Intro: old wolf as a new student?

Hello from Southern Indiana! I'm just across the muddy old Ohio River from Louisville, KY.

I never learned to play any instrument or read music, but always had a decent ear, an appreciation for music, and a desire to learn guitar. Tastes run toward rock, blues-rock, progressive, hard rock, with a smattering of country, Bluegrass, Celtic, and a few others thrown in for variety.

6 years ago, picked up used electric guyitar and practice amp, noodled around, tried books and YouTube and eventually a month of in-person lessons at a friend's music store. Never really got comfortable with the gear or learned very much. Sold those, got a deal on a better electric, amp, and an acoustic/electric. Daughter's high school events, especially band(s) and marching band, and then starting college, took over for about 5 straight years, leaving me no real time for guitar.

Then came pandemic, lockdown, wife and I working from home full-time, daughter working part-time and school full-time from home, rearranging schedules and the house to accommodate...you know the story.

So here I landed, hit 55 years old and fighting some arthritis in my hands, joining GuitarTricks.com in 'use it or lose it' mode. And I've lost most of the last two months to holidays, a weight loss/nutrition program, work, and other excuses. :-)

I've started the beginner lessons with Lisa a couple of times, but haven't progressed past warm-up exercises that I can't seem to manage on electric or acoustic. Chords? Nope. I'm struggling to stretch super-stiff fingers and clearly play basic, single string notes. I am definitely worse off now, in terms of skills and motivation, than I was about 5 years ago. Any suggestions to move past this would be greatly appreciated.

Welcome! I'm just next door in Ohio..

As far as motivation, does it help to focus on the styles of music you like the most or the styles you'd most like to learn to play?

For fingers...ahhhh, I hear ya on finger pain. My problem is carpal tunnel in my fretting hand so I can't even play right now but I do have some arthritis as well. The over the counter Voltaren Gel really helped me out before and after I played when it was just the arthritis. You might want to look into something like that if you haven't already. Stretching and taking breaks is super critical too. I can't emhasize that enough....I wish I had done so.

I had a bit of trouble getting through some of the beginning lessons as well, I think that's just because everything was all so new and it can be a bit overwhelming at times. Try to break it up into small chunks and just do a little bit at one time, always stopping before too much frustration sets in. Christopher (instructor here) has a great sample practice routine he likes to share so maybe he'll chime in here or you can probably just do a search on the forum where he replied to a thread. But I like how he suggests you always end on a postive note...whether it's a song you know well or heck, even a chord you just learned and can do well. Anything, as long as it's postive and makes you want to come back to it next time.

I remember I didn't even really start playing chords until a couple months in. I was so fascinated with melodies that I played those all the time. I almost regretted that once I started chords and somehow felt behind. But then I realized that time was not wasted and it gave me excellent string awareness since I could play without looking. And it prepared me well for scales.

So as long as you're just working on playing a single note for now, maybe you can look into doing some scale exercises or learning some simple melodies? There are some basic melodies in the Fundamentals 1 class and tons you can find elsewhere too. You'll get there.

Overall, just try to make/keep it fun if it's something you really want to do.

Thanks, Susan, I appreciate that! I used to live in Ohio, still have friends and family there. Mostly Columbus and Dayton areas.

I am sorry to hear carpal tunnel is holding you back in your guitar journey. My wife fought that for a long while, still has some related issues. She recently tried Voltaren for an arthritic knee, but I'm not sure if it helped or not. I just know it was too expensive for us both to be using it. I'll ask and see what she thought of it, figure it out from there.

I found a set of lessons here that I must have missed earlier. Essentially, a few videos for how to approach it, the process of learning, taking notes, practicing. WIll watch those, then regroup and see what shakes out. I will also search for Chris's advice, as you suggested; end on a positive, motivate for next session. I may work on a specific melody or riff, as you did. Scales, to get the feel for them, too.

You may be onto something, here. I might be getting a little overwhelmed in the lessons and unfocused between rock and other styles, electric and acoustic. Another problem is in lacking a comfortable, dedicated practice space. The guitar, amp, headphones don't fit in the room with the computer. Even a laptop or tablet needs a space for videos, tab sheets and notebook need another. Maybe sorting that out first will make for more frequent, enjoyable practice sessions.

So, thanks, again. Stay safe with this crazy weather moving in this week!

I am anxiously awaiting the snowfall now!

Yes, having a good practice space is key. Mine is just a little corner in the living room but I have a good chair, music stand, and guitar and ukulele stand. I keep my electric guitar and small amp in the bedroom since I've been fousing on Acoustic. But it's just a simple space and since I live alone (for now) anyway, I'm not bothering anyone. Just make sure you have the right amount of privacy that you are comfortable with. If you don't have enough, it will inhibit your playing I think.

The Voltaren is over the counter now and much cheaper than it was with a prescription, so that may be something that interests you more. Sorry to hear your wife battles with arthritis and carpal tunnel. I have a number of chronic pain issues so I've really been loving playing ever since I took it up...it is great therapy! I never was "musical" before this and now I can't imagine my life without learning and playing music. So just hang on to that spark that makes you want to learn it. I have a feeling it will be bright enough to keep you going in this journey.

Hi DaveC_42

What worked for me is setting goals and actually writing them down and tracking the progress. There is no better motivator than seeing youreslf reaching your goals.

I basically structure my parctice session in the following way:

Part 1: Techniques: Idntify what your weak points are on the guitar and work on them for a set amount of time for instance chord progressions that you are struggling with, alternate picking speed etc..

Part 2: Learn something new: Work through the structured system for a set amount of time starting with Fundamentals 1 & 2 and the moving on to any style that you are more interested in

Part 3: Learn ing songs: Learn a new song or practice a song that you have already learnt , work on improvisations etc..

The most important thing is to just have fun

Also if you are struggling with something specific, take a break from it for a day or two and then get back to it

You definetly chose the best platform out there for learning the guitar

Enjoy the journey