My 50th birthday party was a couple of years ago, and it was a blast. I am very happy and healthy at this point in my life, and having a lot of fun. I was thinking about this last weekend when I played a couple of shows... I'm a much better musician than at any other point in my life. Sometimes my back hurts after a gig. I don't bounce back as easily after a late night of playing. But no doubt about it: I'm playing better than ever before.
That is why being a musician is awesome. In my teenage years, the most popular kids were the athletes, the good-looking guys, and the pretty girls. I wasn't any of those things. I spent a lot of time playing guitar in my bedroom. All the stuff of youth peaks early and rapidly fades : athleticism and good looks yield to time. Artistry peaks much later in our lives. Until the point when our hands just can't do it any more, we can continue to develop our musical skills.
A few months ago I was in a master class, and teaching a group of guitarists about quartal harmony. There was a young, quite talented guitarist noodling around during a break, and was working out a solo from an Avenged Sevenfold tune. I showed him the tapping part he was stuck on. He gave me a crazy look. and said "how old ARE you?". I told him "I'm 52. But I'm a rock guitarist down to my DNA. If you look at the bands playing popular music, you might think it's a young person's sport. But the awesome thing about playing guitar is that it's an accumulated skill, and as long as you play, you'll get better."
I've got another 50 years of guitar left in me. Then I'm forming a boy band.
