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I took up the guitar for the 3td time at 50. Why don't you give it a go? I've been playing 3 years now and find it hugely enjoyable. It really is just practice. You have to keep practicing to give your brain time to grow and create the correct neural pathways. Everyone starts at exactly the same place.
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musicians out there.... on 00:09 - May 31 with 5027 views
musicians out there.... on 00:06 - May 31 by ozexile
I took up the guitar for the 3td time at 50. Why don't you give it a go? I've been playing 3 years now and find it hugely enjoyable. It really is just practice. You have to keep practicing to give your brain time to grow and create the correct neural pathways. Everyone starts at exactly the same place.
nice one oz. is it reading music or just by touch....
My Mrs bought me an acoustic guitar about 10 years ago and I don’t think I’ve played it more than 5 or 6 times,but I have read the tutorial book a couple of times.I bought myself an electric drum kit about 5 years ago and sold it unplayed about 6 months later. Maybe I should try a mouth organ next?Or a triangle.
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musicians out there.... on 00:24 - May 31 with 5002 views
It's not all cakes and ale. My two main instruments are piano and guitar plus, a while ago, violin, drums and diatonic harmonica (diatonic with your gin sir ?). The trouble is, when I started I improved a wee bit each day. Then I hit a plateau and could improve no further. I enjoy playing to an extent but get disheartened easily when I hear really good players. Even more so when it's an unknown on youtube.
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musicians out there.... on 10:34 - May 31 with 4743 views
Let’s have no more talk of ‘it’s a bit late for me now’. My West Ham mate, an old school friend (who I now have an excuse to see again next season, of course), took up bass guitar at the age of 68, having retired from the bicycle retail business. Even plays in a band with a couple of other geriatrics now too. Absolutely loves it.
Citeh mate took up the trumpet at the age of 65 and went on to play in a band called Kinder Blue (you’ll need to be familiar with the work of Miles Davis and have a basic geographical knowledge of the Peak District to get that pun).
Have even had a go at Afro-Cuban percussion myself (with limited results, it has to be said - Airto Moreira won’t be looking over his shoulder) and I’m no spring chicken.
I think it goes for anything really, not just a musical instrument, and is the key to enjoyment in later life. So be curious and keep learning. ‘Little victories’, as one Norman Stanley Fletcher said in Porridge (f*ck me, I’m still shouting from the rooftops having finally learned how to do italics on this site).
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musicians out there.... on 11:04 - May 31 with 4717 views
musicians out there.... on 00:10 - May 31 by stowmarketrange
My Mrs bought me an acoustic guitar about 10 years ago and I don’t think I’ve played it more than 5 or 6 times,but I have read the tutorial book a couple of times.I bought myself an electric drum kit about 5 years ago and sold it unplayed about 6 months later. Maybe I should try a mouth organ next?Or a triangle.
I found a copy of Bert Weedon’s Play in a Day in a charity shop. That was about ten years ago but I still can’t play. Reminds me of the time I thought a pair of George Best football boots (the ones with the smooth outside tongue and side-lacing) would transform me into the man himself. Spoiler alert: it didn’t.
Conclusion: there’s no substitute for the hard yards. As my Knowledge of London tutor told me all those years ago when the going started to get tough, “If it was easy everyone would do it”.
Stowmarket: if mouth organ or triangle don’t work out there’s always playing the spoons. Failing that, how about the comb and paper?!
Give the guitar another go, ‘68. It’s tricky at first and as said above, you do need to put some hard yards in and it will take some time for your fingertips to develop a tougher skin, BUT, once you’ve got the chord shape muscle memory in place, it’s just so addictive and you’ll find yourself picking it up and playing at all times of the day. Just DONT quit because you can’t play barre chords - that’s where so many beginners decide it’s too much for them, but keep going, it’ll come to you.
Oh, TwoHalves: The George Best boots were Stylo Matchmakers, IIRC.
[Post edited 31 May 12:21]
I need a SAGA. What’s the SAGA? It’s ….. Queen’s Park Rangers.
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musicians out there.... on 12:37 - May 31 with 4606 views
Give the guitar another go, ‘68. It’s tricky at first and as said above, you do need to put some hard yards in and it will take some time for your fingertips to develop a tougher skin, BUT, once you’ve got the chord shape muscle memory in place, it’s just so addictive and you’ll find yourself picking it up and playing at all times of the day. Just DONT quit because you can’t play barre chords - that’s where so many beginners decide it’s too much for them, but keep going, it’ll come to you.
Oh, TwoHalves: The George Best boots were Stylo Matchmakers, IIRC.
[Post edited 31 May 12:21]
You do need to get some sort of reward out of trying to learn something new. I've tried the guitar. After a couple of months I started to sense that it would take me absolutely ages to play it well and so I quit. I think when you get older you need to be able to see improvement and the benefit of learning something new. Spanish is the one thing I have learned since becoming middle aged. If you buy a simple grammar book and supplement it with the various free Spanish teachers who give lessons on line you can get underway in about 6 months.
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musicians out there.... on 19:06 - May 31 with 4446 views
I'm not a musician, but I took up guitar about 6 years ago when I was 53. I love playing,(although the family maybe not so keen). There is something about being able to make a sound that approximates something you have heard, that makes it worthwhile. I would recommend investing time with a guitar teacher to get you to understand some of the basics, at least to start with. I am still having lessons every other week or so and, whilst any improvements are fractional, they are enjoyable.
I think the key is to understand that the best players have probably been playing many many hours a day since they were very young to get to their level of playing. To expect yourself to be at or even close to that level after a relaitively short space of time is unrealistic and could be demoralising. Suggest setting small targets and be pleased when you get there.
It's the best thing I 've done and is great to be able to divert you from other stresses in the world (especially QPR related).
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musicians out there.... on 19:41 - May 31 with 4413 views
started playing guitar at 55 years young during the Covid Lockdown ... 6 years later I have 3 acoustics and 3 electrics ... and I now play in a band... One of the best things I have ever done.... GO FOR IT!!!
[Post edited 31 May 19:42]
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musicians out there.... on 19:49 - May 31 with 4380 views
Many moons ago I played the Clarinet/Saxophone and Piano. Had the option to go to music college but my old man pressured me too much and I rebelled as you do at that age.
I recently tried the Sax again and was surprised how much I actually remembered. That would be fun to get going with that again I think
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musicians out there.... on 20:23 - May 31 with 4327 views
I remember playing guitar at home as a kid and a plumber poked his head around the door and said “ 'ullo mate…..stringin' it ? “ Years later at the Marquee, I was shouting at Clapton “string it Eric !”
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musicians out there.... on 22:21 - May 31 with 4240 views
What an Instrument the guitar Is I have four Fender Telecasters, three Fender Stratocasters (the most expensive one is a an Off White USA made with hand wound pick ups; Two PRS SE's that's the Korean make, One Epiphone SG and one Epiphone Riviera, one Fender Jazzmaster and one Fender Mustang, one poorly made Chinese Gretsch, I sold my one and only Yamaha acoustic a couple of Months ago. I'm obsessed with valve amplifiers and have over the Years collected Ten of them, the guitar Is an expensive obsession with me and I'm fortunate that Mrs Ted let me turn our study into my music room. Keep your finger nails trimmed, go on Gumtree they have a wealth of guitars, I've bought and sold gear on Gumtree for Years. YouTube Is a valuable site for guitar learning, most of It for free, maybe learn Three easy chords first E A D and you'll be strumming and singing 'Sympathy For The Devil' In no time.
If you do start don't give up..................
My Father had a profound influence on me, he was a lunatic.
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musicians out there.... on 22:44 - May 31 with 4227 views
Learning an instrument can mean a few things. For example, you could just learn a basic song or two. Something like Wonderwall for example is probably within the reach of most people within a few days/weeks/months.
Most songs have some guy on YouTube showing you how to play it.
But I think of it as being in steps. If you learn a song, that's step one. If you like that, you can learn more songs, which will in turn give you more chords, more techniques.
Then you can start looking into how chords work, how to do some lead guitar. But one step at a time.
Think of it like trying to run a marathon if you've never exercised before. You just need short term goals and that could just be learning progressively more tricky songs. You're not trying to be Hendrix here, just trying to have fun.
Stefan Moore, Stefan Moore running down the wing. Stefan Moore, Stefan Moore running down the wing. He runs like a cheetah, his crosses couldn't be sweeter. Stefan Moore. Stefan Moore. Stefan Moore.
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musicians out there.... on 09:09 - Jun 1 with 4012 views
Give the guitar another go, ‘68. It’s tricky at first and as said above, you do need to put some hard yards in and it will take some time for your fingertips to develop a tougher skin, BUT, once you’ve got the chord shape muscle memory in place, it’s just so addictive and you’ll find yourself picking it up and playing at all times of the day. Just DONT quit because you can’t play barre chords - that’s where so many beginners decide it’s too much for them, but keep going, it’ll come to you.
Oh, TwoHalves: The George Best boots were Stylo Matchmakers, IIRC.
[Post edited 31 May 12:21]
Good post. I had been teaching myself guitar since 1992 but was progressing more slowly than continental drift doh].
Then my young nephew started learning and I decided to intensify my efforts so I could jam with him. What made a massive difference was having the guitar set up and ready to play instantly. I started playing it when I boiled the kettle and those countless, short sessions led to a huge leap forward. I endlessly practised the same pieces - actual songs I knew and was desperate to play, not just fabricated drills - and my playing started to sound like the real thing. All the "learn to play song x" YouTube videos were also extremely helpful.
I've now moved on to acoustic style finger picking, which is mind-blowing in that it opens up a whole new world of chords with open strings in the middle. I actually do that on my Fender Stratocaster, not an acoustic.
Stick at it, we can all do it and along with exercise and learning a new language, it is one of the three best things we can do for our brains.
"Things had started becoming increasingly desperate at Loftus Road but QPR have been handed a massive lifeline and the place has absolutely erupted. it's carnage. It's bedlam. It's 1-1."
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musicians out there.... on 09:16 - Jun 1 with 4009 views
musicians out there.... on 06:07 - Jun 1 by UPPERLOFTNZ
Been a professional muso since I was 16. This is us on the telly a while back
Did I catch the word ‘pancreas’ at the end of the first verse, UpperLoft? If so, the failure to post this on the ‘Songs With Body Parts’ thread seems an obvious missed opportunity. Did enjoy it though (and someone’s got a great vinyl collection too).
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musicians out there.... on 11:14 - Jun 1 with 3944 views
musicians out there.... on 22:21 - May 31 by ted_hendrix
What an Instrument the guitar Is I have four Fender Telecasters, three Fender Stratocasters (the most expensive one is a an Off White USA made with hand wound pick ups; Two PRS SE's that's the Korean make, One Epiphone SG and one Epiphone Riviera, one Fender Jazzmaster and one Fender Mustang, one poorly made Chinese Gretsch, I sold my one and only Yamaha acoustic a couple of Months ago. I'm obsessed with valve amplifiers and have over the Years collected Ten of them, the guitar Is an expensive obsession with me and I'm fortunate that Mrs Ted let me turn our study into my music room. Keep your finger nails trimmed, go on Gumtree they have a wealth of guitars, I've bought and sold gear on Gumtree for Years. YouTube Is a valuable site for guitar learning, most of It for free, maybe learn Three easy chords first E A D and you'll be strumming and singing 'Sympathy For The Devil' In no time.
If you do start don't give up..................
Great post, Ted, hope you're now able to play like you used to before your health incident. 👍
I love the idea of an electric guitar with dual coil pickups but having tried them, I find that I cope much better with the spacing of a Stratocaster's three single coil pickups.
For anyone learning guitar, this website is a goldmine for tabs of popular rock songs:
"Things had started becoming increasingly desperate at Loftus Road but QPR have been handed a massive lifeline and the place has absolutely erupted. it's carnage. It's bedlam. It's 1-1."
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musicians out there.... on 15:30 - Jun 1 with 3845 views
musicians out there.... on 07:57 - Jun 1 by Bluce_Ree
Learning an instrument can mean a few things. For example, you could just learn a basic song or two. Something like Wonderwall for example is probably within the reach of most people within a few days/weeks/months.
Most songs have some guy on YouTube showing you how to play it.
But I think of it as being in steps. If you learn a song, that's step one. If you like that, you can learn more songs, which will in turn give you more chords, more techniques.
Then you can start looking into how chords work, how to do some lead guitar. But one step at a time.
Think of it like trying to run a marathon if you've never exercised before. You just need short term goals and that could just be learning progressively more tricky songs. You're not trying to be Hendrix here, just trying to have fun.
cheers for that advice, and everyone elses come to that....i will try.
your description was similar to mine when trying to play the guitar but mine was like trying to play football with one leg.
the little band we formed when we were all 16, at school was a 4 piece, i was suggested to play the base guitar....the song i struggled on was sunshine of your life by cream. every time i hear that song it sounds so easy to strum to..
Footie is a good example. If you wanted to play, you could get a game somewhere even if it's just a kickabout with friends or five a side at work or something. Or some local walking football group or something. There's options. You're not going to be Pele but you can have fun.
Likewise you're not going to be Eddie Van Halen but you just learn bits here and there.
Look at that. You could just listen and try to play along, or try to watch his fingers. Or you could look at the notation which is telling you what fret to play for each note.
Just watch a few seconds at a time or even slow the video down (it won't lower the audio). It's all there now. Anything you want to learn probably has something like this for it.
Stefan Moore, Stefan Moore running down the wing. Stefan Moore, Stefan Moore running down the wing. He runs like a cheetah, his crosses couldn't be sweeter. Stefan Moore. Stefan Moore. Stefan Moore.
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