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Tony’s Acoustic Challenge – The New Way to Learn Guitar Family Forums Play for Us! Taking up the guitar after 30 YEARS without playing!

  • Taking up the guitar after 30 YEARS without playing!

    Posted by afurth on May 26, 2021 at 9:44 am

    Hi everyone,

    I recently bought a guitar after 30 years without playing. I started playing when I was around 14, stopped when I was 18… and now that I’m 47, I’m starting all over again.

    I should have done this ages ago… but hey, better late than never!

    So I just wanted to share this little video to document exactly how I’m sounding after 5 weeks of playing. Just pieces of songs that I happen to more or less remember here or there.

    Getting started now with Fretboard Wizard and all the other good stuff at TAC, so hopefully, I’ll be able to impress you with a video of a full song or something cool like that in a few weeks! 🙂

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPfCbkF4Qj8

    Fly replied 3 years, 8 months ago 11 Members · 13 Replies
  • 13 Replies
  • Bill_Brown

    Member
    May 26, 2021 at 10:14 am

    It looks like you’re well on the way to recovery @afurth (LOL)😎. The voice box works well (you sound great) and the tool is in good working order (nice guitar)! I think you’re ready for prime time (VOM’s) Seriously, I see a lot of improvement from day 5 to week 5 – don’t stop whatever it is that you’re doing – it’s working well👏

    • AttyTJ

      Member
      May 28, 2021 at 11:12 am

      Really Truly, @afurth .

      Lovely looking and sounding Guitar. Well played.

  • Philb

    Member
    May 26, 2021 at 10:23 am

    Nice job progressing over a short period of time. Enjoy that new guitar!

  • Marty73

    Member
    May 26, 2021 at 10:44 am

    You’re making nice progress @afurth 😊👍😊😎

  • Laura L

    Member
    May 26, 2021 at 12:44 pm

    really enjoyed your video. I have also returned to playing after many years…surprising that so much muscle memory returns, but I was self taught and never learned good technique. My old hands (65 yr) are resisting change, but I am persisting! I am wondering, how did you decide what guitar to buy?

    • afurth

      Member
      May 26, 2021 at 1:48 pm

      Hey I hear you loud and clear, Laura. It’s amazing how muscle memory works. I have to say I did learn good technique as I was lucky to take regular one-on-one lessons with an excellent teacher back then. But the quality of what I’ve seen so far here at TAC is absolutely awesome, so I’m sure it’ll 3X your learning process compared to when you taught yourself.

      I decided to buy this guitar, a Yamaha A3R, because I consider Yamaha to be among the very best brands for beginners. This is a bit of an expensive guitar for a beginner though. I caught it on sale here in Spain for around 600 Euros (aprox 720 USD). There are Yamahas that sell for 150-300 USD that are still great for beginners. But I frankly think it’s worth spending the extra couple of hundred if you can. In my opinion, there is quite a bit of a difference in sound quality and comfort between this guitar and the cheaper models.

      Check out this article article for a review of the Yamaha FS820, which sells for less than 300 bucks, as well as other excellent cheap guitars from other brands: https://reallysimpleguitar.com/best-cheap-acoustic-guitars/

      • Laura L

        Member
        May 27, 2021 at 10:07 am

        Thank you for your reply. I was thinking about the Yamaha ACR3 because the concert style body is a better fit for me. I agree that spending a little more for a quality guitar is well worth it. I don’t know anything about the electronics, but it gives me options. I have always had guitars that were passed along to me, and I’m not complaining, but I am really looking forward (nervously) to buying one that I choose for myself. Right now, I play a mid 70’s Epiphone Troubador. It has wonderful tone, but the neck has some slight waves that would be exorbitant to repair. The guy at my local music store calls it a great campfire guitar…it will always have a home with me because I have defects that would be exorbitant to repair, too!

  • afurth

    Member
    May 26, 2021 at 1:32 pm

    Thanks for the encouragement guys! A ton of work to do, but yeah, I’m pleasantly surprised that I haven’t lost absolutely all of the hard work I put a few decades ago 🙂

  • Jill_M

    Member
    May 26, 2021 at 3:06 pm

    Very good! It must be fun to revisit those old songs of yours @afurth. Welcome to TAC!

  • Loraine

    Member
    May 26, 2021 at 4:02 pm

    Welcome to the TAC community & glad you found your way back to guitar. You’re doing great!

  • charlie_d

    Member
    May 26, 2021 at 4:58 pm

    Sounds like you are regaining momentum in 5 weeks from a 30 year lapse! Welcome back to the plucker’s, strummer’s, and singer’s world. Have fun getting back into the groove. 🙂

  • Marisa

    Member
    May 26, 2021 at 8:40 pm

    Welcome aboard! You’ve got this and I’m loving your voice. Enjoy your guitar! @afurth

  • Fly

    Member
    May 28, 2021 at 12:15 pm

    Nice video and playing I really enjoyed it reckon you will do alright.

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