Are you too old to learn to play the guitar?
Many adults that I have met feel a little bit of regret that they did not learn an instrument when they were younger. They imagine it would be nice to play with friends and share one of the bonding experiences between humans: making music together. And the are totally right in this.
Unfortunately, they typically dismiss the idea of learning to play the guitar immediately and with gusto. They say: I am too old to learn an instrument. Fortunately most of them are wrong in this assumption.
If you have answered like that I invite you to go through the following list and see whether you got what is needed to learn to play.
Prerequisite 1: The ability to understand.
If you are able to read and understand this text then you are able to understand what is needed to play great music. The ability to play music does not require high levels of intelligence although it helps in keeping the mind sharp.
Prerequisite 2: You have at least most of your fingers.
There is not much to playing the guitar in regards of physique. If you are physically able to set a wristwatch to the correct time you are more than set. Everything above that is icing on the cake. You are able to train your hands to get into the correct positions over time.
Prerequisite 3: Endurance.
One thing that holds many professional people back is the feeling of incompetence in this new field. They have worked a lot to get where they are now and hesitate to start feeling insecure again. If that is the case for you: do not be afraid to look like a beginner. Because in the beginning that is what you are.
Prerequisite 4: Actually, there is nothing more.
If you could make your little check mark after each of the three points above you are all set. You can learn to play the guitar.
After that is settled the question becomes: Do you want to learn to play the guitar? And here I just cannot imagine why one would not want to be able to play an instrument. Playing the guitar is an amazing way to express yourself, it is great for bonding with your friends and family, it actually makes you more intelligent (and delays certain brain diseases), the process teaches you how to solve problems in a new way and it‘s incredibly fun. There is a ton to gain. Let‘s get started.
This text was written by Rene Kerkdyk, who works as a guitar coach at Rock Gitarre Hildesheim. You can contact him at his website for Guitar lessons in Hildesheim.