Did you always want to play the guitar? Do you think it might be too late? I hope you don’t mind if I disagree. My name is Ed Nelson and I’ve been teaching music for over 30 years. It’s how I make my living. I’ve helped hundreds of people learn how to play the guitar, and some of my most rewarding teaching experiences have come from instructing older students. Why is that? Because they’re doing it for the pure pleasure of it. They really enjoy the experience. They’re not stressed out about being better than the kid next door or turning it into a career. For many older beginning students, learning to play guitar is the fulfillment of a life long dream–one that got tucked away because of responsibilities. If you’ve got even twenty minutes a day to spare, now might be the right time for you to get started.
You’ll need a guitar! Perhaps you can borrow one. Many people have a guitar sitting unused in a closet. Maybe a relative has an extra one. On the other hand, some people do better if they make a commitment in the form of buying one. You shouldn’t need to spend any more than $200 for a decent acoustic guitar from most any guitar shop. The best advice I can give about buying a guitar is to have someone who already plays come along and try it out. At the very least, find a salesperson who plays guitar and ask them to help you find the best one in your price range.
If you’re concerned about hand strength, you might consider purchasing a ‘classical’ or nylon string style guitar. They tend to be easier on the hand–easier to press the strings down. Steel string guitars vary in difficulty according to how high the strings are above the neck. Electric guitars, for instance typically have strings very close to the neck (low action), which makes them easier to play. Of course if you’re going to play electric guitar you’re going to need an amplifier too. Expect to spend at least $500 for an electric guitar and amp. If you go with a steel string acoustic, I do recommend that you ask them to re-string it for you with a set of ‘light gauge’ strings. Pick up an extra set along with a couple of picks while you’re at it.
It may be wise to purchase a tuner. This is a small electronic device that ‘hears’ your guitar and displays the tone in such a way as to make it easy to adjust the strings to the proper pitch. These typically cost anywhere from $10-$70. Make sure you get a demonstration in the store. You don’t require a tuner to tune your guitar. All beginner method books will show you how to do it by making reference to the guitar itself. But in my experience, this can actually be a little bit daunting, and if you’re just starting out, especially without a private instructor, the confidence factor a tuner inspires may be worth the price.
You do not need to read music to play guitar. You may choose to learn later but it definitely is not necessary. A simpler, abbreviated form of communicating guitar music on paper is called TAB. You can learn to understand TAB in about 5 minutes. It will help you, along with your ear and musical memory, learn songs very quickly.
While I obviously do recommend a private instructor at some point, the upwards of $40 an hour price can prove daunting to many a beginner. You don’t really need an instructor to teach you how to hold the guitar. There are many online resources to help you get the basics down. I recommend one product for beginners- Jamorama, by Ben Edwards. While I have not checked out ALL the online guitar courses available, I have looked at a lot of them, and Jamorama is the only one I’m currently recommending for beginning guitarists. The lessons are clear and the information is presented very well as far as Internet download products go. In a very short time you can be playing songs. It’s also very reasonably priced.
The Jamorama package comes with an assortment of bonuses designed to make learning easier, including Jam Tracks, Guitar Tuning software, and a software Metronome. There’s an ear training program as well called GuitEarIt, which is useful and kind of fun. However the bulk of the instruction is in the form of two pdf books and a LOT of audio and video files.
I would suggest you sign up for their free 6 guitar lesson eCourse. Yes you have to give them your email address (I used a discreet email address and can confirm that it wasn’t shared with anyone) but the free lessons are great and actually I remain subscribed to Ben’s weekly newsletter to this day. Ben turns out to be a real guitar lover and his newsletters are full of important and interesting info.
You can also download a free 38 page Jamorama eBook (pdf) to get you started.
However you choose to learn how to play guitar I hope you will feel encouraged by my article. Music is truly one of the most beautiful experiences life has to offer. There’s really no reason why you can’t make some of your own.
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