New Member, Never picked up a Guitar, 47 and not afraid!

Hi there everyone, I'm 47 years old, and I have never done formal music in my life before; I was a classically trained ballet dancer (once upon a time) so music is kin even though I have no idea what those dots on the sheet mean (yet). 

I have always wanted to learn to play a musical instrument; I like the challenge, the technical and academic aspects, and creative beauty of it. 

I'm not afraid of learning something new; I'm not afraid of making a ton of mistakes to get to a place where I can make pretty sounds with this instrument. 

I bought a second-hand simple classical guitar from the pawn shop, and managed to tune it to sound reasonable; then I did the first free lesson here and you know what? I didn't suck. I managed to get a pretty decent sound out. I'm so pleased!

Thank you; see you on the boards.... 

Welcome.  I expect your ballet background will be of use when it comes to the importance of practice and not loosing your inertia.  After all guitar is a physical skill, just like ballet.  Learning guitar is not a sprint, it is a life long, distance race.  Patience is the key.  I suspect that was also the case in learning ballet.  So you are starting off on a good footing.

I can't help but wonder if you had a profesional lutier check the insturment.  There are many small ajustments that make a guitar perform as it should.  If you have not had a lutier look at these adjustments, it could be useful to do so.  A bad set up can make your playing more physically difficult, and it can  also make it imposible to play in tune.  If your guitar is not properly set up, it can hamper your progress.  Kind of like trying to win an Indy car race in a badly tuned vehicle. 

Your guitar could be fine, but having it checked will allow you to eliminate potential problems resulting from the adjustments being out of wack. That way you can focus on learning the techniques, not on how to force your insturment to do something it is not ready for.  Learning to play guitar is challanging enough, without having to work around problems with your instrument.

Lastly, as most people who have been sucessful at learning guitar will tell you.... HAVE FUN with your insturment.  It sounds like you are already on that track.  If you can continue having fun, guitar will keep you amused for the rest of your life.  ENJOY THE JOURNEY, AND IT WILL CARRY YOU FAR.

Thank you for that. Yes I think ballet and the variety of dance styles I was exposed to in my life will stand me in good stead. I love music so there's that.  

as for a professional lutier. Well, I will ask around but I live in a bit of a back wood really. Lol I will ask tho thanks for the tip. 

also, today I did the G and Em cords and they be pretty sounds so far. It makes my heart very happy indeed! Prriiiing! 

We love to hear how excited you are, and thanks for sharing your story! We have a lot of students learning music for the first time, so know that you are in good company. I am sure you will find your way in no time! Having a sense of rhythm as a dancer will certainly help you along the way. It sounds like you are off to a great start.

The forum is an excellent tool to connect with other beginners, and more experienced players to help  you stay motivated. If you ever have any issues or questions about the site, the admin team is here to help. Our instructors are awesome and can help you with any music related questions you may have. 

Have fun, and enjoy the process! 🤘

You're in the right place!