Ask HN: am I too old to learn the guitar/music?

#1

Post by callmeed » Thu, Jan 07, 2010, 4:32 AM UTC

Sorry if this isn't very hacker-related. I know there are a good amount of musicians here, so I thought I'd ask.

I'm 34. Quit 5th grade music (teacher was a jerk) and haven't really touched an instrument since. But I've always wanted to learn some guitar.

Is it too late?

My wife is a decent musician so we have a few guitars and keyboards in the house. Always been good with math and languages–not sure if that helps or determines how I should try and learn.

Anyway, any suggestions from musicians is much appreciated. Should I take some lessons? Watch some videos?

Re: Ask HN: am I too old to learn the guitar/music?

#2

Post by shaunxcode » Thu, Jan 07, 2010, 4:37 AM UTC

hell no you're not! And if you are a programmer/math inclined you will probably actually do really well once you get a few fundamentals down and start to see the patterns/logic in the tuning. (learn to play a power chord and then realize that the same finger pattern applies all the way down the fret board for the first two top strings and you're on your way to writing some ramones-esque songs!)

For the record I am a drummer but I understand guitar well enough to write songs that other people can then play better haha.

Re: Ask HN: am I too old to learn the guitar/music?

#3

Post by dnsworks » Thu, Jan 07, 2010, 4:44 AM UTC

My 62 year old father just took up Piano and is loving it.

Re: Ask HN: am I too old to learn the guitar/music?

#4

Post by surgesg » Thu, Jan 07, 2010, 5:31 AM UTC

There's no replacement for good private lessons.

Re: Ask HN: am I too old to learn the guitar/music?

#5

Post by dasil003 » Thu, Jan 07, 2010, 5:35 AM UTC

No.

That's the template response for questions of the form:

/^Am I too old to learn .*\?$/i

Re: Ask HN: am I too old to learn the guitar/music?

#6

Post by plinkplonk » Thu, Jan 07, 2010, 5:38 AM UTC

You aren't too old to learn.

It is hard (though probably not impossible, given sufficient motivation and practice) to get good enough to play professionally with a late start), but if you plan to learn for the joy of music and playing songs at parties and so on it is very doable. If you practice (guitar) for 20 -30 minutes daily for a year, you should be good enough to play some popular songs at parties and so on, ideally with people playing other instruments.

The key is to regularity (don't miss practice) and focus (be aware of what you are doing when you practice) and not so much short bursts of intense practice.

As mentioned above if you can get good private lessons , go for it. You can teach yourself with books and an electronic tuner and so on, but it is way harder than getting a good teacher. Since your wife is a musician she (or her friends) should be able to find you a good teacher.

Good Luck!

Re: Ask HN: am I too old to learn the guitar/music?

#7

Post by callmeed » Thu, Jan 07, 2010, 5:41 AM UTC

shaunxcode wrote: post #2

hell no you're not! And if you are a programmer/math inclined you will probably actually do really well once you get a few fundamentals down and start to see the patterns/logic in the tuning. (learn to play a power chord and then realize that the same finger pattern applies all the way down the fret board for the first two top strings and you're on your way to writing some ramones-esque songs!) For the record I am a…

Ok, thanks. So how would you recommend I learn the fundamentals?

Re: Ask HN: am I too old to learn the guitar/music?

#8

Post by shaunxcode » Thu, Jan 07, 2010, 7:01 AM UTC

callmeed wrote: post #7

shaunxcode wrote: post #2

hell no you're not! And if you are a programmer/math inclined you will probably actually do really well once you get a few fundamentals down and start to see the patterns/logic in the tuning. (learn to play a power chord and then realize that the same finger pattern applies all the way down the fret board for the first two top strings and you're on your way to writing some ramones-esque songs!) For the record I am a…

Ok, thanks. So how would you recommend I learn the fundamentals?

Well one very HN approach would be to upload one of your favorite (ideally relatively simple/slower) songs to http://chords.fm/online/web/ and start from there!

Re: Ask HN: am I too old to learn the guitar/music?

#9

Post by patrickryan » Thu, Jan 07, 2010, 7:46 AM UTC

There is no age limit to learning. In fact, I bought a guitar at the age of 19 and began teaching myself chords, strumming, and scales with no previous experience. I am 23 now, wrote and recorded a full length music album 2 years ago, have played numerous live shows as a solo artist, and continue to learn guitar everyday. My suggestions for learning guitar: Find a tab for a song you enjoy on http://ultimate-guitar.com, and practice it daily.

Re: Ask HN: am I too old to learn the guitar/music?

#10

Post by babycakes » Thu, Jan 07, 2010, 7:50 AM UTC

Sounds just like our situation.

I've been playing guitar for 15 years now. My 30 year-old wife just picked up the guitar. She's doing quite well. I spend about 15 minutes per day helping her with her technique and giving her a new exercise to try.

When we picked out her guitar, they offered us a month of free group lessons. Maybe you can swing the same deal? Guitar is not a difficult instrument, relative to piano, trombone, or violin. A little spousal assistance is probably good enough if you can't wrangle a professional.