I often meet people who are approaching retirement or have been retired some time who say they’d love to learn to play the guitar.

“So what’s stopping you?” Iask.

“Oh I’m probably too old now” they often reply.

Now for me this suggests a couple of things are going on in their heads. Either they like the idea of playing the guitar -but it is just that -an idea they like – or they’ve really have bought into the idea that after a certain age you can forget learning a new skill, …and that is pure tosh.

Some of the best guitar students are older beginners. Provided they have the desire to learn and are prepared to put in the practice time and work through the frustrations of not being able to do something immediately, most people surprise themselves at the progress which can be made.

Indeed people who are retired usually make excellent students because they tend to have more control on their time than someone in a job or in education. I suggest it is more a question of deciding what you want to achieve as a guitarist, which is the question I tend to ask people contemplating lessons. I can then advise on the best route for them to take.

The first step, however, is to make the decision to learn. You’ll make that decision whatever your age if you really want to.

And to echo the words of Henry Ford “either you think you can or think you can’t;  either way you will be right”.