When I began to get serious about learning to play the guitar about two years ago, I was worried that starting this at the nicely mellow age of 49 would be a problem. I felt great and was in good health, but maybe there were things I couldn't see that would get in my way. Would my aging brain have the ability to absorb and support the skills I wanted to learn? Will I ever be able to play like those guys on the radio? Did I just wait too long for all this?
 
All my life I've plinked and plunked on the guitar. I first picked one up when I was thirteen years old, and I plowed away at it for a while, learning some basic chords and even a couple of songs that I would play with friends of mine in school. We'd all gather at one or another of our houses and wind through the songs of the day and have a great time of it. My friends were Actual Musicians and could play with passion and skill, and I promised myself that I'd be able to keep up with them. I spent hours in my room struggling just to make basic chords.
 
I'd love to tell you that I ultimately conquered that guitar and that I went on to become a much-in-demand musician with a great discography to his credit, and have had a great life making music.
 
But my story is identical to a lot of others in this course. Years pass and somehow you lose track of that guitar. School finishes and life takes center stage. Marriage, career and kids and all of the things that make up a life well lived come along in a never-ending stream. Mortgages, car payments and student loans are handled, and the kids move on to busy lives of their own. And then one day you see your wife digging your old guitar out of the attic and you hear her asking you if she can finally toss this old piece of junk away. And amid the flood of memories that hit you as you look at the old relic, you realize that in a life full of promises kept, you still have a promise to keep to yourself.
 
So here I am, two years into the effort and 51 years old, and I can now answer some of those questions. It turns out that for me, age hasn't degraded my ability to learn. I have mild arthritis, so warming up is important, but I practice daily and I can now read (some) music and, every once in a while I manage to sound just like those guys on the radio. I'm not there yet, but I'm still playing stuff I never in a million years thought I'd hear from my guitar.
 
And I'm well on my way to keeping that last promise.
 
Regards,
 
Kevin