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I'm 42 and have lessons
Everyone should be learning regardless of age and I would take lesson myself at 49 if I could afford it
the old fella's were better in one sense because they didn't have that 'desperation of youth' to want to be amazing right now and fully understood that it takes time, effort and patience..
on the other hand, the older fellas had been playing a while and had some very well burnt in technique habits that needed to be unlearned and replaced..
age though didn't seem to matter.. every student is totally unique in every way and from a personal perspective, seeing each of them develop into something more is equally rewarding
The moral being , I think, that as long as you can find a tutor who can help you achieve your goals you'd be fine.
He is the hardest working of anyone I have taught and progressing very well.
Go for it.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Usually find children under 10 don't actually want the lessons its their parents. Teenagers can be a bit of hassle to do lessons with their attitude problems. Young adults between 20-30 are normally busy with doing other things and commitments.
So go for it, depending which area you're in I have a few spaces left, be it in person or via Skype!
I'm not locked in here with you, you are locked in here with me.
One woman told me she "couldn't understand" the the Mel Bay "Easy way to guitar" kids book that I recommended her to follow as she was starting from scratch. That one's easy, you can get 8 year olds to do it but this woman couldn't. Or at least wasn't willing to put in the effort. She never even gave me much chance to explain how to follow it and where the learning was taking you.
Other people have started and then quit because they only wanted a hobby to dabble in every other week not something you had to do every day in order to get anywhere.
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
Older people can learn though. In mid 90's royal scottish orchestras principal trumpet player decided to take it up and get lessons when he retired. Within 2yr he was principal in said orchestra. Just shows age isn't a barrier
https://www.facebook.com/benswanwickguitar
The best learners I have are weekly and everyone is on a monthly payment thing, so no choosing when they want the lessons, 4 lessons per month, no bullshit. And their progress is great week to week. One even comes for 2 hour lessons per week and he's only been playing for about 2 years, yet plays better than most of my learners who've been here longer who could already play a bit before they took lessons. The fact is he puts the time and elbow grease into it. And now he reaps the rewards. Can only imagine how good he'll be in another 2 years if he keeps it up.
Think of it as going to the gym. Will you really expect to see results if you just go once every so often per month, eat junk food and don't really know what to do?
I started playing only 15 months ago, at the age of 58, and completely agree that anything longer than 2 weeks between lessons is counter-productive. Although, it does depend completely (and obviously) on how much effort and practice is put in between lessons.
You have the 'student who has no time'- their family and job get in the way of their practice and they end up coming for a bit and then quit.
You have the 'used to be pretty good but got busy with life and it slipped' guy.
They come for a period of time until they get their shit together and then they don't need to keep coming. I load these guy up with as much as they can cope with.
You have the 'I want to do it but I just can't' guy.
These are guys who have a desire to play but feel as though there is something wrong with them that means that they are specifically unsuited to playing the guitar.
Positive encouragement and breaking things down as small as possible for them to have a series of successes is key here.
You have the 'I want it to be done, but I don't want to do the work' guy.
These are a pain in the ass.
They are inherently lazy, lie about the work they do and expect it to happen quicker than it is technically possible to even if you do the work.
They also argue with you about the best way to do things, despite not really being able to play. I don't teach this people (and I think I probably used to be one of them until I sorted myself out).
You have 'the flake'. He will come for a bit, then one day will stop coming without telling you- or a lame email/text 20 minutes after the lesson was due to start.
You have the 'humble, realistic and hardworking' guy.
This is the ideal student.
They might occasionally get down about how long it is taking but they work hard and don't put up roadblocks.
Be this guy.
When I was studying drumming with a teacher I tried to be this guy too.
And they are pretty much all 'guys'.
In 25 years of teaching I've only ever taught two women.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
I'd also like to learn some Satriani but I struggle terribly with TABs!