A guitar is probably one of the most popular instruments that newbies in the music field want to try out. I am both a guitar player and a guitar teacher who has found numerous students ( especially male ) come up and ask me to teach them the guitar in order to impress people whether it be peers, parents, or just the whole world haha.
The guitar is one of the most soothing instruments I’ve ever played and having watched my own students strum up hymns that they dance their head to or combinations they have created themselves gave me the utmost pleasure of being a musician. The guitar is an enchanting instrument and there is no doubt about that.
Sadly, many students tend to quit this enchanting instrument since it is not so ‘enchanting’ on the fingers. That is the case when students start off with the hard strings and the long fretboard of an acoustic guitar. So it made me wonder whether following the strict traditions of developing calluses on an acoustic guitar is the way to go or can we shake things up in the modern era.
That’s why I, Jai Ashok Mahtani, will discuss what type of guitars beginners should pick up when they enter the world of strums, strings, and chords.
The Obvious Choice
The obvious choice in choosing your first guitar would be an acoustic one. Why you may ask? Well, it’s because it’s the norm!
No, but seriously, the practice of starting up with an acoustic guitar is beneficial for a new student as it helps you get your fingertips hard for the future solos and extreme chords you will perform. Not only that, an acoustic guitar comes with a larger fretboard which helps up in building up the dexterity and flexibility of the player.
Adding more the ‘boring’ guitar teacher talk, acoustic guitars also work on producing sound with the help of their hollow body. That means that unlike in an electric guitar where the strings are used to produce electrical signals that are then converted to sound by an amplifier, in an acoustic guitar the sound is amplified by the hollow body itself. Not to mention that an amplifier costs a lot of money, so the price of an electric guitar piled on with the cost of an amplifier may be more than enough for students but more importantly their parents to be scared away from the world of guitars.
Though those points are not the only one that an acoustic guitar has going for it, there are many more advantages that an advanced guitar player gets to know after playing both the electrical and the acoustic guitar. And the biggest advantage is the acoustic guitars’ portability. An acoustic guitar can be played wherever you want without the need of electricity or the more obvious one, carrying around a huge amplifier on you at all times. Personally, though, I like the soothing vibrations of the acoustic more than the power of the electric.
The Power Of Electricity
Electric guitars are awesome and everyone can agree on that. They are the ones that attract the more showbiz and eccentric students of mine, but there is a catch though.
For starters, as already mentioned, the electric guitar can’t be played without a costly amplifier. It can be a little overwhelming for a newbie to take care of not only his guitar but also of his amplifier, not to mention the sneaky picks that every guitarist has to buy on a weekly basis.
Moreover, the electric guitar has softer strings and a narrower fretboard. The sound’s intensity and quality are not dependent on the strength of the player’s fingers or strumming hand, it is dependent on the amplifier. So as a guitar teacher, I’d have to not recommend an electric guitar for a new student as it doesn’t really help in developing the physical strength needed to perform those crazy blood writhing solos of slasher!
Though one thing I’d have to admit is that electric guitars are fun. They catch the attention of new students as they are more on the flashy side but are also quite fun to play. So I am not totally against a new student picking up an electric guitar as their first one.
Final Verdict
I am sorry to tell you but there is no final verdict. Yeah, that may sound like a disappointment but hear me out.
I am a guitar teacher so I obviously prefer to do things the traditional way. Let students tread the difficult path filled with calluses and patience. Only then can they truly become a dignified guitar player. I believe that pain and hardship in addition to the devotion of time are essential for learning the art of music and using tools in the shape of an instrument.
But that is Jai Ashok Mahtani’s point of view, a guitar teacher’s point of view.
The guitar is near and dear to me. I think of it as a machine that can make me one with my emotions and make my emotions one with the world. But that is not the case with everyone.
Some students might just want to pick up a guitar for a little while to have some fun and learn a new instrument in the meanwhile. Some students might just subjectively be drawn to an electric or an acoustic guitar, and I, as a good guitar teacher, can’t stop students from having fun playing an instrument just because it is the right way.
The truth is there is no right way to start with guitars. There is no definite right way in music. It all depends on whether the player is flowing with the motion of the music or not.
If you want to start with an electric guitar despite learning of its downsides like expensive amplifiers and future difficulty in playing complex songs, then by all means go for it!
If you want to pick up an acoustic guitar because you want to do things the traditional way or like the calming strums of the hollow body more, then by all means go for it!
All that matters is that you have fun while playing one of the most soothing instruments I have ever held in my life. Cheers!
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