Donald, first get the age thing out of the way-either you want to play/learn or not. If you have some physical problems that’s one thing, age is a number. Yes you will be slower and less limber, and so your music will reflect that, but ultimately your trying to entertain yourself and have fun. How long does it take before you don’t have to look at the guitar or your hands. That depends on how much you play and practice. You get there through repetition, and for me ultimately moving all over the fretboard and six strings helps me in every other part of the guitar.Pick a variety of songs on the easier side.I’ve found that the more different the better- it helps you develop a sense of where you are on the fretboard (without looking), and what that sounds like. I’ve been working on some of Brian’s songs for years. They are getting better but not where I’d like them. But most of all keep trying . The rewards will come but not at the speed you’d like. Good luck.

Donald,
Unless you are blind, you always might have to look at the fingerboard for reference. You will find that perfect practice makes better and that good repetition eventually results in muscle memory. Time is relative but make sure you have fun trying to get to where you want to be. Rock on!

John

I find myself always looking at the fretboard. No big deal. I just enjoy what I’m playing and keep going on!

Hi Donald –
A couple of years ago I made a concerted effort to learn to play without looking at the fretboard. I read a lot of studies about the subject, and found that the process of visual memorization is completely different from the process of kinetic memorization. It uses a completely different part of your brain, which Brian has often referred to as “muscle memory”. As I began to learn to play by “muscle memory” I soon realized the truth. The songs I had learned up to that point appeared in my mind as a series of visual movements on the fretboard. In other words, as I was playing along, my mind created a series of visual images of where my fingers should be on the fretboard. How I got past that was to start playing slowly with my eyes closed. Suddenly there is no more visual image of the fretboard, and I had to rely on learning the feeling of where my hands and fingers were on the fretboard. After doing it for a while, you start to get the feeling of – for example – how far you need to move your pinky up to reach 4 or 5 frets up the fretboard. If you close your eyes, you should be able to play the 1st position minor pentatonic scale right now, no problem. Can you also slide up into the 2nd position and play that scale?

So did I succeed in learning to play without looking? Yes, sort of. It took me about 6 months. At one time, I could play almost 100% of the time without looking. But if I give in and start looking at my fretboard more frequently, I soon start to lose the ability to play blind. It seems like you have to use it or lose it. So now days I use a hybrid approach of not looking at the fretboard for the easy parts, and looking at it for the hard parts.

One thing about not looking at the fretboard when playing is that ones playing seems to be in a more relax state of self-awareness.

Don, I find it ok to look at the fretboard while playing, but I find when working on speed that having to look at the fretboard slows me down. It’s kind of like the old days, learning to type on a manual typewriter. Not looking at the keyboard was the best way to develop speed. I just find it easier to play without the time lag of my eyesight to the keyboard to the brain then back to the fingers. That doesn’t mean that I don’t look at the fretboard. I look at it a lot while playing. It just means that sometimes I just look at the fretboard in my mind, not with my eyes. When I am able to play a lick or a song without looking, it all sounds so much smoother. It just takes time, which is unfortunate because we all have a limited amount of that. A buddy of mine told me he used to practice scales in the dark. Whatever works. In the end, it’s all up to you. No one can tell you if you should be looking at the fretboard or not. It’s totally up to you if you want to learn to play without looking. Frankly, if you can do it, that’s a good thing.