Learning guitar for adults: Potential challenges and how to overcome them

We receive a wide variety of questions about music lessons every day. That's why we've started to write a handbook - together with experienced teachers, we answer these questions as precisely as possible. Over the next few weeks, we will be presenting topics from the articles in the handbook here on the blog.
Today, together with Adi Weyermann, we are looking at possible challenges that adults who would like to learn the guitar might face and how you can best deal with them. You can also find this topic in the handbook article "Learn to play the guitar for adults".

Many adults start out highly motivated, but soon realize that learning the guitar is more complex than they thought. The hurdles are often less to do with age itself, but rather with certain thought and behavior patterns that have become ingrained over the years.
This awareness of quality can be motivating on the one hand, but can also lead to high expectations and self-criticism on the other.

In adulthood, we are heavily involved in our professional and private lives. Fixed habits determine our daily routine. Consistently integrating a new skill such as playing the guitar can therefore be a real challenge.
It needs:

• Time slots that are deliberately kept free
• Routines that are built up over weeks
• Patience until practicing becomes natural

The good news is that adults can establish practice structures very reliably - once they have made a conscious decision to do so.

Children learn movements more playfully and spontaneously. Adults, on the other hand, have developed certain motor patterns over the years. When playing the guitar, this can affect the coordination between the left and right hand, the grasping of chords or the rhythmic strumming of the right hand.
Adults sometimes have to break familiar patterns. With regular practice, however, new automatisms quickly develop - and that is the key.

Many adults struggle less with technical difficulties than with internal barriers.

Frequent blockages are

• Perfectionism ("If I do it, I'll do it right")
• Fear of making mistakes
• Doubts ("I have no talent")
• Comparisons with professional guitarists

Such blockages slow down the learning process more than any motor skills challenge. It helps to adjust your own expectations and put the fun back into the process. See also our blog article "Is it ever too late to learn the guitar? An analogy.".

Learning guitar as an adult is absolutely doable - and can even be particularly fulfilling. If you commit to the learning process, set realistic goals, adjust expectations and practice regularly, you will see rapid progress.

We will continue to add to the handbook for music lessons in the future.
If you have any questions about music lessons, please feel free to send them to us.
Maybe you can even give us the topic for the next article?

You might also be interested in these articles:

Manual:

Learn to play the guitar for beginners
Learn to play the guitar for adults
Learn to play the guitar for children
Rent a guitar
Learn jazz guitar
Learn to play the blues guitar
Learning electric guitar for beginners

Blog:

Is it ever too late to learn the guitar? An analogy.
Our manual is ready!
What types of guitars exist?
Acoustic guitar or electric guitar?
Easy songs for guitar
How do I start learning to play the guitar?