Hi all, doing it right this time!

Hello all, just wanted to introduce myself as I'm keen to get involved with the community aspect here. I think it will benefit everyone if we can build up a bit of a support network for encouragement and motivation!

I started playing around 30 years ago and was pretty serious at first, playing in a few local bands etc. I did have some formal lessons but I've never really studied theory. I understand the concepts but haven't managed to apply that to what and how I play. I've really just winged it and learnt enough riffs and licks from tab to sound semi convincing as a blues/rock player with a lot of limitations.

Unfortunately, life got in the way of my rock star dreams and I've gone through long periods (years) of not touching the guitar at all mixed with short periods of just replaying the same old stuff I already know, until now!

I've finally made the commitment to go back to basics and learn from the ground up so that I can try and get involved in the local blues scene and start playing with others again. I think the main challenge will be fitting practice in around work and family commitments, but hopefully the online format will let me do that.

Hi there,

We're so glad to have you here. Life happens, but guitar will always be there for you whenever you're ready to pick it up again. I hope you find the lessons and community fun and enjoyable!

In regards to practice, don't over extend yourself. Some folks like to practice for hours at a time, but that may not work for you, or most people. Keep it small and consistent. Maybe do 20 or 30 minutes a day, working on things you actually want to learn, that way you're always having fun.

As always, let us know if you have any questions.

Wonderful - sounds like a great plan. Sometimes it can be surprising to go back to the foundations and learn what is really going on behind the scenes of some of the riffs and stuff one has been ‘winging’ for years. It can really open up some new doors fast, as your fingers already love that instrument!

Have lots of fun. Best - Lisa

Originally Posted by: Mid_Life Crisis

Hello all, just wanted to introduce myself as I'm keen to get involved with the community aspect here. I think it will benefit everyone if we can build up a bit of a support network for encouragement and motivation!

I started playing around 30 years ago and was pretty serious at first, playing in a few local bands etc. I did have some formal lessons but I've never really studied theory. I understand the concepts but haven't managed to apply that to what and how I play. I've really just winged it and learnt enough riffs and licks from tab to sound semi convincing as a blues/rock player with a lot of limitations.

Unfortunately, life got in the way of my rock star dreams and I've gone through long periods (years) of not touching the guitar at all mixed with short periods of just replaying the same old stuff I already know, until now!

I've finally made the commitment to go back to basics and learn from the ground up so that I can try and get involved in the local blues scene and start playing with others again. I think the main challenge will be fitting practice in around work and family commitments, but hopefully the online format will let me do that.

My story mirrored this quite a lot.

In the 80's, I could (as they say), shred. -underwhelming- yay...Yes, I could play with a decent amount of skill but I knew virtually nothing. Scales? Sure. I didn't really know what went behind it and why certain things worked better than others. Innately I could hear it, so I had that going for me. Given what I do for a job now and how I approach it, I am a sucker for understanding how and why something works. Why didn't I care when I was younger to learn this stuff? Lazy, lazy, lazy....It's part of why ended up here at GT many years later.

That's the part where I see you and I are (were) in that same boat; making the commitment to go back to basics and learn from the ground up.

I've been at GT for a long time and don't use it like I wshould (life...) but I know a heck of a lot more than I did several years ago.

Good luck and have fun!

Thanks for the replies. I'm really enjoying the site so far and I have to say it's been suprising how fast I've been able get back up to speed with my old chops.

I've hardly touched a guitar at all since my son was born (6 years ago) but the muscle memory was still there and although I started off a bit slow, within a month most of the old songs had come back to me. It was really weird to just start a riff without conciously knowing how to play the end, then watch as my fingers took over!

I'm currently revising the blues content and have just statrted working through Lisa's acoustic fingerpicking fundamentals, something I've never tried before. It's easy to stay motivated at the moment as there are lots of noticable small improvements in my playing every time I pick up my guitar, just need to work out how to stay out of the rut this time!

Wonderful to hear! It’s so cool how the fingerpicking magic links one thing to to next piece by piece and suddenly you are making music you never thought you would! Have fun!