A few months ago I started learning guitar through guitar lesson websites and method books. At nearly halfway through my thirties, whether or not I’d be considered an older beginner is up for debate – though I’ve dealt with clicky joints and repetitive strain injuries since my early twenties, so I feel that ages me a bit. In this post I’ll share a few things I’m learning about taking up guitar “later” in life. I hope you find these guitar tips for older beginners helpful.
Is it harder to learn guitar when you get older?
As someone who writes a lot about the joys of learning new skills as an adult, it makes me sad when I see so many people in Internet forums asking: Is it too late to learn guitar? Am I too old to learn guitar at age 20? 30? 40? 50? 60? 70? and so on.
If you have a desire to learn guitar – or anything else, for that matter – go for it! Who’s to tell you you’re too old?
That said, when it comes to learning guitar as an adult, of course there are going to be some unique challenges; for example:
- Body aches and pains
- Time constraints
- Confusion about what and how to practice (if you’re teaching yourself guitar without the guidance of a teacher)
- Lack of motivation to practice
As a beginner, I’m still learning what works and what doesn’t, but here are some solutions I’ve found for each of these things so far.
Tip #1: Take very, very good care of your body
When I first started practicing guitar, I was so excited that I didn’t want to put my guitar down. But I quickly found that taking up the guitar is like working out: It’s very physical! If you don’t ease into it, you can hurt yourself.
For the first few weeks, I limited myself to short practice sessions of 20 minutes so I could develop the strength and flexibility necessary for longer practice sessions. I also had to work a lot at keeping my wrist neutral to avoid a repetitive stress injury.
If you suspect a repetitive stress injury, don’t ignore it or try to muscle your way through the pain! I did this years ago and ended up causing lasting problems, and now I can’t practice guitar or flute as much as I’d like to. Fortunately though, I’ve learned some strategies for practicing consistently. If, like me, you have arthritis or an overuse injury like carpal tunnel syndrome or tendonitis, try the following tips:
- Break up your daily practice time into several shorter sessions, e.g., three 15-minute sessions instead of one 45-minute session
- Use light-gauge guitar strings, which are easier to press down or bend (I use D’Addario Extra Light Gauge strings)
- Run your hands under warm water before playing, and practice in a well-heated room
- Wear compression gloves or wraps to reduce pain or discomfort, such as these ones for guitar players
- Drink lots of water, especially before practice sessions, to lubricate joints and tendons
- Get in the habit of doing gentle hand and finger stretching exercises before you practice
If your hand joints are really bad, you could always consider getting a guitar with a thinner neck or a smaller body, like a ¾-size guitar or travel guitar – you can often find used guitars for cheap on Craigslist, Kijiji (in Canada), or Facebook Marketplace.
Taking the time to find a comfortable playing position when you’re just starting out – and using any necessary ergonomic guitar equipment – will make future practice sessions more enjoyable. It took a bit of experimentation, but I found that sitting down with a stool under my right foot feels the most comfortable and also helps stabilize the guitar. You can get adjustable guitar foot rests on Amazon.
If you suffer from back, neck, or shoulder pain, an adjustable guitar chair and padded guitar strap can provide weight relief and alleviate discomfort. Dividing your practice time between sitting and standing up can also help.
Tip #2: Follow a lesson plan
Watching YouTube videos or looking up tabs for your favorite songs can be a patchwork way to learn guitar. By following an online guitar course or method book that’s designed for accelerated progress – especially one that includes lots of guitar tips for older beginners – you’ll learn proper beginner technique and improve faster, as if you were working with a guitar teacher giving you lesson plans.
In recent years, many excellent online guitar courses and lessons for self learners have cropped up. No matter what kind of music you want to play, there’s probably a course or a book for it. Some of the best self-teaching resources for adults that I’ve come across include:
- Guitar Tricks. This site offers award-winning step-by-step guitar lessons for beginner to advanced players. They teach the widest variety of genres from what I’ve seen so far, including acoustic, rock, jazz, classical, country, metal, world, bluegrass, blues, rockabilly, surf, and funk and soul. They also feature a huge library of song tutorials. They currently offer a 14-day free trial.
- Justin Guitar. This popular website offers many free guitar lessons taught by Australian guitarist Justin Sandercoe, including an excellent beginner course. The earlier lessons place heavy emphasis on learning the essential open chords rather than reading music, which you may or may not prefer depending on the style of music you want to play. Justin has also put together a large library of popular song tutorials.
- Teach Yourself to Play Guitar: A Quick and Easy Introduction for Beginners. This is the number one best-selling book in the guitar books category on Amazon. It’s less verbose than some guitar methods tend to be, so you can jump in and start playing right away. It progresses quickly, with concise explanations, graded exercises, and lots of annotated diagrams and photos.
Besides online courses, there are many useful guitar method books available, including a few that specifically focus on guitar tips for older beginners. (I’m currently using the Hal Leonard Guitar Method, an easy-to-follow method that teaches how to read the notes on the strings before introducing chords.)
Also, keep in mind that many talented guitarists whose performing careers have been negatively affected by the pandemic have begun teaching guitar online via Zoom or Skype. If there’s an artist you admire, check their website to see if they’re giving lessons!
Tip #3: When it comes to practice, go for consistency over volume
If there’s one thing all music teachers seem to agree on, it’s that practicing for shorter sessions consistently is more effective than practicing for longer sessions sporadically. Meaning, for example, five 20-minute practice sessions a week (one hour and 40 minutes total) is better than one three-hour session a week.
Obviously, if you have the luxury of practicing both consistently and for more hours per day or week, you’ll improve the fastest. That said, older beginners are often subject to time constraints such as work or family responsibilities.
If you struggle to set a specific time to practice every day, try doing your desired habit (practicing guitar) right before or after something you already do every day, like drinking coffee, meditating, or walking the dog. (This “habit stacking” tip is attributed to BJ Fogg, behavior scientist at Stanford.)
Tip #4: Create a system for effective practice
The guitar is such a versatile instrument that it can be confusing to know what to focus on in your practice sessions. If you jump in without a game plan, progress will be slow and stiff, and you might be tempted to give up playing guitar altogether.
Setting clear, achievable goals will keep you from becoming overwhelmed, and it’ll also force you to practice methodically and improve faster as a result.
One way I’ve found to practice more effectively is to keep a practice journal. I’ll decide on one or two main guitar projects or techniques and commit to focusing on those for the next few weeks, and then I write down specific practice items that support those goals. I also keep a brief log of what I’ve been practicing.
For example, my current musical goal is to learn backup guitar for an Irish reel that I really like. I’ve broken this goal down into the following simple items and recorded them in my journal:
- Chord changes with metronome (I’ve listed out the eight changes)
- Strumming (basic reel pattern)
- Palm muting
These items will form the basis of my practice routine for the next few weeks. Approaching practice time in this structured way, with exciting goals, has led to fewer “jack-around” practice sessions.
I also use a free productivity app called Strides to keep track of how many minutes I practice each day.
Tip #5: Record your progress
When I started learning Irish flute about a year ago, I recorded some (terrible quality) audio with my smartphone at least once every few weeks. Going back and listening to these recordings as I progressed through the months became a source of motivation for me to continue with my online lessons. I’ve been doing this again as I learn guitar, and once again, it’s been encouraging and motivating. Recording yourself playing every so often would be my top guitar tip for older beginners!
If recording yourself feels awkward, just remember that progress audio or video doesn’t have to be production quality. Nobody else ever needs to see or hear it. You don’t need to record multiple times trying to get the perfect take.
Instead, just randomly hit record while you’re fumbling along, and don’t think too much about it. When you look back on your progress videos in just a few weeks or months from now, you’ll be amazed at how far you’ve come.
What are your favorite guitar tips for older beginners?
I hope these tips encourage you in your journey of learning to play guitar later in life. I would love to hear some of your own guitar tips for older beginners, so please leave a comment if you have a tip to share or some encouragement about learning guitar as an adult!