I started playing guitar many years ago. I had no lessons. I did teach for a bit in college. Turns out that the best instructor is yourself. That and watching others play (lots on youtube). Frankly, if you can't figure it out for yourself, you should take up another hobby. But that's just my opinion.
So far I can figure it out, the people that do the demos on youtube I can copy...it takes me a few tries to get it down, but I can do it. The thing is I wonder if I am missing out on anything, am I doing something wrong that is making it more difficult. Sometimes you are better off in going to someone that knows what they are doing....it will save you time in the long run.
If that were true, why do they start 5-year-olds on acoustics? <object height="344" width="425"> <embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1cLKJnBcees&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></object>
If you're just starting out, there's a few things I would recommend that may get ya started having fun.. First get a tuner, they're pretty cheap, and will help if you don't have the ear for it yet. Learn the Bar (barre) chord. It's a bit tricky in the beggining, but you can move it up and down the neck with the same fingering. You can lift one finger and make it a minor chord (sad sounding). If you master this fingering, you could probably play 99% of heavy/hard rock song rhythms if thats what you're into. One fingering uses all 6 strings. Another uses 5 without low E the thickest string. Learn the pentatonic scale. Many guitar solo's use this scale, and this too moves up and down the neck. (same fingering). I'm no expert by any stretch of the imagination, but these were things that I learned early on, that made playing fun. If you have fun, you will play more.
To answer my own question, the perception that electrics are easier to play is because many of the acoustics we encounter are poorly set up: the string action is almost certainly too high and it hurts your fingers. As a pro luthier who sets up guitars all day, I see many brand-new Martins and Taylors, etc. (i.e., fairly expen$ive guitars) that need adjusting. Properly set up, most acoustics are great to learn on. Indeed the two biggest children's guitar programs, Suzuki and Childbloom, use acoustics, quite often nylon string classicals, but some teachers use steel string. Also, you don't need to tote an amp around. Lastly, if you have large hands, the string spacing on acoustics is generally wider than strat-style electrics, making it easier to play with those fat fingers!
See my above post about setups - makes a HUGE difference, even with the cheap guitars! Indeed, I've seen some pretty nice $150 guitars. They don't have the cachet of a custom hand-built, but many can be set up to play very well.
I agree with this and with your suggestion of a nylon string acoustic. I have 2 nylon string guitars and the better of the 2 is one of my favotires.
As I learn more I think the string type and the action on my 1st guitar was what was killing me...you could slip 2 nickels under the strings and still not hit them. I think it could be adjusted out and different strings put on but I just wanted to do something different. I think when learning something like this you need to go with what motivates you...and that old guitar was fighting me and I did not want to mess with fixing it....I was actually thinking about putting it down. I had the cash so I just bought the new one and I am happy that I did, it has changed my outlook on it...it does not seem to fight me. I could be stupid in what I did, but it makes me want to go home and play with it so I don't this was a bad thing that I did.
frankly, you should piss off with your little i learned on my own therefore i am better than you and you shouldn't be doing this because you're not as good as me attitude. dipshit.
Hey, that wasn't called for! My experience, and that of a lot of guitar players I know, is that most good guitar players learn what they know on their own, not by paying someone to teach them. Having attemped to teach guitar, reinforces that learning. And really, if you can't figure it out, maybe you shouldn't be playing guitar. Or else you will be slaved to an instructor.
Even with a great guitar, a capo on the 2nd fret makes it easier to play. And I started with the harmonica as well.
Academically speaking, a bit. But only significant if the nut is too high. You're suggesting that playing open without a capo is difficult, which on a properly set up guitar is simply not true. Fix the real problem and enjoy your playing - a guitar only has so many notes, why take 6 of them away?
Only 40 years here, but I've been fixing them for 30 - let me adjust yours for you and you can ditch the capo! But seriously, I have clients who have arthritis and debilitating neurological disorders, and none use a capo. We set up guitars for many of the local children's programs, and none use capos. I appreciate what you're saying, and technically speaking it's true, but I just disagree that it's a needed measure, if the guitar is set up correctly, which many are not.
