The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #97288   Message #1913315
Posted By: Janice in NJ
19-Dec-06 - 12:35 AM
Thread Name: Relearning Guitar After 35 Years Off
Subject: RE: Relearning Guitar After 35 Years Off
Congratulations! Lots of people are going to give you advice, all of it well intentioned and a lot of it actually useful. So let me join the parade with five suggestions you are welcome to take or leave.

1. Have fun. Whatever you do it should ultimately be for your own enjoyment, including the enjoyment you get making music together with others.

2. Get involved with other people. Many folk music societies have slow jams, song circles, and other activities that allow you to build your confidence while learning (or in your case relearning) skills.

3. Your right thumb (presuming you play guitar right handed) will become your best friend. Learn to use it to play a steady rhythm in 4/4 and in 3/4 time. Then learn to use it to play bass runs and to pick out simple melodies. The fancier stuff, like 3-finger picking, will come a lot easier once you learn to make your thumb do what you want.

4. Your capo will become your next best friend. Get a really good one. I like the pistol grip kind.

5. Books and charts will tell you about barre chords, but they won't tell you about hook chords. Those are chords where you hook your left thumb around the neck so you can press down the 6th (bass E) string. This is really useful for playing an F or Dm (hook on 1st fret), or a D or D7 chord (hook on 2nd fret). Music teachers may tell you it's terrible form, but lots of folk musicians do this anyway.