun every day.
welcome to the community. I started at age 53 and similarly found it difficult to connect with one on one teachers. Far too many of them push theory far too early. I found justin guitar and the rest is history. 10 years on I’m SO glad I stuck with it for those first couple of months when progress is seemingly slow. Hang in there, it just keeps getting better.
Hi Richy welcome to the community. Stick with Justin and before you know it you’ll be living the dream 
Hi Richy,
welcome aboard!
Welcome Richy,
You’ve found a great place to learn.
Justin method is fantastic and the community is inspiring. As I keep saying; the community makes you want to keep returning and learning.
Hoi Richy,
Welkom in this great world of guitar learning…hope to hear a lot more from you and above all i wish you a lot of fun,… 
Greetings ,Rogier
Thank you all for the warm welcome, I will let myself being inspired by you guys.
Have a great week.
Hello Rich and welcome aboard. 
Keep following the course and one day you’ll be able to play just how you’ve always imagined you’d be able to.
I have never had any success with teachers. I just find them really disappointing and a waste of money. Like you and many others I started later in life, with an acoustic. Went to buy some new strings and walked out with a cheap electric. Best thing I ever did. Irrespective of the low action advantage I just prefer electric guitar. I have been following Justin for years. He comes from a land down under like me. And although I have many different inputs now, I still use Justin as my anchor.
Stick with it and try to play with other people as much as possible.
Hi Richy.
Lowlands of Scotland here. I have just joined and am at the same stage as you .Great that we are not alone at the times of struggle. keep on keeping on.
thanks mate, I have the same feeling…
Welcome aboard!
Plenty of inspiration to be had around here. It seems there are a lot of us err…more mature newbies around as well!
One to One teaching of anything is hit and miss - and anyone who simply says ‘get used to the pain’ isn’t worth the money.
My wife has just started learning as well, and I helped by giving her a few exercises which may help the pain.
Basically, the thinnest strings are the most vicious, and the thicker are kinder to the fingers, so it makes sense to switch from the thinner to thicker when pain arrives.
She’s doing the usual A, D and E chords, but when the fingers get sore, I got her to do the G Major Scale on the thickest 2 strings - this also got her to loosen her fingers up a bit, provided a bit of a gentle stretch, and coincidentally started to teach her the notes on the first 5 frets of the guitar…total coincidence of course 
- now she is doing the full G Major Scale (about 2 months in) and I get her to call out the note names as she does so.
The other thing to do with the finger pain is to look for the Peter Gunn riff, and the 7 Nation Army riff, which are fun to do, and again use the thickest strings, so they are easier on the fingers.
Thanks for the tips, highly appreciated…I am only trying to master the A and D and switching accords for now…pretty hard for a total newbie my age …
Maybe it is age that prevents me from getting it in my fingers quicker, or just impatience…as I see some playing, I just can’t wait but i guess you all had that stage
Switching between A and D is tough for everyone at the start. I am only a couple of years younger than you, so appreciate that it can seem like an age thing…but it is just an experience thing!
Learning the stuff may take us a bit longer than the youngsters, but just getting the fingers to do as they are told will always take time. Patience is key here - accept that it is going to take a few months for your brain and fingers to talk properly, have some fun, and don’t stress about the length of time it takes
Hi Richy,
Hope your guitar journey is a good one remember the finger pain well I started on a acoustic with a very high action and little hands went to an electric about 1 year later and though why the hell did I do that although no pain now.
You also need to love the way your guitar looks and feels to want to pick it up and play makes you good.
Amanda
Thanks for the comments, yeah patience is the key …
As I started learning how to play, I came to some videos of guitar building so I set my mind also on building my own electric guitar… Seems like a lot of fun.
Welcome to the Community Richy.
Lots of knowledge and experience here, so exploit it as much as you can !
Cheers
Toby
Welcome Richy! Our journey sounds very similar. I started playing after retirement at age 63 with an acoustic I received as a gift. I knew nothing about guitars and started private lessons that frustrated me to no end. Started watching Justin and realized from many sources that the action was too high. So off to a luthier I went (had to find one first living rural) and the difference was amazing. I credit Justin with everything i have learned in the last 6 years about this wonderful guitar journey. I now have more guitars than my ability should warrant but I just love to play both acoustic and electric. GAS is a real syndrome but hey, has helped maintain my sanity in the last few rough years for many. Enjoy and again, welcome to the community.
@JanKR1953 thanks mate, …wow, what a joy to read your comment…it meanss there is still hope for me…lol.
Allthough my patience is my hurdle, I keep on practicing, one day i will be able to play a sond, then I will be over the moon…