by Maurice Richard
You are finally going to do it! You are going to commit to learning how to play the guitar. You may have started to look for a new guitar to get started with. Hopefully not because if you sought the advice of others on the right guitar to start with you likely were told the wrong thing. You have to be very careful when you start to learn to play the guitar. The beginning is the most difficult part and choosing the right guitar will make all the difference to your success. Here are 3 reasons why you should carefully choose a guitar so that you can have the best chance at success learning to play the guitar.
1. You Believe That Beginner Acoustic Guitars Are Made For Beginners
Fact is beginner acoustic guitars are not made for beginner guitar players. This has to be one of the biggest mistakes most beginners end up making. It’s not their fault though. Most people know nothing about guitars when they start to learn to play so how would they know. Beginner acoustic guitars are labelled that way because they are cheap. They are sold under the assumption that most people do not want to risk spending a lot of money up front in case they can’t learn to play. Talk about starting on the wrong foot. Beginner guitars are not made to be easier to play. They are made to be cheap. Because of that they are built cheaply, with cheap components. This makes them bulkier, harder to hold, harder to play and have sound good. For someone just starting out on the guitar this can easily lead to frustration and quitting, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
2. You Buy A Cheap Acoustic Guitar In Case You Fail To Learn
This is one of the biggest mistakes beginner guitar players make at the beginning. Who wants to spend a lot of money on a nice acoustic guitar and then a few months later quit? It’s happened to many people and I do not blame most of you for thinking this way. Most of them blame themselves for the failure. They think that maybe they did not have the talent, the time or maybe fell they are not smart enough. The sad thing is that most of them probably could have been successful. The problem is usually not them and a lot of the time it’s because they bought a cheap acoustic guitar which ended up being very hard to play. The added challenges coupled with the typical do-it-yourself teaching approach most people take usually doom most beginner guitar players quickly. What I have found is when you buy a quality guitar, which is easier to play, people tend to do much better. They also feel better about their instrument and have a psychological edge over others because they place a higher value on learning since they invested more up front.
3. You Assume Acoustic Guitars Are The Best Type Of Guitar To Learn On
This is mistake many people make when they first start to learn to play the guitar. It’s usually not their fault though. When you are ready to learn you may ask a friend or someone at a guitar store whet they recommend you start on. The answer most people will give you is to start on an acoustic guitar. Their rationale is that if you can learn to play on an acoustic guitar, you will be able to play anything after that. They are 100% correct. Unfortunately, acoustic guitars are more difficult to play, especially if you buy a beginner model. So right off the bat you make it harder to learn if you go this route. There are ways to minimize this but you can’t eliminate it. The best guitars to start on to give you the best chance at success are electric guitars. They are smaller in body, they have thinner and the necks are usually not as wide. The strings are thinner and closer to the fretboard so much easier to press down and make it sound good.
How To Be Successful When Learning To Play The Guitar Even If You Choose The Wrong Guitar
Maybe you already made one or all of the mistakes above. You know what, you can still learn how to play the guitar. Here are some ideas that will help you. First of all, you may consider renting (or borrowing) an electric guitar until you get through the basics and know how to play decently. At that point it is much easier to move to the acoustic and play just about any guitar. Even if you can’t find or rent an electric guitar, there is one thing you can do that will help you succeed more than any other thing. Find and learn from a professionally trained guitar teacher. They will know how to help you overcome any and all the problems associated with cheap or difficult to use guitars.
About The Author:
Maurice Richard is a professional guitar teacher that operates out of the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. He has been a member of an elite guitar teaching mentorship program since 2007 and has taught many people how to learn to play the guitar. Learn how to choose the best guitar to help you learn to play by visiting his website today. © Maurice Richard Music. All rights reserved.