One of the bands I play in was started by a guy who had "always wanted" to learn how to play guitar. It was a dream of his for many years.
But sometimes life has a funny way of getting between us and our dreams, and my friend had to put the guitar on the back burner while raising a family, working a job and chasing a career.
Then one day, well into his late forties, he bought a guitar. He took a few lessons and practiced until he got good enough to play some basic songs that he could sing along with.
In wasn't too much longer before he and a buddy got together and decided they were going to form a band. So without thinking about it too much, they bought a PA system, knocked on a few doors, booked some gigs, and wound up in the band business.
The pair eventually split up, so my friend went out and found several top local musicians to join his "band", and next thing you know, it became one of the most popular bands in the area. Nowadays my friend spends his weekends on stage living his dream.
The point is, it's not really about how old you are when you first pick up the guitar, it's more about your "mindset" when you start out.
My friend simply went out, learned some chords, and formed a band, without ever considering if he was too old or not - or if he could succeed or not. He just did it.
What's the number one thing you can do to prepare yourself to learn how to play guitar over the age of 40...50...60 or older?
"Get your head right"!
As we get older we develop a tendency to "over-think" things.
This is really 90% of the battle for learning new things later in life. We somehow need to re-gain that enthusiasm for new discovery that is a trait of youth.
As we progress on the "train of life", cynicism has a way of creeping in and we sometimes doubt our ability to take on new pursuits or learn new things.
It's this cynical mindset that, if broken, will free us to enrich our lives in many ways as we mature, including adding the guitar to our list of accomplishments!
If you've ever dreamed of learning how to play guitar, why not make today the day you do something about it?