It’s quite interesting to notice how guitar students have often the same questions when starting to play the instrument. In almost two decades I had literally thousands of people asking me the same questions over and over again. What I often do nowadays I just predict the question and give the answer even before they ask, to their amusement off course. This is my chance to clarify a few important issue. Probably the most common question is whether to start with electric or acoustic guitar lessons and my answer to that 100% of the time is: Acoustic guitar! these are my reasons why:
Acoustic guitars are loud enough and you don’t need any amps or gadgets you would normally need if you play electric. That can save you quite a bit of money you could invest in online video tutorials or even a better instrument.
When you play acoustic guitar you don’t need to worry about the many electric guitar techniques that might just be a huge distraction when you are starting out. Now you can focus on the basics like chord changes, strumming and fingerpicking.
Playing pop songs sounds more authentic on acoustic guitar and it will definitely inspire you to practice even more just because it sounds so good.
You can take your acoustic guitar anywhere you like without having to worry about amplification. That is quite useful if you want to play at a school camp or friends house and don’t want to worry about carrying around extra stuff.
Playing songs on an acoustic guitar is slightly more demanding. This will strengthen your hands muscles which is important if you wish to become a good guitarist. Acoustic is a little bit more work but the benefits you’ll gain are absolutely worth it!
I hope you get my point by now why you should start with acoustic guitar lessons. Another very common question is whether to use a steel or a nylon string guitar and in my opinion they are both perfectly fine to start with. A gear junky like me would actually buy them both but if you are starting out you might just want to make a decision based on the kind of sound you are after. If you like classical, bossa nova, spanish music then a nylon string will help you nail the sound while for country, pop, rock a steel string is what you need.
Once you can play many songs on an acoustic guitar you can start looking about moving on to electric.
In conclusion try to practice everyday and to enjoy yourself. Making music is truly one of the most fulfilling activities you’ll get to do in your life, but it comes at a price: practice, practice, practice. Have fun and keep on strumming!
Tommy Beltrani is a guitar teacher with 20 years of experience and he’s focusing on acoustic guitar lessons. You can get access for a limited period to a 4 weeks Quick Start Guide with great guitar instructions and instruction videos. You can get a unique content version of this article from the Uber Article Directory.