I got an electric guitar for Christmas and I’ve wanted to learn guitar for a few years but haven’t yet. I don’t know how to play acoustic but I’m going to start taking lessons on electric soon. Will this be easy? Or at least a reasonable difficulty? Thanks!

Electric is easier on the fingers than acoustic, and you have more leeway on tone-alternation techniques like bends, vibrato, and slides.

Many people (and there is some wisdom to this) say that the ONLY way to learn is to learn on an acoustic first. This is because the acoustic is always physically more difficult to play. It requires more hand strength and precision to produce good tone, so if you can play adequately on an acoustic, the electric feels like I HAVE BEEN SET FREE!!! FREEEEEE!!!!!

But if you don’t like acoustic music, just go ahead and start on the electric.

That said… No, it won’t be easy. You will be constantly frustrated. Your fingers will be REALLY sore in the beginning (that passes quickly) and you will be made to do exercises that will seem PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE at first. It isn’t easy! HOWEVER, any idiot can learn the guitar fairly well if they DON’T GIVE UP. The first few months will seem like you SUCK and can’t do ANYTHING! But that passes, and you’ll feel REALLY good about your ability in a year (if you keep up the lessons). And then you will start to tackle some advanced techniques and feel like I’LL NEVER BE ABLE TO DO THIS all over again. And it too, will pass if you STICK WITH IT.

At many points, you will overcame obstacles that you thought were IMPOSSIBLE at first. It IS hard, but ANY IDIOT (like ME!!!) can do it if they stick with it.

DON’T GIVE UP!!!

First of all, catching on "right away" is often a lie, and even if it’s not… less than a day?!? Really?

Give yourself some time. ESPECIALLY if you decide to not take lessons.

I would recommend lessons AT LEAST early on, to get the basics down.

My mom said she would get me a guitar for Christmas if I wanted. so should I get one? or is it too hard and it would be pointless to get one without lessons?

ok mate the answer is no. I’ve been playing guitar for 7 years, but for the first 4 i was shit for one of a better word. It wasn’t untill i got a few lessons from a dude who knew what he was doing that i actually learned the tools to teach myself properly. If you do this, you can teach yourself just about ANYTHING. You obviously know music theory which can only help but the guitar is an instrument that needs to be understood in order to play properly. Get some lessons, learn what you need to know to be able to progress by yourself and then you’re home free! keep it real champ

It takes you step by step through the basic guitar chords one by one. There’s also lesson on guitar scales, techniques and some easy songs to play.

http://www.pluckandplayguitar.com/

Cheap electric guitars are a great solution for any beginner or cost conscious shredder. My first urge to learn how to play the guitar came when I was 12 years old. I confidently asked my mother to buy me an electric guitar, but she was put off by the high priced major brands. My heart was set on learning to play, so she found a cheap electric guitar on sale at our local toy store.

It was absolutely a beginner guitar. The amplifier was built into the body of it. My first guitar teacher found it hilarious, never actually seeing one like that before.

I learned all the basics of playing on that guitar. I spent hours alone in my room with it, and had the blisters on my fingers to prove it. I showed my mom that the guitar wasn’t something I was going to get bored with after a week and earned the right to plug it into a real amp; a decision her eardrums soon came to regret.

Cheap electric guitars aren’t just for beginners. I know a number of seasoned veteran players that are always finding great deals on cheap electric guitars that provide them with the quality they demand.

Let’s face it – instruments are expensive. High quality electric guitars will easily cost over $1,000; and that’s not even including a decent amp. A passion for guitar playing can easily burn a hole in your wallet, so finding a cheap electric guitar is a worth the effort.

If you’re just starting to learn how to play guitar, the thought of running out and buying the best gear is easy to get excited about. But use caution; spending a lot of money on top notch guitar equipment could be a mistake for a beginner. The early stages of learning to play can be frustrating. When guitar gods like Eddie Van Halen or Jimmy Page make it look easy while you’re having trouble laying down a bar chord, you’ll soon be tempted to perform the classic “guitar smash”.

Unfortunately many people get too frustrated with their beginning lessons and give up on learning to play too soon. I strongly recommend your first electric guitar purchase to be a cheap electric guitar for that reason.

You can learn to play on a cheap electric guitar just as well as you would if you bought an expensive one. A cheap guitar may even be better suited for learning. The reason for this is that typically cheap electric guitars require you to apply more pressure with your fingers to get the right sound output. This will strengthen your fingers quicker, giving you an edge over someone learning on a premium model. When you do make your first expensive guitar purchase, the built up strength will pay off when you can play better than the average player.

 

Mike Danick
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/cheap-electric-guitars-for-the-beginner-or-frugal-shredder-748923.html

Sometimes it was easy to make time to practice because I was in a good mood and I really wanted to play. At those times I could spend hours just listening to how cool it sounded when I changed from the chord D to the chord G. But on other days it was my discipline and desire to play and improve that made me practice and develop as a player.

There are two main factors when it comes to discipline in practice: practicing regularly and practicing well. Both of these are important to address.

Practicing regularly is the most obvious and easy to do. Basically you should play the guitar every day. These don’t need to be mammoth, three hour long sessions. 30 minutes will generally be fine if you are focused during that time. Doing regular, small amounts of practice is far better than going all out for hours once a week. I know that in a busy life it can be hard to make the time to practice but honestly 30 minutes a day is achievable for anyone. There is no set time that is best to practice but I prefer to do it in the evening simply because I find playing the guitar is a relaxing way to wind down after a stressful day.

Practicing badly is a more common and difficult to address problem. This is something that affects even the most experienced player. This problem has several causes and solutions.

• Playing the same thing over and over every time you play. I am a firm believer that you should play something perfectly before you move on. BUT, once you know how to play something you need to move on and keep challenging yourself.

• The opposite is also a problem: moving on too quickly. You should practice so that you play a piece well before you go on to the next thing. Playing perfectly and accurately is an excellent habit for any musicians to have.

• Not focusing on developing all parts of your musicianship when you are practicing. I like to split my playing into parts. For example I might spend 5 minutes practicing new scales or chords, 10 minutes working on writing new music for myself and maybe 15 minutes learning a new song or part of a song.

• Playing things too fast when you first try and learn them. This can cause you to become disillusioned with your playing when you are trying to learn a new song. Most guitarists, including myself try playing a song at a slow speed before trying it a fast pace.

Practicing properly and regularly is the best way to become good at anything including playing the guitar. This requires discipline. Not only discipline to practice regularly, but also discipline to stay focused and on track when you are practicing. If you stay disciplined with your playing you will develop in to an excellent player.

Learn Acoustic Guitar NOW With FREE ACOUSTIC LESSONS

michael
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/the-best-way-to-teach-yourself-acoustic-guitar-1259406.html

Sometimes it was easy to make time to practice because I was in a good mood and I really wanted to play. At those times I could spend hours just listening to how cool it sounded when I changed from the chord D to the chord G. But on other days it was my discipline and desire to play and improve that made me practice and develop as a player.

There are two main factors when it comes to discipline in practice: practicing regularly and practicing well. Both of these are important to address.

Practicing regularly is the most obvious and easy to do. Basically you should play the guitar every day. These don’t need to be mammoth, three hour long sessions. 30 minutes will generally be fine if you are focused during that time. Doing regular, small amounts of practice is far better than going all out for hours once a week. I know that in a busy life it can be hard to make the time to practice but honestly 30 minutes a day is achievable for anyone. There is no set time that is best to practice but I prefer to do it in the evening simply because I find playing the guitar is a relaxing way to wind down after a stressful day.

Practicing badly is a more common and difficult to address problem. This is something that affects even the most experienced player. This problem has several causes and solutions.

• Playing the same thing over and over every time you play. I am a firm believer that you should play something perfectly before you move on. BUT, once you know how to play something you need to move on and keep challenging yourself.

• The opposite is also a problem: moving on too quickly. You should practice so that you play a piece well before you go on to the next thing. Playing perfectly and accurately is an excellent habit for any musicians to have.

• Not focusing on developing all parts of your musicianship when you are practicing. I like to split my playing into parts. For example I might spend 5 minutes practicing new scales or chords, 10 minutes working on writing new music for myself and maybe 15 minutes learning a new song or part of a song.

• Playing things too fast when you first try and learn them. This can cause you to become disillusioned with your playing when you are trying to learn a new song. Most guitarists, including myself try playing a song at a slow speed before trying it a fast pace.

Practicing properly and regularly is the best way to become good at anything including playing the guitar. This requires discipline. Not only discipline to practice regularly, but also discipline to stay focused and on track when you are practicing. If you stay disciplined with your playing you will develop in to an excellent player.

Learn Acoustic Guitar NOW With FREE ACOUSTIC LESSONS

michael
http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/the-best-way-to-teach-yourself-acoustic-guitar-1259406.html