March Guitar Lessons Update
New guitar lessons, worksheets, and a full student spotlight. See what’s new this month at GoodGuitarist and watch Adrian’s inspiring story.
Here’s something I’ve been thinking about lately:
Not everything in your life has to be about guitar — and that can actually make you a better musician.
It’s easy to put pressure on yourself. Practice more. Improve faster. Play better. But sometimes the best thing you can do for your playing is step away for a while and focus on something else.
Jeff Beck comes to mind. Guitar was central to his life — but so were cars. He loved restoring them, understanding how they worked, disappearing into a completely different world. That time away didn’t weaken his playing. It gave him fresh energy and perspective.
Your other hobbies aren’t distractions.
They’re part of the process.
The mechanics of guitar are just tools. The real goal is expression — and expression comes from a full life, not just practice hours.
Membership Updates
This month, a few new resources were added for members, including song play-throughs and 2 printable worksheets.
New Song Play-Throughs
The following songs now include full play-throughs you can practice along with:
New Worksheets
- Country Strumming Made Easy: The Boom-Chuck Rhythm
Learn how to play real country strumming on guitar – focusing on feel first, not memorized patterns. - Level Up Your Guitar Skills in 5 Minutes
Learn a 5-minute guitar workout for late beginners – designed to improve technique, picking, and chord switching without overwhelm.
🎸 Join the All-Access Pass Here →
🌟 Student Spotlight: Adrian Haupt
Meet Adrian — 73, retired, and living on the South African coast. He only picked up a guitar eighteen months ago. He hasn’t looked back.
Watch Adrian talk about starting at 73 →
Adrian’s guitar story began by accident. Visiting his daughter in the south of France, his twelve-year-old granddaughter expressed an interest in learning guitar. A few weeks later, a friend of his daughter’s pressed a dusty, forgotten instrument into his hands — free of charge. He got it onto a plane. He brought it home to Somerset West. He started playing.
After trying a few YouTube teachers who moved too fast and explained too little, he found James. The difference was immediate. “It’s so detailed,” Adrian says. “His camera goes right onto his fingers. Get your strumming correct before you try to put it all together. Start with the basics.” For someone who had never played before, that structure was everything.
“I say to myself: enjoy the experience. There’s no rush. I can spend a month on one thing until I get it right, then carry on.”
Now eighteen months in, Adrian practices most days — not on a schedule, but because his guitar lives propped against the wall by the fireplace. He walks past, picks it up, plays for ten minutes, puts it down. He’s worked through the foundations course and has since moved on to James’s Blues course, which he describes with audible delight. “I just sit there with my eyes closed and go in. I love it.”
The highlight so far? Christmas. About twelve family members gathered in his sitting room when his nine-year-old granddaughter stood up and announced to the room that there would be a special performance. Then she looked straight at him. “I thought: okay. I have to play now.” His fingers stumbled a little, the strumming wasn’t perfect — but everyone laughed, everyone clapped, and his daughter-in-law quietly filmed the whole thing. James saw the video shortly after and invited Adrian to be our featured student.
“My granddaughter organised my first gig,” Adrian says, still laughing about it. “It was quite a chuckle.”
For anyone wondering whether it’s too late to start, or whether it’s worth the effort — Adrian’s answer is simple. Put the guitar somewhere you’ll see it. Pick it up when you feel like it. Don’t put pressure on yourself. And trust the process.
“The biggest goal is enjoyment. I just love struggling with it — and I love seeing that, slowly, I’m getting better.”
— Adrian Haupt
Inspired by Adrian’s story?
→ Explore the All-Access Pass
→ Already a member? Share your story here — you could be our next featured student.
What I’ve Been Teaching Lately
Here’s a look at the lessons that went out this month, broken down by song lessons and non-song lessons.
Song Lessons
- Stand By Me – Ben E. King
- Grow Old With You – Adam Sandler (Wedding Singer)
- Freefallin’ – Tom Petty
- Born In The USA (Full Playthrough) – Bruce Springsteen
Non-Song Lessons
- 3 ’90s Songs Every Guitarist Should Learn
- Country Strumming Made Easy: The Boom-Chuck Rhythm
- Making Landslide Sound Better on Guitar (with my wife, Kristina)
- Level Up Your Guitar Skills in 5 Minutes
Coming Up Next
Here’s a look at what I’ll be working on next:
- Fix Your F Barre Chord
- 3 Famous Basslines You Can Play on Guitar
- Under Pressure – Queen & Bowie
- Why Your Guitar Sounds Dull (And Fixing It)
- 5 Guitar Accessories For Older Guitarists
- Best Chord Progressions For Songwriting
- I Put A Spell On You – CCR / Screamin’ Jay Hawkins
- For What It’s Worth – Buffalo Springfield
Thanks for being here, and for continuing to make time for guitar—even when life gets busy.
– James
