learning guitar?

[rattlsnak]

I'm a drummer but my son picked up an acoustic and electric guitar recently and is learning how to play them from an instructor. He is all about learning the different chords etc and after 3 months he cant play anything, just still learning chords. I know those are the basic building blocks, but i tend to play more from ear tones.. his instructor only wants him to play the acoustic one and not to touch the electric yet. Of course, I went over to his house and picked up the electric and basically just made noise but it was totally fun and was thinking of picking one up myself.. is that crazy? should you learn on regular guitar first? is that a necessity? I just want to wail on the electric one!

[john walker's workshop]

The teacher probably wants some callouses to develop. Nothing wrong with that, but acoustics are harder than electrics for beginners. The A minor pentatonic scale needs to be learned ASAP.

[yel911]

I'm teaching a friend how to play. I showed him the E and A chord, barred, then showed him simple blues with it. It fueled his fire to want to learn more. Learning the major chords first is painful, no reward. We all know we need them, just boring. I also suggested the F and B chord, because when he starts using barred chords, he will already know them. And yes, minor pentatonic scale, ASAP!!!

[IROC]

If your son likes music with electric guitar, have him play the electric. Having self-taught myself how to play guitar (never had lessons and it shows!! ), a lot of difficulty in the beginning is getting through that "I can't play anything" phase. I would suggest sprinkling in easy songs to play or easy versions of songs that your son likes with formal lessons. Some people recoil at the thought of tablature, but it can be a fun shortcut to learning songs.

Playing guitar should be all about having fun. If you're not having fun, you're not doing it right.

[stuartj]

I'm a big advocate for the acoustic. The basics, hands, string and wood, technique, will translate to electric. The opposite, less so. However, this does not always fly in the present.

[ledhedsymbols]

I've been "playing" for a little less than a year, taking lessons for six months or so. I think there's a lot to be said for learning on an acoustic. I play both, and I can really tell the difference in how good my technique has to be to get chords to ring clear and avoid fret buzz on the acoustic vs electric.

There's no reason why your son isn't learning at least some fairly simple songs... Hell, the Ramones made a legend out of three chords in a minute thirty! If he can play G, D, E Minor and C and has a little strumming rhythm he can play a bunch of rock and pop songs. All easy open chords.

I don't know anything about his teacher, but maybe it's not a good fit. You've got to #1 Want To Play! If you don't enjoy it, and it isn't any fun you won't practice. That's not to say that it isn't frustrating at times, or difficult. If it wasn't, then it wouldn't be rewarding when you get it right.

I can't say enough good things about my teacher. He's a full time teacher, maybe gigs a couple weekends a month. His attitude is that he wants to teach me what I want to play and he can be choosy about his students. If the student doesn't have the right attitude, or doesn't do their part then he lets them know it isn't a good fit. There is no right way for every student, and although there is much to be gained by learning an instrument in a classical manner it isn't the only way and could very well be a waste of time for some students. I would consider what will motivate him to practice, and maybe interview a few new teachers to try and find a better fit. Lots of guitar teachers out there. Some good, some not so good, and some great.

[5String43]

I'm a big advocate for the acoustic. The basics, hands, string and wood, technique, will translate to electric. The opposite, less so. However, this does not always fly in the present.

^This. But with a caveat. With all respect, I would propose that electric and acoustic guitars are really two different instruments. Which one you concentrate on should, I think, depend on what kind of music you want to play.

Also, no matter what type one plays, playing is much easier, and much more enjoyable, if two things are done to the instrument involved. First, a professional set-up so that the guitar's action is properly adjusted, especially up at the nut. This makes fretting soooo much easier. Second, use of very light strings, which also makes fretting much easier.

[craigster59]

I play acoustic the majority of the time. You have to fret properly to let the chord ring true. Electric can be played with distortion where you just have to "be in the neighborhood" to hit a chord.

That said, I practice acoustic, but electric unplugged is a great 'couch guitar" where you can noodle and practice finger memory while watching TV and not disturbing others in the room.

[craigster59]

Unless you have a set of Wolfetone Rabid *****es in your Tele, then you definitely want to be plugged in!

[petrolhead611]

A friend of mine is a gutiar techer and a session musician: I rememberhim telling me when teaching my daughter that electric guitars just amplify the mistakes

[Rick Lee]

If you don't play stuff you like, you will never want to practice. Pick some easy songs you like, look them up on songsterr.com and get to work on those. You will always have go back to practicing rudiments and learning new techniques to go beyond chords in those songs you want to play. But that should be enjoyable, since it's making it possible to play music you like.

[Charles Freeborn]

Doesn't matter which guitar, just play. I'm a firm believer in learning songs, then fill in the theory. As said, if you're not having fun you won't stick with it. Tons of info out there - a great source for instructional material is Homespun Tapes.

[rattlsnak]

Thanks, all good advice! The son is motoring right along, learning his chords and I know he will pop right out soon and put those all together and be able to play songs knowing what each chord sounds like so to speak.. I just want to make noise so I prefer the electric for now!. ha ha!

[LWJ]

My 14 yr old son started a year ago. He plays 2-3 hours a day and loves it. He is almost all electric and John Walker is spot on about the minor pentatonic scale.

Acoustic is good for technique. Electric is good for motivation.

After 3 months, your son should be able to knock out some basic blues / rock standards. If not, his motivation will decrease. Guitar is about emotion for me. Strumming chords on a flattop never did it for me, but I am in the minority on this.

My advise, get your son to play some songs he likes as a performance. That really motivated my son.

Have fun!

[Rick Lee]

I got my first electric guitar for Xmas (1984) and my b-day is in May. Not that I needed any encouragement, but my folks said they'd buy me an amp for my b-day if I stuck with it and was showing progress. Shortly after I got a Marshall Lead 20 for my b-day, they ended up taking my guitar away because I was spending way more time with it than on my schoolwork. Now I work from home and it's hard to not blow off work and go crank up my big Marshalls while no one is around.

[flipper35]

I also recommend using an acoustic first if you have one available. It helps you play a lot cleaner and develops calluses and muscles. I am also a big proponent of chord structure and scales.

[Neilk]

This one looks like a great starter model.

[flipper35]

Looks a little high for an air Strat. A Tele or LP maybe.

[Rick Lee]

There's never been a better time to start playing guitar. There's not much guitar in current popular music, so that sucks. But you can get a really nice starter guitar and amp for next to nothing. Every song you could ever want to learn is dissected and explained on Youtube and other sites, you can find isolated guitar tracks of your favorite songs and every band and style of music has online chat boards like Pelican, where you can discuss the nitty gritty of songs, gear and techniques.

I'm only 45 and, when I started, it was press play, pause, rewind, play, pause, etc. That's how I had to learn songs. A few times a year the next song I wanted to learn was TAB'ed out in the various guitar mags, and sometimes you could find the TAB books for entire albums, though they were never 100% accurate. Now, you can find everything and it's usually free. Doesn't get any easier. You just have to put in the hours.

[stuartj]

Originally Posted by Rick Lee

I'm only 45 and, when I started, it was press play, pause, rewind, play, pause, etc. That's how I had to learn songs. A few times a year the next song I wanted to learn was TAB'ed out in the various guitar mags, and sometimes you could find the TAB books for entire albums, though they were never 100% accurate. Now, you can find everything and it's usually free. Doesn't get any easier. You just have to put in the hours.

Your generation was spoilt Rick. Mine was lift the needle, drop it back three grooves.....cassettes were luxury!

@5string, you are right ofcourse, but the issue is a beginner. Kiddies banging out A/G/D Greenday songs on their Strat pack never learn to for example, finger pick. Now ofcourse no 14yo wants to learn daggy old Ralph McTell or John Denver songs like I did- but later, that right hand bility translates into all sorts of hybrid picking techniques that the real guitar heros use all the time. Ofcourse they want eletrics early on ( i did too) but the basics all come from a simple box with strings. As they say, its all in the hands.

I also don't think it hurts to learn play around the faults of a cheap instrument as beginner. Was watching my bass players son's band rehearse last week....the kid playing guitar had a $5k Custom Shop Strat. His birthday present. FFS.