Welcome, Jim. Glad you joined us.
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Welcome Jim, nice to have you here!
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Hi @ct2ewo Craig and @jimodonald and Jim and I say hello to any old dogs I may have missed above,
WELCOME all and hopefully you will keep playing and you will soon notice that it does not take much effort to pleasantly surprise people with a song that you can play …
Follow the lessons in a structured manner and practice most of the suggested songs… you won’t find it easier than here 
Greetings,Rogier
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thanks! nice to be here.
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Good Afternoon Everyone
Just thought I would introduce myself as I begin my guitar journey!
I am 59 and from UK. I retire from full time work in 2 weeks and thought I would learn the guitar!!
I was recommended Justin’s site and so glad I found it.
I must admit I am finding way harder and am struggling getting my finger tips in the right place so I dont catch the string above/below and also my fingers hurt!!
I am determined to carry on and practice and hopefully things will come togeather over time!
Hope to chat with you all soon
John
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Hi john, welcome to the site.
I also retired recently and also took up guitar. Best thing I have done for a long time.
Not only does it give you something to keep your mind and coordination busy along with learning a new skill. It also keeps you from under the wife’s feet 
Stick with the sore fingers and placement, it’s all part of the rite of passage of being a guitar player. My advice is if you find a certain thing frustrating put the guitar down and walk away for a break. when you return it may well fall into place. But, do return. Stick at it, it`s not easy if it was everybody would be doing it.
Phil
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Welcome, John. Everybody’s fingers hurt and a lot of us are learning in our retirement. Glad you found us!
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Welcome, and just to be clear, the sore fingers goes away once the calluses build up. I can play for a couple of hours, and at the end they might be a little tender, but not what I’d call sore, and not anything that would prevent me from playing longer if I wanted to. At the end of practice my back bothers me much more than my fingers.
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Hi John,
Welcome here and I wish you a lot of fun
And
You can stop hoping because I guarantee you that this will happen almost automatically, because if you pick up that guitar every day and follow the lessons in a somewhat structured manner, it will almost happen automatically…
Greetings,Rogier
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Thanks for the advice and words of encouragement Roger
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That was played very nicely.
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I have a general question about the Grade 1 modules. I’m currently on Module 6 and I’ve been learning for four months now. When I practice the songs on the phone app, I just try to get the chords correct and fast enough. I was practicing a song yesterday and I noticed on the song “Go Your Own Way” by Fleetwood Mac there were down and up strums. Should I worry about this too much at this point in my practice? I guess like most learners I’m concentrating on my fretting hand and not as much on my strumming/picking hand.
Hi Dana @DSC1755, at first, you should indeed practise chord changes and strumming separately. But once you get both under your belt, try combining them, maybe slow down a bit again at first. You will notice that for a lot of songs in the app, the proposed strumming pattern is indeed old faithful, which is introduced in module 4, so you should be ok with that by now.
But of course, you can use any strumming pattern you like 
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Hi all, I’ve always liked the idea of playing a guitar and at 70 years old I have bought a Tanglewood acoustic guitar. I’ve never thought I would be learning to play music for the first time at my age, but after scrawling through Youtube looking for inspiration I was drawn towards JustinGuitar and now I have the enthusiasm to learn to play. Looking forward to sharing ideas with everyone on the site. Gary 
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Welcome to the group, Gary. I started at 67, and here I am, nearly 75, and still plugging away at it.
One thing I learned about playing at my age was to be honest with myself about my limitations. I nearly quit a couple of years ago because I just wasn’t able to play as well as I thought I should be. I did a little “soul searching,” adjusted my expectations about why I was playing guitar, and settled into an acceptance of just using it to fill a couple of hours and clear my head every afternoon (I can’t think about anything else when I’m playing.)
So, follow Justin’s wonderfully structured course, and have fun!
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This is a funny topic / hall of fame I guess, so let me introduce myself and join the party …
I don’t feel an old dog myself, but turning 50 next month I’m certainly no spring chicken either
I’m on my 3rd year of JG right now (module 1 started on Sep/2021). Taking my time (between work and family I can squeeze about 1h most weekday evenings) and having lots of fun in the process. I was a bit uncertain when starting, having had very little prior experience, but I’m super happy with where I am now and with the journey ahead.
I’ll present myself to the front desk to pick-up my old dog lapel pin and framed certificate
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Thanks for your words of advice Mark and I am looking forward to getting involved with the community, practice routines and just learning to play songs within my own capabilities. It’s nice to know there are so many enthusiastic learners out there to share thoughts with. 
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i just did the barre chord workshop. I’m 75 and have been playing my 1964 Guild D40 dreadnought off and on since I got it as a Sweet Sixteen present. I do mostly fingerpicking, but have always struggled with barre chords. Practice is also difficult for me. I just want to play and sing songs and am an obstinate practicer
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Welcome Tima @wwwoolf! You’re in good company here. Hope to see you around the community, and in future clubs!
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