I'm mid 50s, been playing about 5 or 6 years. My only ambition upon picking up guitar was to be able to strum my way through some simple songs. I've got that going at a modestly competent couch player level (advanced beginner? beginning intermediate?), and am gradually picking up things like bass runs, alternate chord forms, the occasional little riff, etc. Along the way I discovered that I enjoy singing, and have a fair to middlin' voice.
Material-wise, it's all about the song. Mostly stuff that falls into the amorphous "Americana" category, some classic rock, some classic country, some motown/brill building/pop, really whatever strikes me as "I like that song and can pull it off on an acoustic guitar at a modest skill level."
I play at home, play with a large organized jam group, play in pickup/impromptu jams, and play weekly with a "not exactly a band" comprising 2 or 3 guitars, fiddle, and 1 or 2 mandos. We mostly play at one of our homes, occasionally busk, sometimes play in a low-key way (i.e., not booked as the official entertainment, no sound system, fine if people pay attention and fine if they don't, pretty much like busking) at a low-key brewpub, and have had one actual gig. The gig was fun, but lots of work, and I really prefer just playing for fun.
Great thread (although, I'm ok with reading about the technical/gearhead stuff, too. Threads aren't mutually exclusive.) It's interesting to find out more about the musical side of this community.
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