Dude, good timing. I just started taking guitar lessons myself. I have no background in music so I have to spend some time on the theory etc. I have an acoustic. While it does hurt, I just like the sound of an acoustic more. After reading the posts above, I guess it has something to do with the aging process. Rock on.
^i’m in the same boat – zero background. I was going to just try the free online lessons on About.com. They looked decent to start out at least. Are you using a teacher or flyin solo?
jbaldyga Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > god the look on my wife’s face if i brought home > an electric guitar would be priceless. no i’m > over 30 (read an old fart) so acoustic is probably > the only option. Not necessarily. Depends on what kind of music you like, but you can make some very nice “traditional” type sounds with a good tube amp and a delay and chorus pedal, see eg. Bill Frisell http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Svzv-YkUzdk An electric set-up will be more expensive than acoustic, but it will be more difficult at first to really make an acoustic sing, plus you will also probably experience greater tuning problems which can be discouraging for a beginner. It all comes down to what type of music you like.
Bill Frisell is great, I’ve seen him many times. One time I noticed, he was using a Line6 delay pedal, while I still love the guy I can’t bring myself to use anything but an analog Memory Man. The only thing better than a MM is two MMs strapped in stereo to a couple of amps.
hmmm now i’m confused. do i picture myself strumming in my rocking chair? Or channeling david gilmour? God dam that’s sweet: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTY-MMlBP5E Or maybe pretending to be as bad ass as tom morello? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qogtDaTwERU John Frusciante? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSENpGTTuao&feature=related FACK!!! This is a tough decision. Now I’m leaning towards electric.
LBriscoe Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > How about the piano? Any players out there? > Would all this advice apply to the piano as well > or is it a harder, easier, or the same level of > difficulty as learning the guitar. Much more difficult. I was a saxophonist in school and bought a piano/keyboard last year. I also recently bought a bass guitar. Directly comparing the two and as a pure beginner on both, the coordination necessary to play piano is ridiculous, especially in comparison to guitar. Both require loads of time to build technique and both can be equally difficult in that respect, but in terms of actual playability, piano is insane. I think the major difference is that those who are best at piano have “piano fingers”, a natural ability to stretch the fingers yet have finesse. I’ve seen midgets all the way to giants play guitar, but the guys who play piano always have long and slender fingers; generally tall people. Coming from the 5’9" camp, I have difficultly stretching to make some of the formations on piano (all good rock piano ballads have major stretches: ben folds, elton, billy, etc). I haven’t had the same problem with the bass, playing mostly RHCP songs, with lots of stretch, bass solos, etc. piano requires much more comittment and patience. it is truly impossible to play something out of you league on piano, but on guitar you can kinda sound it out and/or build speed rather quickly. to start learning piano fresh, you will need a spectatular background in reading music. i find this is the greatest reason for losing patience, as the best songs to play are the hardest and often use 70% of the keys on the piano. i am 1 year into learning and have 7 years music theory background, but struggle to keep pace b/c i was off music theory for 8ish years. if you love the piano, i say go for it. i got my 76-key keyboard for $500 Cdn and compared to many other hobbies, a one time cost like that is worth it. if you truly love the sound, you’ll eventually come back to it if/when you lose patience.
If you like Gilmour, Morello and Frusciante you should definitely be thinking about electric. While it might not please some purists, at first you would probably be best with a Mexican strat and a multi-effects box or a POD or something. This will allow you to try out many different sounds and see which ones you like. In addition, you will be able to do this through headphones, thus [a] not annoying your wife and [b] not embarrasing yourself with your ineptitude. The only problem that I have seen with learning an instrument when you’re a little older is the inability/dislike of taking the baby steps you need to take to learn the basics, i.e. practicing scales, basic rhythm etc. Remember though there is no way around this.
purealpha Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Bill Frisell is great, I’ve seen him many times. > One time I noticed, he was using a Line6 delay > pedal, while I still love the guy I can’t bring > myself to use anything but an analog Memory Man. > The only thing better than a MM is two MMs > strapped in stereo to a couple of amps. Best to go dry, like Danny Gatton at the end of this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zhulCDYBCQ&feature=PlayList&p=4044C1C2E0994F37&index=4
So I would have to second the notion of starting out with an acoustic guitar. Yes, it is more difficult at first, but building finger strength and learning how to fret are important in the LR. By the time you pick up an electric you’ll be flying. I own both, and spend the bulk of my time on my 6 string acoustic, but I sometimes find other songs work well with my 12 string. And then a lot of lead work should be done on an electric. Meh … I’d also second the notion that probably 90% of my high school friends went out and bought a guitar at some point, and for almost all of them they gave it up within a few months. The guitars just collect dust and they move it around pointlessly from one apt to the next. I’m one of the few that still practices almost every week.
dlescook Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > Meh … I’d also second the notion that probably > 90% of my high school friends went out and bought > a guitar at some point, and for almost all of them > they gave it up within a few months. The guitars > just collect dust and they move it around > pointlessly from one apt to the next. Agree with this unfortunately. I play it purely for enjoyment and am happy that I decided to spend between 3-6 hours of practice per day at one time to be able to sound halfway decent now.
Billy Collins Jr. Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zhulCDYBCQ&feature > =PlayList&p=4044C1C2E0994F37&index=4 Nice pick technique. The nice thing about playing an instrument is that you don’t have to play it like everyone else. Trying to memorize this guys pick technique would make me crazy, it hurt my head just watching him, you can just make up your own technique. Who plays Moog?
jbaldyga Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > ^i’m in the same boat – zero background. I was > going to just try the free online lessons on > About.com. They looked decent to start out at > least. Are you using a teacher or flyin solo? teacher - I think it will make a difference in the outcome (esp. for me and my inept fingers)
One can pick up piano without reading music. Most songs are written around chord progressions and if you have the chords you can play the song. Of course you’d have to improvise and use trial and error on more difficult songs, but the lack of the ability to read music shouldn’t dissuade one from trying it.
Got a Ibanez prestige RG series. plugged into the new series modeling amp VOX VT15. I memorize songs more easily than CFA material.