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I want to be a Guitar Hero
Zombot
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I've always wanted to play an instrument and I figure now is a good time to start.
I've picked the guitar as my choice of instrument.
I want to start off with an acoustic first.
What I would like to know is the price range for beginner guitars and what to look for purchasing (I'm left handed if that matters in the price).
Is it possible to learn how to play from a book or do I need to get an instructor?
I've picked the guitar as my choice of instrument.
I want to start off with an acoustic first.
What I would like to know is the price range for beginner guitars and what to look for purchasing (I'm left handed if that matters in the price).
Is it possible to learn how to play from a book or do I need to get an instructor?
Zombot on
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Posts
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=28611&highlight=guitar
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=28207&highlight=guitar
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=27995&highlight=guitar
http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=27472&highlight=guitar
Is it possible to learn from a book though?
What are some good beginner guitars?
I'm looking for something in the $200-300 range.
I've heard advice against this. Apparantly as a left hander you can only get so far doing this before you hit a wall.
Yes, going after a left-handed model will drastically reduce the selection you have to choose from, but there are plenty of ways to make it work if you're just looking for a cheap starter acoustic. Go to the store and check out one that looks OK; ask the dude who works there what would happen if you strung it backwards.
If you don't want to go after a left-handed setup, you can always learn to play right-handed (if you're just now starting to learn, why not?), or be a badass and play on an upside-down right-hander like Hendrix (well, not really, but still... bad ass).
About classical guitars, a lot of people say they're easier to play than steel-string or "folk" guitars, but I just don't buy that. I've been playing for 12 years and I've spent a lot more time on a classical guitar than a folk guitar, and they each have different challenges. With classicals, you generally don't have to push as hard to fret a string (steel-strings have a much more taut feel), but, you have to push the string farther to get it down to the fretboard. In other words, classical guitar strings are strung higher above the neck. So, while you're not doing as much physical work fretting the strings, it may be just as hard, if not harder, to play because there's more space between the strings and the fretboard.
Another thing about classicals is that their necks generally do not taper as much as you get down toward the head. Since as a beginner you'll be staying mostly below the fifth fret, this means that you'll have a noticeably wider, chunkier neck to work with. I don't want to say it's harder than a steel-string, but I'm not ready to say it's easier either.
Edit: Forgot to mention, my first guitar was a Goya classical acoustic, and it ran in the $100 range. I'm all for cheap pawn shop guitars for beginners, or even stuff that you can get on the shelf at Best Buy or Sears.
Oh, and as far as learning, lessons are obviously one of the best things you can do to improve your playing, but most people have the capacity to learn from a book as well. Oh, and people love to make fun of that Esteban guy, but I've been very impressed with the results I've seen from the folks who buy his videos and books. My brother picked up some of that stuff when he was learning, and after 6 months or so, he was about as good as I had been after 5 years or so of playing by ear. I'm still better than him, but as far as the basics go, some form of lessons will definitely get you to that "competent" stage a lot more quickly.
But remember that lefties have the option of playing right-handed guitars normally, i.e., forcing themselves to learn right-handed. I'd recommend that if you're just starting out. Playing guitar is going to be awkward at first anyway but after six months, it should feel as natural as it does for any other guitarist. Actually, I just now realized this, but my brother is left-handed, but plays guitar right-handed. Never had any problems picking it up. So there you go.
Sorry to nitpick your phrasing Chop Logic, but it's vague to say "left-handed people playing righty guitars" because that can mean two entirely different things.
Just play air guitar, freeze, and figure out which way you're naturally trying to hold a guitar.
I went out a bought a nice Yamaha acoustic today.
I decided to go with the right handed.
Time to see just how ambidextrous I am.
I know a lefty who plays right handed and is one of the most accomplished guitarists to walk the earth. YMMV
is it dave
I've got money on it being dave
it helps that I know he is a lefty who plays right handed
(also, learn to play right handed. any 'oh no you will hit a wall' is just superstition)
If you're right handed you'll hit a wall. It's just a matter of stepping back, assessing your playing and your practise methods, then working through it.
It sounds like some left handed guy reached a plateau and, rather than put the effort in to work past it, assumed it was because he was left handed. Which would, of course, be patently false.