hello

i am an oldie trying to find the talent my father had as he was a professional guitarist for years but unfortunately i do not seem to have inherited that talent. I have taken lessons for awhile but still cannot play :(. my lessons seem disjointed a song here and a song there but no congruity. hopefully this will help me get it together and find a hidden talent. I do love the sound of an acoustic guitar. Unfortunately I seem to collect instruments that sit there and get no use. at this writing i have a banjo, a beautiful mandolin, guitar (2), fiddle, harmonicas, autoharp, lap steel, piano and clarinet. my kids keep telling me to quit trying as i am too old and just play the piano which is easier for me but i just have this longing to play guitar and the rest of them afterwards. I do have fun trying anyway so it is not a waste. Sorry to gab on and on....

Wow, you sound way too busy there! I'm brand new at this instrument playing so am hardly one to be giving advice, but I can't imagine trying to accomplish anything while faced with an array of instruments that you just listed. My compliments for even trying. While playing a guitar is new to me, I have other endeavors that I have become relatively accomplished at over the years. Each of these has taken an extreme focus and I focused on only one interest at a time. Whether it was as a pilot, tournament chess, Texas holdem, tournament poker or bullseye pistol competition, each of these took several years of dedicated, extreme focus to develop the skill set necessary to be as good as I wanted. I no longer fly, compete in chess or pistol competition due to age and a few minor health issues so have decided to expand my focus to something to warm my soul and keep my brain in an exercise mode. It is tough, but after only 3 weeks of focused practice I can see progress. MY fingers hurt like hell and are developing callouses...guess that's a good thing. Anyway, good luck on your journey. Why not put the rest of those musical toys in the closet, lock the door, and focus the the guitar? Good luck, and I'll bet that the talent your father demonstated is there inside you waiting to come out. I'll also bet that he put in a number of years focused on his art. BY the way, I started private lessons once a week, 3 weeks ago. Had my third lesson yesterday and having a good instructor is a huge help....he/she can correct any bad habits before they become engrained
And push you to be all that you can be.
Good luck!

Just make it clear for you why you are practicing an instrument. What are your goals! What's the purpose, the reason behind it. If you have that clearly defined, you'll find you don0't have enough hours in the day to practice.

Regarding talent, many articles have been written that dismiss it as necessary to do anything very well. What's actually at play is our predisposition to do it and, again, goals and purpose have a lot do with that.

All in all, welcome to the forum. We hope you have a wonderful time here.

[QUOTE=iamsuthern2]i am an oldie my kids keep telling me to quit trying as i am too old

Hi Suthern,

You have come to the right place to learn guitar in a methodical step-by-step manner.

I too have a banjo, mandolin, ukulele, bass (no fiddle!). I believe that if you take one of the step-by-step beginners paths here at GuitarTricks, you'll not only gain a really good solid foundation of guitar skills, but it will also make all those other stringed instruments WAY easier to learn and play!

I'm guessing you like folk music (by your collection of instruments), and I'd suggest you try these tutorials to build your skills and your repertoire at the same time.

Acoustic Strumming, Step-by-Step, Level 1
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1571

Acoustic Strumming Step-by-Step, Level 2
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1572

Keep us posted!
Best - Lisa

you should tell your kids "don't you want me to be happy?!" you definitely have to go for what makes you happy, especially if it's the guitar. Although I'm a little biased. ;)

We've had subscribers start in their 70s and 80s here at Guitar Tricks. You're never too old or too young to start learning anything it's what keeps us going! :)

Food for thought:
The guy who invented the Thesaurus published the first one when he was 73.

Stan Lee, creator of Spider-Man, was 43 when he began drawing his legendary superheroes. Imagine if there were no Spiderman!

Julia Child didn't even learn to cook until she was almost 40

Harlan Sanders, the Colonel Sanders of Kentucky Fried Chicken fame, was 66 when he began to promote his style of cooking and create an empire

Andrea Bocelli didn't start singing opera seriously until the age of 34.