65 yro old male

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Permalink Reply by chris cooper on July 18, 2009 at 11:25pm

Dont be hard on yourself,i am 59 and i am doing the same.Just enjoy the battle of learning a great instrument.All the very best regards Chris

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Permalink Reply by Dominic Lupico on July 19, 2009 at 3:10am

I started almost 3 yrs. ago at 57, now my older brother is starting at 66. We have great fun plodding along together. Just enjoy the guitar. Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Tony Hogan on July 19, 2009 at 4:13am

Great question Gil.

I think we all play for different reasons and even if we are playing for casual reasons I think it is important to stop and work out what is it we want to achieve and come back to why we play. Personally I think we all play because we want to express our emotions, music is about feelings, to say things that can't be said any other way. Working on a handful of songs and making them sound musical needs to be a priority. Some players play very very complexly but it can sound awful, others play simply and it sounds really quite nice. I think being in time and in tune are things to sort as quick as possible, if these are not right it'll take longer , but add feeling to those two things and it's a great start. I think it is important to perform songs in the early stages (for others) which are a fraction beneath our ability but to work on songs that are a touch above our skill level in private. I find it important to always finish practicing with something I know well and that way when I walk away from the instrument, I have a good feeling, not one of lack. Mixing up practice with both work and pleasure is important. REALLY GOOD is a variable, there's no reason why any person that has music busting to get out, wouldn't attain great results if they have the right stuff to work on and are organised and confident enough to follow it through. I wish you many happy hours of music.

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Permalink Reply by Robert Mullins on July 19, 2009 at 6:40am

Gil,

I agree with everything that has been said. Tony, expressed much of what I would have said (Tony, well said!).

Sounds like your age is truly not an issue for you. Your picking up an instrument and learning to play and wanting to perform, thats outstanding. Keep going! Yes, you can get really good, not in spite of your age but because of it.

Time is relative to your attitude toward it and in relation to your playing. You didn't view your age as a barrier to begin playing or taking lessons. That speaks volumes as to your attitude toward time - that was not a barrier to you two years ago. It is not now either.

What you have to your advantage is your age. You have a lifetime of experiences & thoughts & feelings inside of you. Those experiences will come out in your playing. The way you express a phrase, bend a note, use vibrato etc, these modes of expression on the guitar come from within the person, and they are shaped by how you think and feel - which has been shaped by your life. They are unique to you. They are yours, and that is powerful

Beyond the physical aspects of playing the instrument, which every player struggles with (I have been playing 30 years and I still struggle with it), the expression of what you can play comes from within you; the way you feel about that note or chord in relation to the piece is your expression. You are well ahead of many in that arena, and that is the thing that reaches the listener more than anything else; the emotion attached to the notes we play. The notes and the act of playing the guitar are a vehicle for whats inside of you, and you've been building that for 65 years. We humans are like a fine wine, we improve with age, at least on the inside.

Gil, tap into your inner player, let him express himself and you will see, in time, your playing will improve beyond what your thinking. Put Gil into those notes and phrases, even now, and they will begin to take on a new energy and personality. Use your age to your advantage, it is your ally, not a barrier to your progress.

I wish you the best. Throw some Gil in there and let it shine.

Robert

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Permalink Reply by Gil Brown on July 19, 2009 at 12:28pm

To Robert and to all that replied to me. Wow i have never seen such a really knowlegable group of people and Robert You have given me a whole new prospective on learning and you have a way with words and guess you have that with the notes that you play to. I am proud to be on the Ascoustic Guitar community and I hope that I may be able to help some one some day as you guys have helped me and I may lean on you guys some more . Thanks again. Gil

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Permalink Reply by Robert Mullins on July 20, 2009 at 9:50pm

Gil,

Your very welcome. I appreciate your kind words. We all learn from each other, I learn here all the time. Enjoy the community, it is a great place filled with a lot of great people.

Robert

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Permalink Reply by Lou on July 31, 2009 at 10:28am

Everyone has said it as well as anyone could but I would like to add one more view. Harry Chapin once did a song called, "Mr. Tanner"; "He did not know how well he played, it just made him whole". That's what it's all about. I don't, "practice", per say, I just play and enjoy myself. Age is a relative thing and life is too short not to give whatever you want to do a shot, (as long as it's legal).

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Permalink Reply by Charles on October 8, 2009 at 1:05am

I remember counseling my youngest son when he was 15 years old and taking guitar lessons (like driving a car....I did not attempt to teach him myself....we got proffessional help). Anyway he was frustrated about his progress and worried about playing in a group with others.

I told him to learn to enjoy the experience. It is more important to treat it as a recreational experience. If it should blossom into a career, fine. If not, he will always have the recreation to look forward to. He could put it aside or pick it up any time he desired. Don't worry about impressing others.

He did not become the next Eddie Van Halen, however he learned to play quite well and quite often jams with others today. He has thanked me for turning him onto the importance of the recreational side of music.

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Permalink Reply by Gil Brown on October 8, 2009 at 1:35am

Charles

Thanks for the reply and I will always remember your words of wisdom. I did feel what you said and will try to remind my self each day as I pracitce. Thanks again Gil

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Permalink Reply by Newbie Dean on October 8, 2009 at 8:12am

These guys have it NAILED. I'm 60 and just started about 6 months ago. I'm not taking "lessons" from a teacher. I have a "coach" who is a good friend of mine. He started me out with some basic chord progressions to play around with. Then he layed out some songs that used those chords so that I could actually MAKE MUSIC! I have NO aspirations to become the next Chet Atkins. I'm playing strictly for myself. My wife calls me a "closet player" because I lock myself in my music room when I play/practice. She very seldom can hear me. My coach and I don't get together on a schedule. We get together whenever I feel I'm ready for something new. He'll come over and we'll go over some new stuff while our wives play cards. My goal is that by the end of my first year, to be able to jam with him. He's been at this for over 40 years so is teaching me guitar players methods and not necessarily how a teacher would teach. But it works fine. The biggest comment would be to KEEP IT FUN!!!! ...............Dean

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Permalink Reply by Clark Ellison on October 8, 2009 at 9:40am

I started at 57 and took classes at the local college. We ask the same questions as the "kids" in the class. Our teacher would answer questions about music theory with " I will give what is about five years of music in five minutes and you will get what you get out of it" so basically, we cannot expect to gather the practices and practice in a couple of years that will make us the players we hear that have thirty years of playing behind them. I know of no harder judge than ourselves and doubt we will ever be completely satisfied with our playing as hopefully we will always be trying something new as we learn to play. As I get one thing down I find I tell myself " hey if I can do that now I can try this". My fingers are stiff and confused, my brain is always in a whirl as there is so much to learn. There are things that I never knew existed that show up once I get a little knowledge and I want to try all of them. It may feel at times you are getting nowhere but back when you decided to get your guitar what did you know? Look at what you can do now. I find that I do learn things faster now that I have some experience but still it takes time for the fingers to respond to their lessons. Once you have a bunch of chords down you can add to what you know and at that point you can actually start to feel the progress. What you once looked at and said I will never get my fingers to play that, is now within reach.

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Permalink Reply by Newbie Dean on October 8, 2009 at 11:32am

I know what you mean about your fingers. My coach put it this way: Playing guitar is GOD'S way of letting you know you only have limited control of youself (fingers). I find that at times I REALLY suck. I set the git down and go back in an hour and BEHOLD I sound OK again!!!!!! KEEP IT FUN!!!!!!...............DEAN

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