Learning Something New

Andrés had wanted to learn the guitar since he was a teenager, but he always had a reason to wait. He was busy at work, lessons were expensive or he thought he was too old to begin. At thirty-five, he finally signed up for an evening class.

On the first day, he carried his second-hand guitar across town in a black case. When he entered the classroom, three younger students were already tuning their instruments. Andrés felt uncomfortable and considered leaving. Then the teacher welcomed him, asked his name and showed him an empty chair.

They began with a simple chord. Andrés pressed the strings as carefully as he could, but the guitar made an unpleasant buzzing sound. He tried again, with almost the same result. “I think this instrument has a problem,” he joked.

The teacher smiled. “The instrument is fine. Your fingers need time to learn the position.” She moved his hand slightly and asked him to play each string separately. One note sounded clear. Then another did too. Andrés was surprised by how pleased he felt about such a small improvement.

At the end of the lesson, the teacher suggested practising for ten minutes a day. On the bus home, Andrés wrote a reminder on his phone. The next evening, he played the same chord again. It still wasn't perfect, but he could hear the difference. For the first time, learning the guitar felt like something he was actually doing, rather than something he might do one day.