Should I learn the piano first?  I've heard that is good for learning to read music.  

I also thought about how long it might take me to learn the piano to the point where I could be really good, and possibly play it during church.

Anyone else start this late in life?

I played the drums for years but stopped around 25.
Wanted to start playing again but drums are expensive so decided to try guitar at 42 years old.
Have tried to learn to read music many times over the years and just don't get it, but I can read tabs.
Youtube was a huge help.
I got about 10 songs I can play well and many more that I tinker with.
My sole intent was to be able to sit around and play with friends that really know how to play at parties and little get togethers.
I don't take it very seriously so it's fun.

I would like to try the drums at some point, but feel I need a base of music knowledge first.

I would say go for it, but choose your teacher carefully.  I have tried to learn guitar twice and have failed twice.   I know chords and can strum along to some songs.  However, I have never been able to bridge the gap between plucking and playing.  

I have always gotten along well with the instructors, but for some reason they both expected me to be able to play Randy Rhodes after the first week.  They would still give me stuff that was too hard even after telling them to slow down.  I am no virtuoso...    I am still working on it, but it is taking me forever...  I am not that much younger than you.


If you really want to play.. Absolutely, go for it.  Just make sure you can absorb the material at a pace you are comfortable with.

Thanks for the advice.  I will bring this up when I speak to/interview the music teachers.

Well there is your problem.  You need to play Randy Rhoads, not that other guy Randy Rhodes!  Just kidding.  Randy was top notch.  I could see someone giving you the main riff to Crazy Train early on but more so as a finger exercise then expecting you to match speed of the song.

You should learn whatever will make you interested enough to practice until you get good.  Piano is not bad for reading notes but keep in mind you have to read a lot of notes on the piano.  Pick what makes you happy and make sure your instructor uses theory books if you want to get good with notes.

I always spell it like that for some reason no matter how many times I see his name in a magazine.    The first part of the opening riff isn't too bad, but I can't play that faster galloping part to save my life.  It just seemed we were always trying to find a way to get me to play stuff I wasn't ready for.  I wouldn't want the OP to get frustrated like I did.

like I said bro,give me a holler sometime no charge for a fellow arfcommer....

I can get ya going





 

Funny this thread should come up...I just purchased a Yamaha FG700S Acoustic Guitar last week and am set on learning to play. I've always regretted not knowing how to play a musical instrument and at 45 decided to do something about it. I'm trying to do this on my own and it's all a bit overwhelming at the moment.

Honestly if you are going for a church worship setting guitar is much easier and faster to pick up.

You can learn shapes and chords over notes and be playing songs much more quickly than on piano.

If you want to actually learn notes, theory, composition piano is the way to go as eventually everyone gets into piano for that reason.  Music majors are required to take piano because it is much easier to grasp (for me anyways) the way the keyboard is laid out when compared to the staff in notation.

Choose anything that will make you happy.  Enjoy and have a great time!

I bought the same guitar.  I've found this guy's site to be very helpful Justin Sandercoe

I say start with the guitar. I taught myself the guitar at age 25, didn't know a lick about chords or all that. I used a second hand Squire Strat and guitar tabs to learn at first.

Just grab something and do it. Whether you figure it out on your own or get lessons is up to you, but the bottom line is, just do it.

That!

I am doing the Alto Recorder.

I bought a Yamaha

Why an Alto Recorder?

Justin is great. I also watch a lot of Marty Shwartz. Both of these guys taught me to play.

Learn chord shape for G, C, A, D and F sharp and you can play just about anything. Make a shape, strum strum strum, make next shape strum strum strum, Repeat ad infinium.
The hard part is not learning the shapes but the transition from one to the other.

Thanks, I'll check out the site as I need all the help I can get.

It's all free, but you can buy his stuff as well.  I ended up buying his beginner lesson book, and a couple of songbooks.  Very easy to follow, and has been a great help for me.



I don't know if it's in any of his videos, but in his lesson book he offers the following advice to improve chord changes:  Set a timer (phone) to one minute, make as many changes as you can between two chords, and count the number of changes you make.  The idea is to be accurate, but increase the number of changes you make in a minute as you practice. Eventually, you'll have some decent speed plus accuracy.

Don't wait until you are "really good" to start playing at church.

If you're interested in piano, start hanging out during choir or praise band practice.  Familiarize yourself with the songs they're doing.  Tell your church friends that you are interested in participating.

Ask for help.  Learn the basic structure of one or two songs, attend practice, join in as you feel comfortable.

You learn music by playing with others.  Your fellow church musicians should encourage and include you, regardless of your age or level of experience.

This is so true. I gained by leaps and bounds going to worship practice every week. I then played on the team for 8 years. It was great. Jump in and have fun, that is what it's about. Get good gear, it makes a difference. Not the best gear, just better than Walmart crap.

I'd say it is close to learning a new language. It can be done at 40yrs old but it will never be the same as learning as a child.

Firstly you have to decide what instrument it will take to get the music in your head out into the world.  That's the instrument you start with.  



Playing keyboards is always a good thing.  You should learn to read music but that's not the end of it.  You also need to understand how to play chords.  And let me tell you learning to read music isn't at all related to improvising with chords.  I had eight years of classical piano and it ruined me.  I had to play note for note what was on the page or I was lost.  As a result I couldn't play in a band setting at all.  Don't fall into that trap as a keyboard player.  Learn your chords.  



Guitars are easier to haul around if you take a sane approach.  But playing keys is always a skill that is in demand.  



Right now I'm toying with transitioning from guitar to a bass.  Problem with that is even cheapo entry level basses will cost about a grand.  And they're a beast to haul around.  But some times you just have to pick up the instrument you're being called to play.



Have fun with it and remember that music ain't Nam, there are rules.  Once you assimilate those rules otherwise known as theory you will have a whole new world open to you.  

A good start is a Mel Bay book of chords. Learn how to tune and play the basic major and minor chords and you will start to "hear" them in songs and play along. (Hint: don't jump to power chords right off, although most rock and roll is based on them. It will hinder you learning proper chord progression and formation).

I'd stay away from soloing until you get chord formation down pat. Then, you can move to basic pentatonic box scale and other scales and how they apllyy to the chords in the song.

Quite honestly, and speaking as someone who does music for a living, music is something you're either born with or you're not. So if you do happen to be musically talented, then no, it isn't difficult to learn. You need to start with piano--which will teach you theory in the process--and go from there. And no, 40 is definitely NOT too late. I've had some of my greatest successes with my older students.

And don't let what said earlier scare you. If you aren't musically talented then you can still have a lot of fun with it; you just might not be able to make a living with it.

I would also recommend getting Logic Pro 9 if you have a mac. It's got a great stock sound library and you can really start having fun with it really quickly as its not a difficult program to learn. You can also use it to make some killer loops for worship services!

Feel free to pm me if you have more questions!

Found a cool site with pile of chords and scales. www.all-guitar-chords.com

You just use drop down menus to find what you want and the page reloads with the fingering illustrated on the fretboard. The thing I like about the site is that when looking up scales, you can have it display the scale in quite a few alternate tunings (not something a beginner wants to mess with, but I thought I'd mention it for others that have been playing for awhile).

Get a book on music theory and read it.  It won’t make much sense the first time or two, especially without a teacher or a keyboard to play with, but it’ll pay off in the end.

Too many “musicians” can play by rote or read tabs, but they can’t read music and don’t really understand it.

I’ll take heat for saying that, but it’s true.  Spend a year with a good teacher who’s interested in teaching you more than how to play "Smoke on the Water".

Limiting yourself by not being able to read is like limiting yourself to single-shot .22s with iron sights.  
There’s so much more!

I'm also in the running to learn  more soon; I'm a vocalist first and foremost, but I pine to play guitar. My guitarist is making me a strat (he makes his own guitars). Problem is, I'm left handed. And I'm not sure how that's gonna shake out when I start looking for tabs, chord charts, etc. Are there sources just for lefties? I was told by some to just learn right handed, but it doesn't feel natural to me at all to hold the guitar like it's right handed. Just feels weird.

Tab will be the same.  The sixth string is always the low E.

Brass, reed, string and keyboard players all play instruments designed for righties.  

Learn to play the thing the way it was designed to be played.  

 

IMO, drums are by far the easiest instrument to dabble in as a beginner, but the hardest to "master".

You can learn how to play basic 4/4 drum beats that will fit a good deal of simple songs in a weekend.  Hell, I've seen total noobs with a little natural inclination sit down at a kit for the first time and learn to play basic rock beats in mere minutes.  I don't think there is any instrument out there where so many practitioners are totally "self taught" as drums.

HOWEVER, once you get to a certain point, and look to progress beyond just your basic rock beats etc, that when drums can get VERY challenging.  And the farther up the food chain you go, the more it challenges more than just your musical acumen.  Drums can be among the most physical instruments to play, and at a certain point, they can challenge the limits of your coordination and limb independence in ways you never thought possible, and frankly, most people aren't even capable of.

That's why IMO while basic entry level drummers are almost a dime a dozen, you see far more high end guitar players than you do high end drummers.

If you think you just want to dabble in music, drums can be a great way to start.  You can get into it easy and fast, and they're super fun to play.  The drawback is, they are loud and when you're at a party, nobody ever pulls a drum kit out of their back pocket and starts playing wipeout and making chicks swoon.  You have no idea how many times I've had people over, and when they ask to see my studio, they say "play me something" and I just look at them with that "you won't recognize anything I'm playing without the other instruments" derp look on my face.

But yeah, while you could spend a year on piano lessons or guitar lessons and have little to show for it beyond playing chopsticks or the first 10 seconds of smoke on the water, you could probably be a pretty decent rock drummer in a fraction of the time.  Just don't expect to be Terry Bozzio after a year or so, because you won't be that good....ever.

Wow, thanks for so many great replies on this thread.

Looking for a piano now.  Found an Everett for sale locally.

I'm 43 and always struggled with learning the guitar since I was 20.




I'd pick it up learn a bit then put it down for awhile....repeat.  Never




made much progress.
But, a couple a years ago, a buddy who has been playing for years




started to help me while I was learning on the bass guitar.  We brought




in a drummer and formed a band which helped me develop a sense of timing.




The rest of music theory type stuff I've been learning on YouTube.
I watch a lot of bass covers and when I know where the notes are I can play




the song.
I know I still have plenty to learn but I have enough now that I'm writing my




own music and my ability on guitar has improved.  
Just know it can take years but you can do it and it really helps




to play with others.
Now, if we can just find another drummer for some fast heavy metal style music....
A bass guitar may be a good way to start.  You can skate by playing single notes


compared to what the guitarist is playing and it certainly helps with the developing


rhythm.  As you learn more about chords it makes for an easy transfer to guitar.
       
 


 

 I took piano lessons from age 10 - 15 until it wasn't cool anymore. Fast forward a few years and I decided to try the fiddle, then guitar. the theory I learned in piano lessons has played an enormous role in my now professional music career and I can intelligently discuss chord structure.. By all means start with the piano.

It's never too late. I have a buddy who picked up the bass in his late '50's1