I picked up a guitar for the first time when I was 40. I had wanted to learn for a while but, being lefty, I was unsure how to get started and where to get a guitar, etc. Finally my wife said "why don't you rent a guitar from a music store and see if you have any luck learning. Then you could buy one if it looked like you'd stick with it." I thought I'd have a hard time finding a left-handed guitar to rent but it turned out that our town's little music store had a lefty Yamaha that they weren't having any luck selling. They rented it to me for 3 months and I faithfully tried to teach myself some chords and a few songs.
That was 20 years and about 2 dozen guitars ago. I have taught myself to be a reasonably good strummer and finger-picker in the meantime. I never gave much thought to playing leads but I'm now thinking I might as well give that a try too. I'm glad that I found that first rented Yamaha or I may never have taken the step to becoming a guitar player. It has brought me a lot of joy over the years.
It's never too late to begin.
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