Nobody checks your age at the door of a new skill. Walk in whenever you’re ready.

The idea that there is a right age to start is mostly borrowed from sport and school, where everyone moves in year groups. Outside those, nobody is checking. The guitar does not know how old you are, and neither does the language, the craft or the subject. What actually matters is hours and attention, which are available at any point.

If you have been telling yourself you are too late for something, notice that the deadline you are imagining has no source. Find a beginner class or a beginner book and be the oldest or the youngest person in it for a while.