The guitar, be it electric or acoustic, is the most versatile of instruments. You can strum a few chords, adopt a highly disciplined classical guitar technique, or play sophisticated jazz chord and scale progressions. The choice is yours. Whatever your bag, the journey to achieving your goal and the fundamental sound is the real buzz.
It's a funny thing, but music is unlike most other activities. Take football for example, there is no escaping the fact that if you want to play pro-football you had better be good and there are no short cuts. Technique and fitness is an absolute must. Musical expression is different and shares may similarities with the spoken word. A few well chosen words can be far more effective than a tidal wave of sophisticated verbal statement. So it is with playing the guitar.
Arguably, the most successful singer songwriter who ever lived is Bob Dylan, whose delivery is based essentially on guitar sounds combined with an awesome skill as a lyricist. His musical structure is generally simple - but the simplicity of the music combined with great hook lines and lyrics is bang on the nail as a musical statement.
So the fact to take on board is that technical ability has little to do with musical talent. If your groove is a simple country, reggae or blues feel you can be damn good and highly relevant without being a technical genius. The simple player who plays with feel and taste is a musician, the same as a highly accomplished classical or jazz guitarist. It is amazing how formally trained musicians, i.e. classical, or other technical jazz players, are usually the most ineffective exponents of rock, country, pop or blues music.
Playing guitar is essentially an attitude, combined with feel and the necessary musical knowledge to express what you wish to play. Don't be fooled into following the path of so many potentially great musicians and be fazed by more accomplished players. When you tune in to the simplicity of a player such as the great blues guitarist B. B. King, you can't help but be affected by his economy of notes, played in such a meaningful, soulful musical context.
Playing guitar has an infinite number of possibilities. It is the most adaptable, useable instrument, and it's the journey to your goal that's the fun part. You will never stop learning guitar. Each time you pick it up you will discover something new and it needn't be hard to play to be relevant!
Playing Guitar For Dummies
Choosing the right guitar for yourself is as important to playing as having the right shoe size – if it's not right for you, you won't want to keep playing. There are three main types of guitars, each with its own advantages and disadvantages: the steel-string acoustic guitar (dreadnought), the nylon-string acoustic guitar (classical) and the electric guitar.
The dreadnought is traditionally the first guitar that someone would get when they start learning how to play. The steel strings provide for a powerful, bright sound and the strings are spaced comfortably. The main advantage to the steel-string acoustic is that you and your friends will easily be able to hear what you play. You will also, over time, develop more precise technique and stronger hands. This also can lead to a disadvantage; the steel-string acoustic can be more difficult to play at first since the strings are under more tension. This can lead to many people not continuing to play long enough to develop any basic ability or even calluses.
Of the two acoustic guitars, I like the nylon-string the best. Personally, I think the tone is warmer. Also, the strings are under very little tension, making it easier to actually fret the instrument. The only drawback to the classical from a beginner's point of view is that the strings are spaced wider than the other two guitar types, and the action (the height of the strings above the fretboard) is also higher. This makes playing with precision a little trickier.
Last but not least is my personal favorite for beginners: the electric guitar. While it is heavier than the others (due to having a solid wood body), it is also the easiest to play. This makes it great for beginners since they will play long enough to develop calluses and get over the first hurdles and experience some success. The acoustic guitars over the long run will give you better technique, but the electric will actually have you PLAYING!! On top of the electric guitar being easy to play, most new guitarists have fun experimenting with all the different sounds available to the electric guitar. Through the use of various types of effect boxes, the guitar can create sounds from subtle and sublime to hardcore and aggressive.
Of course, the final decision comes down to want you want to do with the guitar. I always ask my students (and potential students), “What kind of music do you like? Which musicians do you want to sound like?” and “What guitars do they play?”
If you like old Bob Dylan, a steel-string acoustic will be great, but a hot-rodded super-Strat will make you frustrated. If Eddie Van Halen is your thing, get the hot-rodded super-Strat – anything else will leave you wanting more. Having the same instrument (or at least the same type) as your favorite player will go a long way to keeping you motivated and inspired to keep playing. These heroes and heroines of the guitar become like mentors to us leading the way.
Good luck to you and your future guitar adventures!
Both Arthor Pens & Guglielmo (bill) F. Franco are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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