Coming Back

Hey all, just joining up here and have a question on how you would recommend to proceed here. Years and years ago, I bought my first electric and essentially self-taught using tabs. This was before YouTube, so actual instruction even on that level was very minimal. I also took a guitar class in high school, but that was in the prehistoric ages. But I never learned to play "properly," and did not stick with it.

My 14 year-old is about 9 months into learning the drums and he works his tail off, really starting to get good. I just picked up a guitar and a little setup with the intention to go back and learn (hence signing up here) so that I can not only jam with him, but finally develop some real skills for myself.

As I go back and look at some of the beginner videos on the site, those feel pretty elementary for where I am at, but I exist in this sort of grey sub-intermediate area skills-wise. So would you all recommend that I just suck it up and start over from the beginning, or are there some lessons or a learning track here for "guy in his 40s trying to get back into the instrument?" Haha

Thanks for the advice! I really just want to create better habits and abilities and have fun with my son making some noise.

Welcome back.

I have a son who is a drummer and it is the best to jam with him. We play songs together. As your son is just getting started I think I would let him choose the song. Something you can both play. 

Aside from that, I think you just need to define what you want to accomplish for your guitar playing. It might be just learning and playing songs, it might be writing songs, it might be jamming freestyle to tracks or friends. 

I think once you had that sorted you could dig into those areas. I went through Fundamentals, but I didn't know anything when I started. So not sure what to offer here, maybe just skim through them if you think it would help you. 

Good luck

Awesome, thanks for your notes and feedback. Are there specific skills and drills that you like to employ in routine practice to get/stay sharp?

Yep. Mostly I just learn songs and like writing them. I jam with friends on Sundays and we play songs or just "jam". I'm always picking up things from those guys. 

But to answer your question more directly, when I started in '19 I didn't even know what a chord was and that is no exaggeration, so I had to be very methodological in my practice. Scales, chords, theory, songs etc. But now it's much looser, I just play and try writing now. 

Playing music with my daughter has always been a highlight for me. It started out very rocky as she got to her teen years and hated my music; it drove her crazy. THEN she found some bands she and her friends were into like New Found Glory and that type.  I was a guitar player and when she started really liking music she wanted me to teach her bass. Her and some of her friends even started little garage band playing Weezer, Green Day, etc.  She ended up taking lessons (big step in growth!), and then played guitar. We would jam with her favorites which would eventually end up being Beatles, Clapton, Who.. etc! I remember us pulling up chords or tabs on computer and playing every Beatles song along with iTunes. We called her the fifth Beatle.

Seems the more she learned about guitar, the more her tastes changed to Classic Rock. She told me it was obvious to move in that direction because of the heavy guitar driven music. Love all my kids as each is so different and amazing but it was a real thrill to always have that musical connection with her even after all these years. 
Do all you can to encourage their musical growth and build fantastic memories and a strong relationship with them. 

Great idea.  Playing music with your kid is a wonderful way to spend time together. 

As William said, it's most important to get clear on your goals.  It's also important to get clear on your current skill & knowledge level.  To that end, I'd recommend at least watching through the Fundamentals courses.  You'll get a quick review & maybe even shore up any weak spots in your playing or knowledge.  If nothing else it would be a good idea to at least look at the landing page of each fundamentals course to look at the chapters to get an idea of what it contains & if it could be beneficial for you to work through or review.

You can also just jump right into the rock level 1 course & see what happens!  If you get in over your head, you might then consider a review of Fundamentals 1 and, or 2.

Best of success with your guitar learning.

This is great story.  Thanks for posting.  I've really cherished the time I've spent playing music with my kid.

Thank you Brother! We still get together at all family birthday parties and play a wild rendition of Beatles-Birthday. Now the grand kids are part of the tradition and I’m going to build guitars for each of them (3 and counting…).

Guys, thank you for your stories and for your notes. I am super excited to share this with my son - and hopefully his younger siblings get in on the fun too! I will take your advice and look forward to building and growing my skills!

You're an amazing person, and I know your son is lucky to have you in his life.

Geometry Dash

This thread is wholesome <3

@krreynolds Skim through the fundamentals on your way up. This way you won't miss anything and cover everything too!