I told my fiancé the other day that if there is one thing I regret it is not learning to play the guitar or some other musical instrument well as a child or teenager. Her response was quite predictable. “What’s wrong with learning it now?”
I had no answer so I did some homework. I had a belief that it is more difficult for an adult to learn to play a musical instrument than it is for a child. Why should that be?
For a start, I was quite wrong. It is no more difficult. An adult has more advantages in learning to play a guitar or other instrument.
The difference in learning ability between children and adults lie in:
- We have more experience.
- An adult’s impatience with learning..
- We have better developed appreciation for timing and rhythm.
- We get bored with the idea of playing ‘Jingle Bells’ whereas a child of any age might be proud of such an achievement.
- We are less motivated.
The issue is therefore motivation and patience.
I also read many questions and theories about how long it takes to learn to play the guitar. The answer can be vague and evasive with counter questions like How long is a piece of string? How well? What kind of guitar? What kind of music?
But there is a more specific view… If you want to, you can learn to play a simple song in a few hours. You can learn to play something interesting in a week… then you will have sore and stiff fingers and need to give it a break. But once your fingers get hard and strong, if you stick to it you can develop amazingly nimble fingers on both hands in quite a short time.
Think of it this way. Boy bands can play chart topping music at the age of 18. At age 12 they definitely did not have the size or strength hands to play good guitar. You can certainly have fun within a few months and become really entertaining with a repertoire within a year.
How difficult is it really? Not at all. You can do it the easy way. With simple chords and guitar tablature that any novice can understand to make it easy for the beginner of any age. My personal favourite is to learn through Country and bluegrass guitar tabs. Without formal music training, they are quick to master. But there are many Learning to play guitar, from folk and rock to bluegrass and jazz.
It is very hard to find talented guitarists willing to teach these days. Before the days of the internet, one had to learn from the teachers available in your area and to be blunt, guitar teachers are very expensive if they are any good. They have better things to do with their time! Finding a good and affordable guitar teacher that also is accessible was difficult in the past. But that was when our only choice was to look for one-on-one teaching . The internet is full of very competent teachers and the MP3 and MP4 technologies are ideal for this. The limitations lie in what the student is prepared to invest.
Videos can show you the how as well as play the sound and MP3 tracks providing exact examples with the musical notation (tabs, chords and strumming or finger picking instructions) of song examples. Some of the best and some famous guitarists have recorded training sessions in many different genres.
Talent? Few people are natural musicians, but that seldom deters children. As with any skill, art is much more about going through the learning curve and building skill. Talent comes with experience and experimenting.
It is easier than ever to learn to play the guitar whether you are and adult or a teenager.
So no more regrets for me. I took up my fiance’s challenge and am learning to play bluegrass and loving it!
Posted under Learn Bass Guitar
This post was written by editor on March 26, 2011
