Hi my name is Donald a 66 year old H.M.Forces veteran living in Scotland. I have been wanting to play the guitar for decades but never got round to it,so here i am now just starting out. I bought myself a Yamaha pacifica 120 and love it,i also have a squire mustang i bought because i have small hands,however i find that my fingers fit the frets of the pacifica better so i mainly do my practice on the pacifica. i had watched a load of videos on Utube but found them contradicting each other,then i came across justin guitar and have managed to progress quicker and easier.
13 Likes
Hi Donald,
Greetings from Poland and warmest welcome to the community 
I think youāve made a great decision to join the Justin Guitar, thereās a lot of valuable educational material and a helpful community; Iām sure youāll enjoy your membership.
Iām 71 now, but fortunately I started a long time ago, so I definitely had more time to go through the beginnerās stage. Now, also retired, I spend most of my days playing and recording.
If possible, please share with us what you have learned. I wish you continued success and satisfaction.
Hello Donald & Welcome!!!
I hope you have a lot of fun learning & playing your Yamaha!!! Guitar is challenging but also very rewarding!!!
Good luck & have a good time!!!
Tod from New Mexico USA
1 Like
Hi Donald.
Iām 68 and also retired. Good thing you decided to join our community. Itās never too late for a new hobby, I wish you fast progress and lot of fun.
1 Like
welcome
1 Like
Welcome to the forum Donald
1 Like
Hi Donald,
Welcome here and I wish you a lot of fun 
Greetings,Rogier
1 Like
Welcome Donald,
Youāve certainly found the right place to make progress.
All the best
Mick
1 Like
Hi I am making good progress, I have just finished Grade one module 2. But instead of just ploughing straight ahead I like to go back and refresh the things I have learnt,that way I think it will become second nature over time. I do still struggle at times with chord changes but I canāt expect to be perfect overnight. Do you happen to know the best exercise to get my fingers to spread,I struggle with the spiderwalk exercise.
1 Like
Most of what Iāve learned comes from a daily practice; just playing songs, gradually more and more complicated. As regards more formal, ātechnicalā exercises aimed at spreading my fingers, I used a method I once watched on YT: I would pick a chord requiring particularly difficult stretch, grip it, check whether all the strings ring clearly, then hold it for some 15 seconds. This helps to develop the āfinger memoryā as they call it. After some time those chord grips start to come out naturally. I rarely, if ever, do exercises like the spiderwalk. Instead, I record any chord progression I like on a looper (guitaristās best friend 
) and solo over it, either using scales that Iāve learned or simply by ear, according to the principle Justin once mentioned in one of his videos: āIf it sounds good-itās good, if it sounds cā¦p, itās cā¦pā.
At this point I must emphasize that the exercises I described above may not be best suited and effective for other players.
Anyway, keep practicing the way you consider best for you, your playing style and the repertoire you wish to play. Good luck!
do the spider every single day , and it will become natural , just keep at it !
Welcome Donald.
I think youāre right, particularly in the first stages itās best to stick to a single source of truth. Get the basics under your fingers and then you can cherry pick from here and there. Just know that the opening stages are likely to take some time and thereās definitely likely to be times when you doubt it will ever come together, but with persistence it will.
My advice is to pick up your guitar as often as you can, many times a day even if itās just for a few minutes at a time. Build up to longer sessions over time. I try to make sure that even on my busiest days that I at least practice a few chord changes or something Iām working for a couple of minutesā¦ it all counts
1 Like
Hi Donald, fellow beginner here (just starting Grade 3). Not sure what version of the spider exercise youāre doing, but it may be too much too soon. Youāll find Justin introduces exercises throughout the course. Grade 1 Module 4 offers aBeginner Finger Stretch exercise. You might check it out! I still do this as part of every warmup.
1 Like
Welcome, Donald. Glad you joined. I was the same, wanted to play since I was a kid but only started a couple years ago. This is a great place to learn.
1 Like
Welcome, Donald, looks like youāre off to a great start. 
Have fun,
SlĆ inte Mhath
1 Like
Welcome to the Community, Donald 
It is very friendly, supportive and helpful 
And youāre definitely in a great place for progressing with JustinGuitar 
1 Like
Welcome to the community Donald.
1 Like
Thanks,it took me a while to join in because I suffer from severe social anxiety disorder. I have suffered from this since leaving the army,in the army you do things automatically almost without thinking, especially on active duty, you forget your personal feelings and concentrate on the job in hand. Since leaving the army I struggle to fit in so find playing or trying to play guitar a good therapy.
1 Like
Iām glad you found your guitar for therapy. I think you will find our community to be friendly and supportive.
Welcome to the community, Donald.
Have lots of fun on your guitar journey.
1 Like