When is it Too Late to Learn Guitar? [Solved]

Anybody can play the guitar starting at any age. There are advantages to starting young and even advantages to starting when you are older. I did some research to find out what the guitar community believes is too late to learn guitar and the majority had the exact same answer.

When is it too late to learn guitar? No matter what age you are, you are not too old to learn guitar. Guitar can be learned at any age with a proper practice routine and set expectations. In fact, time and money is often more plentiful at an older age which can increase the fun and ease of learning guitar.

Continue reading to find out more on if it is too late to learn guitar, famous guitar players who started late, and the benefits of learning guitar at an older age.


When is it Too Late To Learn Guitar?

How Many Years Will It Take to Learn Guitar?

To learn basic and beginner guitar skills, it will take 1 year to learn the fundamentals and become comfortable with them. This is based on practicing 5 hours a week, totaling 260 hours a year. To become an intermediate guitar player, it will take between 900-2,500 hours of playing. Based on the 5 hours a week timeline above, this will mean 3.5-9.5 years of playing.


Find Out How Long it Takes To Learn Blues Guitar Today!


I encourage you to check out the linked article above for a more detailed analysis on how many years it will take to learn guitar.

As you will see in the article, it is extremely achievable to reach an intermediate status in a relatively short period of time. This is all depending on how often you practice and the quality of practice you are administering.

When is it Too Late to Learn Guitar?

There is no set timeline to learn guitar and it is never too late to learn guitar. Guitar can be learned at any age with efficient practice and realistic goals.

Learning guitar is more of a mindset than it is anything else. Having the mindset that “I am too old to learn guitar” will do nothing for you. Having the mindset “I am excited to learn something new” is a great way to first approach learning the guitar.

Finding the right motivation is imperative to learning guitar at an older age. With guitar, it is very easy to have fun with the instrument without knowing all that much. And having fun is THE reason to play guitar. This means putting in a few years of intent practicing can result in tremendous amounts of fun at any age.

“I’m 49 and just started learning guitar in the past 6 months. You’re never too old to learn!  It’s great to stretch the brain in new directions!”

Tim, Blues Guitar Community Contributor

As an older guitarist, setting goals and expectations is important. This goes for any age as well but especially older guitarists. If your goal is to become the next renowned Stevie Ray Vaughan, then it may become apparent that this goal may set you up for disappointment unless you are practicing 8-10 hours a day as SRV did. If your goal is to just jam to some blues backing tracks or with a band, then this goal is extremely achievable at any age!

99% of guitarists play for the enjoyment of music. Not for the goal of becoming rich and famous (the 1%). This enjoyment that millions of guitarists have while playing can be had by anyone of any age.

Guitar often seems harder than it actually is. Many believe that it will take 10 years of intense practice to achieve mediocrity. Although, this is not the case. In 2-4 years, a new practiced guitarist will feel comfortable on the guitar and be able to play several songs that demand the ear of many.

2 Famous Guitar Players Who Started Late

Very often we hear of legendary guitarists learning to play guitar at young ages like 6 through 10. Although there are many famous guitarists who started later than average. Let’s look into two famous blues guitar players who started late.

1. Chuck Berry

Chuck Berry started playing guitar (again) at 29 years old! He is known as the father of Rock and Roll, having had many generations of guitarists quote Chuck Berry as their biggest influence.

The only caveat to Chuck is that he did start playing at the age of 10, although he was sent to jail and was unable to play. After jail, he started a family and worked several jobs. He started playing again at age 29, having to re-learn everything.

For someone in their 50’s or later, 29 may still seem young. Although, think of the impact and skill he was able to develop in such a short period of time. It shows how quickly you can learn guitar if proper hours are dedicated to the craft.

I encourage you to read Chuck Berry’s Autobiography (linked to Amazon). After reading this book, you will never say it is too late for me to start learning guitar. In fact, age won’t be an excuse for much of anything else either after reading this.

Fun Fact: It was when Marty McFly played Chuck’s song “Johnny B Goode” in Back to The Future that provoked John Mayer to start playing guitar. Chuck’s influence spans generations and he did this while starting to play guitar at a later age.

2. James Lewis Carter Ford – ‘T Model Ford’

James Lewis Carter Ford started playing guitar at the age of 58.

When Fords fifth wife left him, she left behind a guitar. He was a native of Mississippi and started to teach himself the Delta Blues. In 1995, he was discovered by Matthew Johnson of Fat Possum Records and would go on to release five albums.

T Model Ford is the perfect example of being able to start playing guitar at a later age and still excel at it. Blues is a great genre to learn later in life because a lot of it comes from feeling. And by the time you are 58, I’m sure there are some blues to feel in your playing, just as James Lewis Carter Ford had.

3 Benefits of Playing Guitar at an Older Age

Playing and learning guitar at an older age can actually have benefits to it that younger guitarists do not always have.

So, what are the benefits of playing guitar at an older age? The benefits of playing guitar at an older age include more time to play, a greater appreciation for music, and more disposable income to buy better gear.

Let’s dive into each of these benefits.

1. More Time

This benefit is very subjective and is different for most people. The difference of whether you had more time when you were younger (below 30) vs. an older age (above 30). After talking with many older guitarists, most have mentioned how they are able to play guitar more often in their 30’s and up then when they were able to in their 20’s.

“I am 62 and have been playing for a year; I play daily and love it. I tried to learn in my early 20’s, but there were too many distractions.”

William, Blues Guitar Community Contributor

Responsibilities may increase as you grow older but eventually, they start to dissipate. For example, when my sister and I went to college and left home, my father did not have many overarching responsibilities besides work. He was able to use the extra time to learn guitar for the first time at the age of 52.

Once someone retires, the idea of learning guitar can come into mind. And let me say this; this is a great time to learn guitar! The time available to play every day is bountiful and will allow you to get better faster.

2. Greater Appreciation for Music

If you are an older beginner guitarist, you have the advantage of life experience. Learning to translate that life experience into music gives an advantage over younger beginner guitarists.

When you are older, you have listened to more music. You have been to more live shows and you have dialed in your music taste. With younger guitarists, they are often still trying to find the sound that they are after. They practice Cory Wong, and then suddenly discover B.B. King and pivot their whole style.

As an older guitarist, you likely already know which style of guitar you want to play because of the years and years of listening. When this is already figured out, you can tailor your practice regime to that specific style. If you are a Blues fanatic, no need to practice boring country melodies.

3. Disposable Income

Older people have more disposable income versus a new college graduate. Because of this, they can buy better gear. Better gear results, in my opinion, is more fun to play than cheaper quality gear.

Buying an American Fender Stratocaster won’t automatically make you a better player, although it will feel nicer to play and have a better sound. This simply makes playing guitar more fun and makes practice sessions more enjoyable. When practicing becomes fun, progress is achieved.

3 Tips for Older Guitar Beginners

1. It’s Not You, It’s The Guitar

This first tip is the most important. As a person begins to learn the guitar, their ego and confidence might take a hit. They will realize that it was not as easy as they had hoped in the beginning. For an older person, this thought along with the age-related thought of “maybe I am just too old to learn” will cross their mind. Do not let these thoughts deter you from playing.

It’s not you, it’s the guitar. Every experienced guitar player has gone through the same frustrations that come with learning the guitar for the first time. Guitar is not meant to be wildly easy. Fingers will hurt, missed notes will happen, picks will get dropped, it’s all good because it happens to every new guitarist.

2. Practice Makes Permanent

When a new guitarist starts to learn guitar, it can be easy to try and learn what feels right. This can lead to improper technique that becomes stuck in your playing for years to come.


Find Out If Online Guitar Lessons Are Effective Today!


If you are practicing an hour or two each day, you want to make sure you are practicing the right way. I suggest getting some sort of instruction. Whether it be in-person lessons or an online course. Either option will provide you with a clear guideline on what and how to practice.

Make sure you are practicing the right things and going for songs is a great way to have fun and keep your interest thriving.

3. Develop a Plan

A plan will outline some sort of progression where you are moving forward. Like a gym where you go and lift weights. In the beginning, muscle is gained fast. Over time, you start to plateau because there is a lack of a plan. This is the case with guitar as well. Having a plan and real focused goal in mind is going to get you to grow as a guitar player. Similar to the above tip, this could be online structured lessons.

Always be doing something new, that is when you will see your best growth as an older guitar player.

Can a 70-Year-Old Man Learn to Play Guitar?

A 70-year-old man can learn to play guitar. Despite seeming like an old age to learn a new skill, this is not the case. A 70-year-old man carries a wealth of life experience that can be factored into learning the guitar. In only a couple of years, this 70-year old man can become a proficient and comfortable guitar player.


If you have the time and the money (only takes $200 for decent guitar) to devote to the guitar, then do it. Do not worry about your age or what anyone may think of your playing in the beginning.

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