Started playing at age 40 or older & still playing 10 years later? - Page 3

BreedloveRDMH · #31 10-07-2010, 08:30 AM

I'm 57 and started playing about 9 years ago. I never played before, never took lessons as a kid. I can tell you that I'll never stop, play every day and it is a huge part of my life.
Practice is the hard part, I should be better than I am, but I'd rather just work on strumming and finger picking a song that I want to learn/hear than actually go through workbooks.
I have decided to quit buying instructional dvd's and cut my self some slack and just enjoy playing and going to Bluegrass jams.
Maybe when I retire and the kids are out of the house I'll really set myself into a study/practice mode, but even if not, I'll never quit playing.
Charlie

Lewey · #32 10-07-2010, 08:39 AM

My 9 year old daughter wanted a guitar. We found a couple of Maestro by Gibson (china made) guitars at Best Buy for less than a C-note. Bought one for each of us and we both have been playing for the past year.

I have a background in piano so I expected to be able to pick up the guitar easier but I've been amazed at the speed which my daugther seems to be able to learn. Things I struggle with, she breezes through them.

I'm planning on upgrading the guitars to something a little better this year. Hope I can keep her interest up.

Broadus · #33 10-07-2010, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BreedloveRDMH

I'm 57 and started playing about 9 years ago. I never played before, never took lessons as a kid. I can tell you that I'll never stop, play every day and it is a huge part of my life.
Practice is the hard part, I should be better than I am, but I'd rather just work on strumming and finger picking a song that I want to learn/hear than actually go through workbooks.
I have decided to quit buying instructional dvd's and cut my self some slack and just enjoy playing and going to Bluegrass jams.
Maybe when I retire and the kids are out of the house I'll really set myself into a study/practice mode, but even if not, I'll never quit playing.
Charlie

Of the buying of instructional material, there is no end!

You're in a rare group, too, Charlie, starting at 48 and still going almost 10 years later. Thanks for sharing.

Bill

Broadus · #34 10-07-2010, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lewey

My 9 year old daughter wanted a guitar. We found a couple of Maestro by Gibson (china made) guitars at Best Buy for less than a C-note. Bought one for each of us and we both have been playing for the past year.

I have a background in piano so I expected to be able to pick up the guitar easier but I've been amazed at the speed which my daugther seems to be able to learn. Things I struggle with, she breezes through them.

I'm planning on upgrading the guitars to something a little better this year. Hope I can keep her interest up.

Welcome to AGF, Lewey!

I'm wondering about your daughter. Does she spend more time playing than you have time to do, or is it just a matter of guitar seemingly coming more naturally to her?

Bill

MJScott · #35 10-07-2010, 10:13 AM

I started playing at age 51. I am 64 now and still play. I play almost every day (say 19 of 20 days) for an hour and a half or so. I play solely for personal enjoyment and it is a great stress reliever too. Or maybe it is some kind of illness-not sure which!!

lw216316 · #36 10-07-2010, 10:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lewey

My 9 year old daughter wanted a guitar. We found a couple of Maestro by Gibson (china made) guitars at Best Buy for less than a C-note. Bought one for each of us and we both have been playing for the past year..

-nice family quality time

Welcome to the forum NEIGHBOR !
...3 cheers for Tennessee

- Larry

Ruston · #37 10-07-2010, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Broadus

Welcome to AGF, Lewey!

I'm wondering about your daughter. Does she spend more time playing than you have time to do, or is it just a matter of guitar seemingly coming more naturally to her?

Bill

I picked up the guitar about 6 months ago at 42. I can read music (middle school band) but never played an instrument beyond that. My daughter (14) plays piano. One day she picked up the guitar, looked at the tablature and in 15 minutes was playing something that took me 2 hours to get down. Kids have an amazing capacity to learn. There's no substitute for starting early in life.

With that being said, I'm having a blast plodding along at a snail's pace, but I'm steady making progress

Broadus · #38 10-07-2010, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MJScott

I started playing at age 51. I am 64 now and still play. I play almost every day (say 19 of 20 days) for an hour and a half or so. I play solely for personal enjoyment and it is a great stress reliever too. Or maybe it is some kind of illness-not sure which!!

Thanks, Mike, for sharing that. I had begun to wonder if folk who started later in life continued after a few years. It's encouraging to find some of you who are still playing over a decade later.

Bill

gitnoob · #39 10-07-2010, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ruston

With that being said, I'm having a blast plodding along at a snail's pace, but I'm steady making progress

We old guys should form a club. I found a logo.

Duveex · #40 01-13-2011, 08:13 AM

New guy here, first time posting. Great Post, I was wondering the same thing.

I will be 45 this year. I started playing in my early 20's, no musical talent or background. Bought my first guitar because friends all were playing and I thought it would be great for me to learn. Had a teacher for a little while, learned the basics...chords, tabs, reading music...but still didn't feel like I was getting any better. I would pick up my guitar every now and then for a few minutes, get frustrated and set it down, wouldn't touch it again for months...did that for years.

My oldest son got interested in playing as a teenager, and took off. He really put in the time and effort, and after several years....and many guitars later. He has become quite the guitarist. He now is studying at Hillsong Christian College in Sydney, Australia.

When he left this past July, I made a vow to him, and myself, that I would practice everyday while he is away. Well, long story short, I bought a new acoustic/electric, which I love, and found a new passion for playing. With today's technology of Youtube and DVD's lessons, I have learned more, and my skills have improved, in the last couple months more than in the last 20! This AGF is wonderful, I want to thank you all for motivating me to keep practicing and getting better. I plan on playing for many years to come.

Broadus · #41 01-13-2011, 08:31 AM

Welcome to AGF, Duveex. Glad you're back into guitar with a great commitment. Look forward to seeing you around here.

Bill

Riperoo · #42 01-13-2011, 09:10 AM

Hello all, first post here also, I started playing at 40, mid life (i hope) crisis, said I wanted to do something that wasn't work related, self improvment realated, just something for me, so I went and bought a Takamine Jasmine for a c note, took a couple of lessons and enjoyed sitting on the back porch messing with it, definitely dug it, picked up a Martin Backpaker along the way to take with me when I travel, flash forward 6 years and I was still noodling with it, but I definitely should have been further along. Anyway, one cold blustery night, I walk outside to put the trash out and slip on the ice, bring almost 300 lbs of my fat butt slamming down on me left wrist, well, an emergency room and surgeon visit later, find out my left wrist is shattered into 27 pieces, suregeon fixes me up and rebuilds me with some titanium, but when it is all healed and done, I have the use of my hand, sorta, and a extra bend in my wrist, needless to say, my guitar days were over for awhile, I just couldn't get my fingers to go where I wanted. Now, about 3 years after that, I am now 48, 49 in june of this year, I have got back up to where I was pre accident, more or less, and am getting ready to resume lessons next week (which I am really nervous about BTW), still playing the Takamine, which still sounds alright, but I have my sights set on a Martin OM-1. I know I am probably never going to do anything more than sit on my coach or back porch and mess around, but it has got to be one of the best stress relievers out there. Last few days, since I signed up for lessons, it is pretty much all I can think about. Lurking on this forum has gotten me through a few days of work for sure!!!!

Broadus · #43 01-13-2011, 09:38 AM

Thanks for the great story, Rip, and welcome to AGF! Sorry to hear about the accident but glad things are getting back to where you were. I have a June birthday, also, but mine will get me to 49 plus 7, so you'll still be way ahead of where I am with the guitar when you turn 56. Keep at it.

Bill

LEARNINGAGAIN · #44 01-13-2011, 10:11 AM

Started playing in the 60's as a teen..wanted to do rock and roll--got a great teacher--jazz guitarist named Harry Leahey--so I was learning all the crazy jazz stuff but didn't really know what I was doing. Put the instrument down after about 3 years. One of the first songs I learned was Malaguena....
Forty years later, mid-50s, took it up again and now do fingerstyle, blues, some jazz, anything I like. I'm an intermediate's intermediate but really enjoying myself.
As for "Malaguena"--it was one of the first songs Keith Richards learned--my college friends (for whom the only thing I could play was Malaguena and the opening chords to "Walk Don't Run") cannot give me any more grief--it was a real trip to read that...

cstamper · #45 01-13-2011, 10:20 AM

I'm 53 and started playing again after way too many years off. I actually started playing when I was about 13 on my Dad's 60's-era Framus, which I still have. I took the occasional lesson, but mostly just learned from him and he played mostly old folk standards (Down in the Valley, etc.). I played off and on (mostly off) with school friends as I was growing up and did the coffee house thing in college (how I met my wife of 33 years). As hard as I try to remember, I don't think I ever had any guitar other than the Framus, but my memory has never been very good.

I've always been musical - was in the choirs in school and church and played the string bass in high school. The whole time I would pick up the guitar sometimes, but it was never long-term.

Recently, when I was overseas from 2006 - 2007, I bought one of those Dean starter packages w/the AE guitar, amp, cord, gig bag. I was bored and thought maybe I would start playing again. I didn't do much with it until just recently when I started going with my wife to a local coffee house type of place that supports local musicians. Every Saturday morning, a bunch of us get together and just play (mainly acoustic guitars, but some electric stuff is there; drums; bass; maybe a uke or banjo every now and then). It's led by a local musician/teacher and it's great fun.

I've been going there for several months and tend to play/practice no less than 1 1/2 a day now. The Saturday get together is mostly all strumming, but I am trying to get better at fingerstyle. It seems to come easier and easier each day.

So, I guess I'm kind of a hybrid as it pertains to the original subject/title.