Third Times a Charm!

Hey everyone! I've started the journey of learning guitar again. Something is different this time, and it's going great! I definitely have Guitar Tricks and disciplined practice to thank.

Attempt 1:

In 2007 I bought my first acoustic guitar at one of those buy and sell places. I didn't know anything about anything and randomly purchased a Takamine Jasmine S43C because it was the only guitar they had there (turned out to be a decent guitar for a beginner though!). I didn't try very hard and just tried to jump straight into trying to play songs using guitar tabs that I found online without mastering any basics. Gave up quickly.

Attempt 2:

In 2017 I wanted to give it another try, and took the Takamine Jasmine out of the hard case for the first time in about 10 years, and signed up for Guitar Tricks! I started the Guitar Fundamentals course, and stubborn impatience got the best of me and I went back to my old ways and tried to jump straight into songs again. I gave up again.

Attempt 3:

In early August 2019, I was listening to some tunes with some beautiful guitar and was inspired to try again. This time, I told myself I would seriously be disciplined and not become impatient and stubborn again. Let's just say I used to play violin when I was age 10-13 and have not looked at music notes or played an instrument since.

I used one of my boyfriend's 4 guitars to practice at first (a Squier Stratocaster because it felt the most comfortable), and a combination of Guitar Tricks, Guitars for Dummies, Music Theory for Dummies, and-- unless I'm having an extremely busy day or on vacation-- DAILY practice. I eventually bought a Yamaha APXT2 because I found the size the most comfortable to start with... I went through a "my hands are too small" phase and decided I could only play partial or 3/4 sized guitars.

Fast forward to September 29 2019, and I am SO loving learning this time. I finished Guitar Fundamentals 1 and am most of the way through Fundamentals 2 (just got to barre chords, and decided to pause on that and learn acoustic fingerpicking and I'm on the second beginners fingerpicking course now).

I am also finding that now that I've built strength and more flexibility (still want more) in my fretting hand, it's a bit more comfortable and less straining to play the full scale length guitars. FYI I have a hand span of ~165mm according to the instructions on this website. I was also put to shame after watching this YouTube video of very small North Korean children playing acoustic guitars and also using barre chords.

I am looking forward to finishing Guitar Fundamentals 2 in the near future, and learning more songs from the gigantic song list! Thank you SO MUCH for existing Guitar Tricks!

Good luck Blue. I bought my 1st guitar in 1980, but it was in this year, 39 years later, that I learned how to play it.

I think there is a time for all of us.

Originally Posted by: William MG

Good luck Blue. I bought my 1st guitar in 1980, but it was in this year, 39 years later, that I learned how to play it.

I think there is a time for all of us.

William, I may have you beat (as if it's a contest. It's not. Just for bluefoxx's benefit.)

I played bass in high school graduating in 1966. I tried of couple times over my work career to learn with a 6 string. But college, graduate school, career, kids, all the usual suspects distracted me. Plus the times I tried it was with a horrible acoustic that fought me more than helped and the outcome was predictable.

A few years ago Santa delivered a starter electric kit after I retired. And this time I'm pursuing it with passion.

So bluefoxx, I would bet not many, but most, like William and myself, on here have made multiple attempts to learn. As William said, there is a time for all of us.

Good luck to you. And keep us appraised of your progress.

Though I've been playing since the early 80's, before I started that final (and successful) time, I had a few prior attempts though with less than ideal guitars. Two things happened when it finally stuck: (1) I had a guitar that wanted me to play it (my first guitar was a Les Paul), and (2) I felt the need to just play. When it 'stuck', it didn't matter if something was difficult or not, I just wanted to play. Even when stuff seemed more challenging, I just didn't care. I enjoyed it whether easy or hard.

Some of that is mindset; not thinking of guitar as 'work' but as something that is to be enjoyed. Even when you're working on hard stuff and not getting that 'thing' you're working on out of the box.

One of the first songs I learned on guitar was Led Zepperlin's 'Black Dog'. It's never been an easy song to play. Truthfully, I didn't think of it as a tough song in as much as it was something I wanted to play so I just stuck to it until I started making it work. Sure, once in a while, I might have used an adult word or two getting the pattern down but never did I think what I was doing was actually work. Even when I was working at it, and not getting it, I still wanted to play.

This kinda sounds like where you're at. If you embrace the fact that you will always be learning on the guitar, it becomes that things that will always keep you engaged. Some stuff will be easy and others...not so much.

Good Luck!!

Originally Posted by: William MG

Good luck Blue. I bought my 1st guitar in 1980, but it was in this year, 39 years later, that I learned how to play it.

I think there is a time for all of us.

Thanks William MG. You're right. When it's time, it's time!

Originally Posted by: matonanjin2

Originally Posted by: William MG

Good luck Blue. I bought my 1st guitar in 1980, but it was in this year, 39 years later, that I learned how to play it.

I think there is a time for all of us.

William, I may have you beat (as if it's a contest. It's not. Just for bluefoxx's benefit.)

I played bass in high school graduating in 1966. I tried of couple times over my work career to learn with a 6 string. But college, graduate school, career, kids, all the usual suspects distracted me. Plus the times I tried it was with a horrible acoustic that fought me more than helped and the outcome was predictable.

A few years ago Santa delivered a starter electric kit after I retired. And this time I'm pursuing it with passion.

So bluefoxx, I would bet not many, but most, like William and myself, on here have made multiple attempts to learn. As William said, there is a time for all of us.

Good luck to you. And keep us appraised of your progress.

Thanks matonanjin2! I'm glad that the gift of an electric guitar starter kit ignited a passion to keep playing and learning with the instrument. It's pretty cool to hear other people's stories with their guitar journey.

Originally Posted by: JeffS65

Though I've been playing since the early 80's, before I started that final (and successful) time, I had a few prior attempts though with less than ideal guitars. Two things happened when it finally stuck: (1) I had a guitar that wanted me to play it (my first guitar was a Les Paul), and (2) I felt the need to just play. When it 'stuck', it didn't matter if something was difficult or not, I just wanted to play. Even when stuff seemed more challenging, I just didn't care. I enjoyed it whether easy or hard.

Some of that is mindset; not thinking of guitar as 'work' but as something that is to be enjoyed. Even when you're working on hard stuff and not getting that 'thing' you're working on out of the box.

One of the first songs I learned on guitar was Led Zepperlin's 'Black Dog'. It's never been an easy song to play. Truthfully, I didn't think of it as a tough song in as much as it was something I wanted to play so I just stuck to it until I started making it work. Sure, once in a while, I might have used an adult word or two getting the pattern down but never did I think what I was doing was actually work. Even when I was working at it, and not getting it, I still wanted to play.

This kinda sounds like where you're at. If you embrace the fact that you will always be learning on the guitar, it becomes that things that will always keep you engaged. Some stuff will be easy and others...not so much.

Good Luck!!

Thanks JeffS65! What you're saying definitely resonates. Especially the part about the mindset. Learning an instrument is something one can do over a lifetime. Even professionals and legends always have something to improve or learn; and they need frequent practice too.

I think of learning how to play guitar differently now than I did ~13 years ago. It used to feel like a chore to practice and learn things. This time I'm appreciating the slower journey. I understand that there is a need for building strength in my fingers, hand, and muscle memory (you mean I can land all of my fingers in chord formation at once rather than one finger at a time?).

Lastly, I agree that having the right instrument will help inspire us to keep playing on it. As I mentioned, I feel that I have tiny doll hands (obligatory SNL image below).

So when I started learning guitar again, switching from a larger acoustic guitar to a much smaller acoustic guitar (or even to an electric strat guitar) was a very welcome change. It just reduced the challenges that I had to face when starting out, and I feel that I can soon play other guitars now that I've overcome some obstacles (like developing soft calluses, hand/finger strength, and hand flexibility).

Black Dog sounds like a challenging (but fun!) song to learn as one of the first songs to learn. Sounds like the key is to have fun and be inspired to keep going.

Cheers

Originally Posted by: bluefoxx

Originally Posted by: JeffS65

Though I've been playing since the early 80's, before I started that final (and successful) time, I had a few prior attempts though with less than ideal guitars. Two things happened when it finally stuck: (1) I had a guitar that wanted me to play it (my first guitar was a Les Paul), and (2) I felt the need to just play. When it 'stuck', it didn't matter if something was difficult or not, I just wanted to play. Even when stuff seemed more challenging, I just didn't care. I enjoyed it whether easy or hard.

Some of that is mindset; not thinking of guitar as 'work' but as something that is to be enjoyed. Even when you're working on hard stuff and not getting that 'thing' you're working on out of the box.

One of the first songs I learned on guitar was Led Zepperlin's 'Black Dog'. It's never been an easy song to play. Truthfully, I didn't think of it as a tough song in as much as it was something I wanted to play so I just stuck to it until I started making it work. Sure, once in a while, I might have used an adult word or two getting the pattern down but never did I think what I was doing was actually work. Even when I was working at it, and not getting it, I still wanted to play.

This kinda sounds like where you're at. If you embrace the fact that you will always be learning on the guitar, it becomes that things that will always keep you engaged. Some stuff will be easy and others...not so much.

Good Luck!!

Thanks JeffS65! What you're saying definitely resonates. Especially the part about the mindset. Learning an instrument is something one can do over a lifetime. Even professionals and legends always have something to improve or learn; and they need frequent practice too.

I think of learning how to play guitar differently now than I did ~13 years ago. It used to feel like a chore to practice and learn things. This time I'm appreciating the slower journey. I understand that there is a need for building strength in my fingers, hand, and muscle memory (you mean I can land all of my fingers in chord formation at once rather than one finger at a time?).

Lastly, I agree that having the right instrument will help inspire us to keep playing on it. As I mentioned, I feel that I have tiny doll hands (obligatory SNL image below).

So when I started learning guitar again, switching from a larger acoustic guitar to a much smaller acoustic guitar (or even to an electric strat guitar) was a very welcome change. It just reduced the challenges that I had to face when starting out, and I feel that I can soon play other guitars now that I've overcome some obstacles (like developing soft calluses, hand/finger strength, and hand flexibility).

Black Dog sounds like a challenging (but fun!) song to learn as one of the first songs to learn. Sounds like the key is to have fun and be inspired to keep going.

Cheers

I love the SNL Dooneese skits! It has that 'I shouldn't be lauching at this' quality. Yet, I do.

Glad you found something that works. Good luck!!

Hi bluefoxx! Welcome to the GT forum family!

Of the older crew, we're all pretty much restarts or retreads here, so you're in company of like minds.

Average western male height, nevertheless I've smaller hands and finger lengths than average for a man. It does render playing guitar more challenging as physical attributes can in any activity, and makes guitar fit even more important to success IME.

Reinforcing and summarising what others have said elequently before me, with consideration of my own arm and torso length, hand size and finger length, the two crucial keys I've found work consisistently for me were & are;

1. Physical guitar fit. All important. And electrics are easier.

2. Enjoy the doing of learning & playing guitar, all of it.

That's it. Add patience, apply perseverence and determination to 2 above, and you're set for unavoidable success.

manXcat