Where do I go from here?

pottolom

Posting this in the Technique forum, although it relates just as strongly to Theory.

I'm trying to work out what I need to do to 'get better' at playing the guitar.

My story is I played for a bit as a teenager, quickly gave up when I realised how much hard work I'd need to put in (which, of course, will always be a regret) and then picked it up again at the age of 29 (10 years ago). I put a reasonable amount of effort in and quickly relearnt all the open chords, managed to start playing barre chords, developed some reasonable fingerpicking abilities (Beatles Blackbird level stuff) and learnt a few basic scales and surprised myself to some extent how much better I became with a little effort.

Ever since, I practice off and on, but generally a few hours per week and probably haven't really become a huge amount better than I did in that first year. To give you some idea of my level, some of the things I generally play are 'indie' type stuff (Smiths' Some Girls are Bigger Than Others and There is a Light), an old jazz standard (Autumn Leaves), some Beatles tunes (Blackbird, Julia, Norwegian Wood), a couple of old Bowie tracks (Ziggy Stardust, Space Oddity). And a few other bits and pieces. I can play all of these reasonably well, although my touch and timing are far from great, and I'm always likely to fluff something or mess up somewhere.

A few years back, I also tried a couple of times to follow a course book that's recommended a few places online: Blues You Can Use by John Ganapes. I managed a few chapters and did reasonably well, but quickly grew a little tired of it. None of the pieces were quite the kind of thing I'd ever want to play or listen to.

Anyway, I love playing, it's the thing I enjoy doing the most of an evening, but it is frustrating when you feel as though you plateaued long ago and haven't really gone much further than beginner/low intermediate. I've somehow ended up watching a few Knopfler videos on YouTube recently and have realised I love his playing, although it does make me want to give up at times!

I can't read music, and I know essentially no musical theory at all. I couldn't tell you what key a song is in, or generally name a chord just by hearing it. I'm not too worried about reading music really, but I would love to develop an ear.

What I think I'd like to do is to follow some kind of course, or receive some tuition, that would give me greater knowledge of theory (and not just limited to blues stuff), help develop my ear, and also enhance my technical skills. What I probably don't want to do is to go overboard with this, because I ain't ever going to be a jazz virtuoso and it'll probably just knock by confidence and I'll give up. Better to be realistic. 

I'd like to further develop my skills in fingerpicking, and perhaps go into a slightly folky direction with all of this, although I haven't decided on that latter point yet.

So, I suppose my questions are:

1. I'm 40, have I left it too late to ever become a half-decent player?
2. If the answer to 1. is no, is there a course I could follow somewhere that people recommend? There's lots of stuff on YouTube showing you how to play individual songs, which is fine, but I don't think that's going to get me where I want to be. I think I need something structured.
3. If the answer to 2. is no, how would people on here recommend finding a good guitar teacher? I just don't know where to start. I'm in Newcastle (well, actually Gateshead/Prudhoe area) if someone on here happens to know someone? The only issue with this is that we're a bit skint at the moment having just had a baby!

Any advice much appreciated.

TL;DR - how do I go from the plateau I'm at (probably low intermediate technical skills, virtually no musical theory) into perhaps high intermediate or better with some decent knowledge of theory and more of a musical ear. Online course? Coursebook? Or a teacher? If it's the latter, how on earth do I find a good one? I'm in Newcastle.

Lestratcaster

To excel at theory you have to apply what you learn onto the guitar. Otherwise its meaningless. I'm a tutor and the problem I see with a lot of learners who aren't quite advanced but not exactly a beginner, is that they usually just play stuff they think sounds good, but without basics, structure and a solid foundation they are unable to apply this to other styles. Mostly stuff they're not into or unfamiliar with.

All music will have rhythm, harmony and pitch, regardless if its jazz, blues, Norwegian black metal or acid funk.

The obvious choice would be to get a good quality private tutor, and trust their advice and judgement. Playing with someone else is really beneficial to improving not only as a guitar player but as a musician. Your ear for music and understanding really develops. I was lucky enough to go to ACM about 12 years ago and spent 4 years honing my craft and skills. Wouldn't be the player I am now without it.

As for online stuff I guess Justinguitar is the one that crops up a lot, for exercises Music Theory. net is good, as it contains ear training stuff too. I used it alot with interval recognition and stuff when I was learning. But having a tutor will no doubt help you learn quicker as YouTube and books tend to be "one-size-fits-all" which I just don't like.

I do give theory Skype lessons if its any use, but it will cost, obviously.

fandango

+1 for a tutor. Actually, i would say this is best route to improving. I might suggest as regular/often as you can afford. Get some momentum going again.

+1 for Justin Guitar stuff.

+1 for playing with others.

and challenge yourself to learn another song, then another, and another - all to broaden your repertoire. I’ve also found that regularly revisiting past songs keeps that repertoire going.

Litterick

When I started learning, in the early days of WWW, I found it difficult to obtain music I wanted to play. Everything was pentatonic. It was all rather dispiriting. But now, although things are not much better, at least we have Anyone Can Play Guitar, which has a lot of indie content. Much of it is free. You might also want to consider signing up for Jazz Guitar Online. They send a lot of free lessons, which help with the theory.

Litterick

When I started learning, in the early days of WWW, I found it difficult to obtain music I wanted to play. Everything was pentatonic. It was all rather dispiriting. But now, although things are not much better, at least we have Anyone Can Play Guitar, which has a lot of indie content. Much of it is free. You might also want to consider signing up for Jazz Guitar Online. They send a lot of free lessons, which help with the theory.

bloomer

Justin guitar is great and he has a section in music theory starting right at the beginning.  might be worth watching some of the lessons he's been giving Lee Anderton too, gives a bit of an idea of how a tutor could help you and some things to learn. If you like knopfler there's also a tutorial on there for sultans of swing. 

Toms_Dad

You’re definitely not too old. I started about 4 years ago when I was 51.

I started with Justin Guitar’s first book, then moved on to The Fingerpicking Guitar Manual by Brett Duncan. It starts easy and works it’s way up through some simple songs, onto fingerstyle blues, then rag time and finally some jazz.  It has some great pieces to learn in it and along the way it teaches you some theory as well. I highly recommend it.

That was before I decided to go all in and learn classical and worked through a classical tutor book. After a couple of years of that I was proficient up to about grade 5, I would say, but had reached a plateau.  At this point my wife bought me some lessons with a tutor as a birthday present.  It was the best thing I have done and a year later I am still doing it. I don’t go every week, as I know that improvement is the practice you put in between lessons, but it is at the lessons that the teacher gives me stuff to work on based on what he sees are my needs. He also recommends repertoire that is stretching me to improve, but not so hard I give up. He also gives me specific technique exercises related to what I am working on repertoire-wise.

In summary then, based on my experience, I would say I agree with the other posters who say find a teacher.  There will be a register probably web based which list quite a few local to you. Talk to some or even have a sample lesson, and see who you think might offer you what you need.

pottolom

Thanks for all the tips, everyone! I’ve found a teacher local to me who sounds like he’ll be really good, and have booked my first lesson!