Does it get harder to learn the older you get?

I swear, I have been trying to master Boston's "More than a feeling" now for six weeks, and I still can't get a handle on it! I'm still working on the first lick but the picking is really hard for me. I've listened to the song a hundred times and the published tabs just don't seem to match the recorded song. So I've come up with my own tabs, and cannot seem to master the accuracy needed to make it work. Could it be that at age 38 I'm too old to be a beginner? Has a lifetime of non-guitar playing doomed me to mediocre fingering accuracy? My pinky has grown a mind of it's own I think...

What do you mean to old to be a beginner? Horsefeathers!, You aren't too old to start, you are too young to quit trying! Seriously, people come to this site all the time with that same "Am I too old" question, and you aren't even close to being one of the oldest, I was 20 years old when I started and I thought I was too old!, what did I know?, All that is happening with you now is that you are starting up the learning curve, which as you can tell has alot to do with just getting control of your fingers, right hand - left hand coordination, training that stupid pinky finger to act right, just don't push yourself too hard, or expect overnight results, just keep at it and remember it's supposed to be fun! Soon all this will be in the past and you'll find a new problem to struggle with( Hows that for encouragement?) A couple of tips from an old timer, 1, a fretting hand exercise, starting on any string, at any fret, fret a note with your index finger, pick it, 1 fret higher ring finger, pick, ring etc, pinky etc, and then descend back down to the index, don't press any harder than it takes to produce a clean note and keep the non-fretting fingers relaxed, work on playing cleanly and evenly, 2. You may or may not know this, if you do then disreguard, make sure when tabbing or playing tab that your guitar is tuned to the recording you are playing along with, ie your D chord sounds like a D chord played on the recording, you may have to tune down from standard pitch, alot of guitarist tune down a 1/4 to a 1/2 tone lower than standard, I hope I was of some help or encouragement, Keep at it! Yes it gets easier...............

If you have any knowledge of using MIDI files, grab a decent copy of the song off one of the alt. newsgroups.
That way you can isolate the guitar, learn it without the vocals getting in the way and slow it down as much as you want.

the difference between the young and the old is enthusiasm and acceptance of limitations.

Do you realy think your fingers cannot move that fast or agile anymore? If you do, then they might not.

I think when your younger you don't think about it as much, so when you want to learn a song, you just do it. When your older , possibly, you think about "well this doesn't feel right" or other similar thoughts.Just relax about the song, and take it slow.

You cannot be too old to play. Bottom line. You CAN be too young to want to play. I think that young players can often get bored with the guitar, lose the will to practice, and give it up right there. You just keep it up, man, sometimes the tabs sound a little off, but I guarantee that once you get the tabs down so you can play them correctly, they'll sound fine.

Yeah, I spent about an hour last night woodshedding it, and did the same this afternoon. Sometimes I can hit it just fine, other times the rhythm gets off, and I end up all over the fretboard.

FYI, the published tabs don't seem to reflect the song accurately. It's probably because of the process by which the song was written: It evolved during the recording sessions and involves many, many layers of guitar, bass, percussion, and vocal. I assume that published tabs are an just an approximation of the song. I suspect it would take three lead guitars, one or two acoustic guitars, and one bass to actually re-create what is found on the studio recording.

Anyway, you are right about the 'too young' part: I took lessons in second grade, then quit after only about two months. I bought a guitar in 1988 with noble intentions of trying again, but it has sat in my closet all this time. Now, I am serious about mastering this thing, and stubbornly, I want to learn to play my most favorite song in the world. I've been taking lessons for about eight months now, but kids & family really make practice time somewhat a rare luxury. Hmm, I didn't have those issues in 1988! 1973 neither, for that matter... Maybe that's the true source of the frustration.

it will also depend on HOW you learn, some people can be just told what to do, some have to be shown what to do or they work it out for themselves.
i'm the second type, if i get shown something i'll remember how to do it, or if i'm going through tabs sometimes it won't make sense, or won't sound right, then all of a sudden i'll get it sounding perfect.

Getting older shouldn't be something that bothers you, especially not in terms of brain-power. The average 70-year-old has still over 90 per-cent of the brain function they had when they were 20.

I was once told by a teacher that you are at the peak of your brain function at 17 and I have found this very hard to believe as I feel like I'm taking in much more now than I ever did at 17.

My friends dad is like 55 and has arthritis so that slows him down,but he still plays.Your not gonna be in that age bracket for 20 years!Get playing!

I stopped skateboarding because I thought I was to old to start getting good...and realized later that I could have got great in the time I spent procrastinating.

hehe .. wasted years - you only live once (at least that is what you must assume) - carpe diem dude! it might be your last

Man...the way that some of you guys talk about getting older, you'd think that anybody over 40 is feeble or something.
I'm 45 and don't feel any different than I did in my teens.
Only difference is now that I've been playing for about 35 years, stuff like More Than a Feeling is childs play.

Originally posted by Hootayah

I'm 45 .....

*takes hootayah´s measures* well sir.. would you like your coffin with white satin or just a plain wooden box? we could also burn you! .. or even dump you in the themse ..

*LOL*

Hey don't be crazy dude.Do you know that Eric Clapton was is his twenties when he learned the guitar?
So don't give up that easy man.
Good luck!:D