Learning to play the guitar is one of the most challenging things that a person can do. Many of the best players start young, when their minds are still malleable, allowing them to create the neural connections they need to succeed when they get older. But, of course, even this is still challenging, and it can take many years to get to proficiency. 

Many adults who want to start playing the guitar naturally believe it is impossible. But it turns out that science has more to say than people might think on the matter. In reality, the learning process is still challenging, but it is possible to get good at guitar and become an incredible guitarist, even after the age of, say, 40. 

But how? What’s the technique?

Learn Higher-Level Skills

The primary way to excel at guitar is to learn the higher-level skills first and then work down from there. Many players take a bottom-up approach, but most people prefer the free-flowing, top-down approach. 

At the start, many players become obsessed with learning basic chords and then stitching them together to form songs, focusing on playing them all correctly. But to become a great player, this isn’t the right approach. Ideally, you want to start by feeling the music and paying less attention to how the guitar sounds. Then, over time, you want to refine the actual technique until the rhythm and melody make sense. 

This approach will ultimately give you the freedom to play the way you want. It will sound awful at first, but you can improve over time. 

Keep Going Despite The Sound

Throughout this process, you want to keep going despite the awful noises coming out of the guitar. Focus on the technique, muscle memory, and rhythm, not minor details. Yes, you want to play well, but put that off for the time being, focusing on getting the actions right and testing the limits of your natural musical ability. 

Work With A Pro

During this process, don’t go solo. Work with a professional guitarist who understands the building blocks of learning well. Make sure you work with them so that they can help you become more disciplined in your approach. 

Usually, you’ll want to work on the guitar 15 to 60 minutes daily just practicing. Keeping it to short, sharp bursts gives you practice time but also allows your brain to consolidate what you’ve learned afterward. 

If you can set small goals, that’s also a great approach. You want to relax into the rhythm and get used to feeling the strings under your fingers. 

Master Finger Placement

Mastering finger placement is something that comes with time, but, again, you want to take it as easy as possible. Relaxing your grip and allowing your hand to stay close to the frets is the best technique. Then, as time goes on, you can continue this, learning more about where to place fingers and learning more nuanced positions for chords and solo play. 

Learning tabs is also helpful. These can be handy if you want to change keys quickly during a performance.