Nov 09
19

Playing guitar well in a matter of 5 months? And difference between solo and performance guitars?

3 Comments

I’ve started my acoustic guitar lessons this month because I want to volunteer myself to play for the drama team of my school. (Its always pianos and violins so its a good chance for guitarists to take the audition)
The audition probably starts around March or April.
The lessons start weekly and I’m yet to have my own guitar.

Question is, considering I go for my lessons for 45 minutes and play/practice everyday, will I be able to play very well to be qualified for the drama team in maybe… 5 or 6 months time? Next year’s my last year in my school so thats the only year I have to join the team.

Also, my tutor told me solo guitars and performance guitars are different since I wanted to play in front of the crowd.
Is that true? If so, how can I tell the difference between solo and performance guitars since I’m about to buy myself one in another week

I’d recommend a nice Ibanez or Takamine acoustic electric guitar. These can be played acoustically (not plugged into an amplifier) but also have a pickup in the bridge (where the strings are attached to the body of the guitar), which allows them to be plugged into an amplifier. You can probably get a decent one for around $200 or less (although you definitely get what you pay for if you know what I mean).

As far as playing ability after 5 months, it really depends on the person. Some people are just musically gifted and pick things up quickly and hear the music. I’ve been playing since I was 7 (over 30 years) and still don’t consider myself very good, but I do play and sing in church every Sunday. Learning chords is definitely the best place to start. You just need to get your fingers used to the various chord shapes and get a good strumming rhythm going. You’ll want an acoustic electric guitar for that. Playing lead (solos) usually requires much more training and understanding of the various scales and modes. Have you studied music theory in your piano or violin training? That would certainly help.

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Posted in guitar solo lessons by Brian Nisbet 3 Comments

3 Responses to "Playing guitar well in a matter of 5 months? And difference between solo and performance guitars?"

  • RachelS165 says:
    November 19, 2009 at 5:08 pm

    It depends on how you define "playing guitar well".

    In 5 months, with several hours a day of focused practice, you should be able to learn a number of guitar chords, be able to change at least somewhat smoothly between them, and keep up a steady strumming or fingerpicking accompaniment pattern. You might also be able to learn to read music notation in that time period as well.

    But unless you turn out to be a prodigy on guitar and have 10 or 12 hours a day to practice, you probably won’t have enough time to memorize scales and chords in all keys and in all positions up and down the guitar fretboard, how scales and chords relate to each other within a key, how to improvise solos confidently and tastefully, transpose music from one key to another, play by ear, or sight-read fluently. All of those skills are what I would consider important for anyone to be considered a "very good" guitarist. For most of us, starting from scratch with no previous musical background, developing those skills usually takes several years. If you already play another instrument, can read music and understand music theory, then that would definitely help your understanding of guitar.

    Still, you don’t know what a guitarist on the drama team would be required to do, musically. If all they need is someone to strum accompaniments for singers, you might well be able to do that in 5 months of study and practice. OTOH, if they want someone who can improvise lead guitar solos, transpose, sight-read, and so on — you may not have enough time between now and March to develop that level of proficiency.

    I’m not sure what your tutor means by "solo" guitars and "performance" guitars — and I’ve been playing guitar, as well as various other instruments, for almost 40 years. ANY guitar can be used for performances depending on the style of music and the sound wanted, and although acoustic guitars usually sound better than electrics when played alone, there are some performers (Billy Bragg comes to mind) who play electric guitar as a solo instrument with no back up musicians, and sound great doing it.

    There are essentially two types of guitars — acoustic or electric. Electric guitars need to be plugged into an amplifier in order to be heard — they’re used primarily in rock, jazz, blues, and country. They can be either solid-body, like a Stratocaster or a Les Paul — made out of a solid slab of wood with pickups and controls installed — or semi-hollow body, like the Gibson ES-335 or Rickenbacker 330 JG, and have both a hollow sound box and pickups. Acoustic guitars don’t have pickups or need amps. They’re used primarily for folk, country, softer rock music, some jazz, bluegrass and the like. A particular kind of acoustic guitar, called a "classical" guitar, is used for (you guessed it) classical music — it has a wider neck and is strung with nylon or gut strings for a mellower, warmer tone compared to other types of acoustic guitars, which have steel or steel-core strings for a louder, brighter tone.
    References :
    38 years of guitar playing

  • Rory M~Where Is My Mind says:
    November 19, 2009 at 5:34 pm

    Hmmm, not a chance.
    References :

  • RockOfAges says:
    November 19, 2009 at 6:21 pm

    I’d recommend a nice Ibanez or Takamine acoustic electric guitar. These can be played acoustically (not plugged into an amplifier) but also have a pickup in the bridge (where the strings are attached to the body of the guitar), which allows them to be plugged into an amplifier. You can probably get a decent one for around $200 or less (although you definitely get what you pay for if you know what I mean).

    As far as playing ability after 5 months, it really depends on the person. Some people are just musically gifted and pick things up quickly and hear the music. I’ve been playing since I was 7 (over 30 years) and still don’t consider myself very good, but I do play and sing in church every Sunday. Learning chords is definitely the best place to start. You just need to get your fingers used to the various chord shapes and get a good strumming rhythm going. You’ll want an acoustic electric guitar for that. Playing lead (solos) usually requires much more training and understanding of the various scales and modes. Have you studied music theory in your piano or violin training? That would certainly help.
    References :

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