Is it ever too late to learn to play guitar?
 

I'm tired of playing air guitar. :1orglaugh

Never too late to give it a try I guess. Even if you never take a lesson you'll pick it up and play anyway.

A couple people have told me that game "Rocksmith" is a good way to self-teach the guitar.

I dunno, I haven't played a game since super nintendo. But I have played guitar off and on since about 1976 I guess and still pick it up once in a while. In my day people learned to play Smoke on the Water by ear and then graduated to black sabbath and such.

I started at 18. played 12 hours a day for a couple of years. I'm 28 now and barely have time. Feels like I'm not improving. Perhaps a teacher would help, and I gave lessons for the past 5years.

conclusions: not really, but it's sure easier to learn when you,re young. and it depends on what level you want to get.

I agree....just recently picked up my 67 Les Paul and it was like riding a bike, played it like I did back then, but start with a great guitar (easy to fret)

http://www.ddcups.com/lespaul.jpg

I think it's never too late :pimp

Funny thing also, is that when I don't play for a couple of days/weeks, when I take it for a short play, I feel like I'm kicking asses.

Never too late.

http://www.metalmethod.com

Never too late unless you have arthritis in your hands.

And yes Rocksmith is a great game to learn by. And fun at the same time. :thumbsup

Chris, forget about games. If you want to play guitar...get yourself a fairly good guitar, not a cheap one that's hard to play and keep in tune.
You can get a decent one for a couple hundred bucks if you look around.

Then, while you're at the music store...get yourself some guitar lessons. The guy will teach you the basics and get you started.

Once you have that down, then you can start teaching yourself and learning from song books, etc.

for sure, a good teacher will demystify a lot with the instrument. Plus you can learn a lot of stuff online. Ultimate-guitar.com is awesome for lessons.

can learn just about everything you need to know in about 2 weeks, the rest is just practice and variation.

:2 cents::2 cents:

Don't ask, just do it.

Of course you need to have some talent and the ability to keep time. heh-heh

But yeah, if you can keep time and know a little about music theory (just enough to understand chords and melody)...then you can learn enough in a few weeks to get you started to playing guitar enjoyably.

You should be able to play simple songs in a few weeks convincingly. And that's when it becomes fun.

Damn thats sweet. I just have my old 74 Ibanez les paul copy. A real lawsuit model dated by it's features and the cut of the neck since it has no serial number. It has the original frets which are about as tall as a credit card, haha. Almost gone but no buzz anywhere.

Yeah you need to try several guitars, in particular try a fender versus a gibson. And try maple neck versus non-maple. Personally I find the gibson style easier to play and my hand just cramps up really bad on some necks, mostly maple but maybe it's just the shape. You need to be one of those guys that just asks to play 10 guitars before you buy one.

I think it is too late for you

You can learn at any age, you might slow 20-50% but it's still all there as long as your brain is in good shape.

What gets in the way is self defeating thoughts of being too old to do this and other things.

Looking at the past with longing is idle, but if you want to get beautiful young girls look no further than playing the guitar.

That gives me a hard-on. BEAUTIFUL!!!

I have a 64 Fender Jazz bass that is my baby. So sweet.

i think we can both agree that there are a handful of bands around these days that aren't exactly talented ;)

Back in the late 90's I took my typing skill from six wpm (hunt & peck, two finger style) up to 40 wpm in a matter of a few short weeks using a visual aid typing tutor program loaded onto my computer. Several months later I was at 60 wpm and have never looked back.

My point?

It's too bad no one has yet developed a similar utility for guitar learning. A program that comes with a simulated guitar that plugs into a USB port on your computer, and visually guides you along in the same "can't miss" fashion as those typing tutor programs, with prompts etc right on your monitor.

Or perhaps I'm out of the loop and someone already has such a program out there? If so I've yet to hear about it.

never too late to learn anything, go for it! :)

That's nice. When I was 16 (in 1979...) I had a chance to buy a Les Paul Goldtop with soapbar pickups for $499 (!!!) I couldn't come up with the extra $100 at the time and had to settle for a "top-of-the-line" Ibanez.

Last laugh: I had a Lex Paul hollow-body built by the Gibson custom shop 15 years ago (or so).

If you think you'll enjoy it, just play the damned thing. You're never too old to learn.

No it's never too late. It's a little easier now than i was when I started playing 25 years ago. There is a lot of tab sites and stuff when you can learn songs you want to play pretty quickly. It will keep you interested.

never too late

This is my latest promo pic for my Trailer Park Trash project. That guitar was a 1978 Gold Top Les Paul Deluxe (soapbar pickups) when I got it brand new in Oct. 1978. I have completely changed it...have a regular humbucker in the bridge, the finish turned green about 20 years ago and I sanded it down and stained it myself. I threw that guitar across Hwy 92 on the county line of Hillsborough and Polk County playing the Lakeland Lounge in Fla. in 1980. I was trying to hit my first wife with it, but I missed and it bounced across the hwy. lol
I've swung it like a baseball bat and cracked people's heads open in biker bars, redneck joints across the country over the years. 34 year old wood, sweat, blood, cum, cocaine residue and liquor engrained, cigarette smoke and burns from a thousand clubs over the years make it a very sweet sounding axe.

I haven't used it as my main axe since the mid 80's. But after dragging it out of my collection to take that band pic...I've decided to make it the front line guitar again for a while. :)

Dont expect to learn to play anything in 2 weeks, I have been practising for ther last 2 years, so it is never too late, if you really want to learn to play properly you should practice minimum 1 hour every day,:2 cents:

Agreed, you need to get past the "frustration period" (when you really can't play anything) and once you start to get feeling more confident you will be able to play like this...

I bought my first one a few years ago, started taking youtube lessons. I'm still terrible, but it's a fun release when I need a coffee break.

No, never too late - my friend bought himself bass quitar. He's 35. He bought it year ago, and now he can play "Enter Sandman" and some other cool stuff.... not professionally of course, but it works for him.

if you learn tab, basic blue scales, and chords you can pick it up quick. After 2 years I could play Battle Axe from Quiet riot and about 1 min of Steve Vai Crossroads. Havnt played in years though because if I have free time I want to be outside.

I agree with everyone else. Never to late to learn. You'll progress faster with a teacher, check in your local music shop, they should be able to recommend you someone.

You could perfectly well teach yourself, but getting a teacher will make it easier. He/she will also be able to help you pick out a guitar.

Sweet logotype.

:D

i cant afford a guitar... :(

i've been thinking about doing it myself. the last time i tried i was 15 and not patient enough and then sold the guitar and amp for weed. i wish i never would of done that. the guitar itself wasn't great but the amp would of been fun to play with, it was an old tube amp.

day one: some basic scales and basic chords. correct fingering etc.
day two: Using chords in a simple song (something you know) learning to read tabs and chord charts
day three: some simple blues scales and learning to play in key (this depends how good your ear for music is, if you listen to a lot or have all your life this should come natural.)
day four: learning to do basic soloing using these scales
day five: some more advanced chords and chord progression.
day six: progressive scales and more advanced solo techniques (hammer ons etc)

shit, that's about everything in under a week.. i was being conservative with two weeks ;)

so yeah, a teacher can speed up things, but you practice all those you are better than most rock stars.. or at least the ones these days ;)

OH U DICK!!!!!!!!!!! J/k man awesome ax brother awesome.

AND NO it's never to late, if you don't really want to learn notes etc.. go to places like guitartab and learn Tab.. it is so easy that a baby can pick it up and learn... Tab is basiclly numbers and strings.. it tells you shit like

a c chord

e------------
b-1-----------
g------------
d-----3-------
a-------4-----
e------------

the 1 3 4 is the fret location, like #1 is first fret on the b string #3 is 3rd fret on the d string 4th is 4 fret on the a string

stings are E A D G B E easy way to remember this is

Every Apple Does Go Bad Eventually which means E A D G B E simple eh?

I mean there is more to TAB you will have to learn a little more about bends slides etc.. also learn these basic chords which is a MUST.

Learn the E and Em the A and Am D And Dm G and Gm & B & E and Em and F or just the chords EADGBEF instead of the minors and majors at first they will cum to you and LEARN bar chords if you like a lot of metal etc. *shrugs* Just my :2 cents:

Good luck and as someone said learn SMOKE ON THE WATER :pimp

Also take a tennis ball and use your finger tips to squeeze it till you can crush it :) It helps build your fingers up!

Good advice... :thumbsup

Rocksmith is still worth getting even if you do take lessons from somebody. You can plug in any real electric guitar to use with it. It is not strictly a game like Rockband. It teaches you techniques, helps build your speed and dexterity and will teach you to play entire songs at a pace that matches your skill level. It is more of a teaching tool disguised as a game to help keep you engaged. For $70 it is a great addition for anyone learning to play guitar.

A long time friend who was always thinking about learning guitar finally started about ten years ago. And now, he's no Eric Clapton, but he is proficient and from what I can see finds it very rewarding.