Hacker News Reader

Comment by marsrover | Hacker News Reader

I'm 29 and have been playing guitar for at least half my life at this point. It's a great stress reliever and just fun in general. I'm not good by any stretch of the imagination, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying myself.

These are some of my personal recommendations for starting out:

- Use an acoustic, you don't want to have to carry an amp around with you.

- Learn to sing while you play early on. I think it's harder if you try to learn later.

- If you learn a song, make it your own. Throw notes and rhythms in that don't necessarily belong. It's no fun being a robot.

- Learn the pentatonic scale.

- Don't be afraid to just try things. You're in the middle of a solo and don't know where to go? Jump up the neck and hope you land on something that sounds good.

- Try to learn songs by ear. Even if you end up looking up the tabs, at least try to play by ear first.

- Most of all, don't try to be perfect. Just try to have fun.

View on HN

I completely disagree with the acoustic recommendation as well. They're harder to play, which means it's much easier to give up on. You can get a 1w belt-clip amp if you really need to plug in, or you could just get a semi-hollow and play it unplugged.

Learning to sing is unrelated to playing guitar. I'd argue most guitar players do not also sing whilst playing. If someone wants to sing AND play guitar, I'd actually argue that it's easier to learn one before the other, not both simultaneously. When you know how to play guitar (and a song), it becomes almost mechanical and singing on top is much easier.

Instead of just learning the pentatonic scale, try to learn basic music theory and learn the fretboard. If you know where notes are on the board, it's much easier to land somewhere that fits musically with what you're playing. Not to discourage people from experimenting, but if you're just noodling around randomly with no idea of how notes work together, it's going to take you much longer to figure things out than if you just took a few weeks to learn super basic music theory.

Acoustic guitars are only a little harder to play. A decent acoustic guitar (which can be had for ~$250 used, or $500 new) with light strings is a fine learning guitar. If it's got reasonably comfortable action, it's not going to be an impediment to a beginner.

Acoustic light strings are 12 gauge though, compared to electrics which are 9 or 10 gauge. There is definitely a large difference between those to a beginner.

For what it's worth, I actually use 8s on my electrics, so the jump from electric to acoustic is kind of annoying.

Strings for acoustic guitar can be found smaller than .012. Martin Extra Lights are .010, Earthwood Extra Light are .010, etc.

There are extra lights on electric that go down to 7s. The fact is that the standard strings for acoustic are 12s and the fact that a usable acoustic starts at $500 new kind of shows how much of a misfit it is for people who are looking to try something out. My first guitar that I spent that much ($500+) on was 22 years after I first started playing.

There are tons of great $100-200 new electrics that are great for playing from almost every single brand now that a beginner isn't going to be forced to restring immediately (and remember that beginners don't know how to tune guitars, let alone string them).

>- Don't be afraid to just try things. You're in the middle of a solo and don't know where to go? Jump up the neck and hope you land on something that sounds good.

I think Jimi Hendrix said something like 'You're only ever a half-step away from a note that will sound good.'

So I agree, except that I think starting out on an acoustic teaches a lot of bad habits, and can also be frustrating for beginners, because acoustics are simply more difficult to play.

I think the trick is to start with a good acoustic. One with good action and one that stays in tune. Like a decent acoustic-electric from Ovation or something like that.

I'd recommend starting on acoustic too. It's the quickest and cheapest route to entry.

Ovation is an exception to the rule. Those things play almost exactly like electrics.

Can you elaborate on the bad habits starting out on an acoustic teaches?

Sure, the one I was thinking about is a tendency to strum really really hard, and you would think this would be an easy habit to break, but it is surprisingly difficult.

Thank you. I've been debating trying to learn guitar and this is helpful information if I decide to learn on acoustic.

Plenty of people start on acoustic. It doesn't teach bad habits in my opinion. Acoustic teaches the good habit of more precise fingering, because when you fret a chord slightly off it sounds worse on an acoustic vs an electric. At the end of the day it really doesn't matter much which one you learn on. For me acoustic wins because you can pick it up any time and start playing immediately. There's no fiddling with amps and cables, no power cords or batteries to worry about, and I can wander around the house to different rooms while playing if I want.

I don't think of hitting the strings hard as a "bad habit" in and of itself. Being able to play with a broad dynamic range is very useful, but not necessary to have fun and make good music.

I remember seeing a Paul Gilbert instruction video a while back where he talked about the importance of being able to play a single note, while hitting it with a full on rock and roll windmill arms technique. This is mostly a matter of muting the other five strings effectively. But hitting a note like you mean it really matters.

If the acoustic is hard to play, get it "setup" buy someone that knows what they are doing. Usually the action is high (which forces you to grip harder), which can be fixed. If there is a bit of buzz in the neck, there should a be a truss rod in the neck to adjust, or raise the action just a bit. If you have an old guitar that hasn't been adjusted in a long time, you might need to do it again. Kind of like getting a piano tuned once a year.

Yes, but fixing the action involves fairly permanent alterations to the guitar, the fact that setup requires an expert is yet another reason I don't think acoustics are a great place to start for beginners.

You're lumping all acoustics into the same category. You can can certainly have a horrible learning experience on an electric guitar, due to poor quality / action / setup.

And you can have a great learning experience on an acoustic. There are a number of advantages in terms of learning on an acoustic:

1. It's portable - you can take it anywhere

2. You can easily hear it without headphones or an amp

3. Well suited for chords and melodies (typically the first things you learn)

4. Slightly heavier strings means that your fingers get stronger, and playing an electric guitar later on will seem much easier

5. Great for collaborative learning, easier to play with other people

6. Light weight compared to most electric guitars

7. Acoustic guitar "covers" of popular music (eg. Bieber etc.) are a "thing" all over YouTube and make it easy to learn songs people will recognize

8. If you appreciate classic rock, folk, blues and 90s alternative, these genres are typically chord-based, and easy to learn on acoustic too. Any Beatles song. Nirvana unplugged. Think Layla electric vs. Layla unplugged.

9. Fingerstyle is very rewarding. Eventually you might even get as good as Tommy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPkQn5nDTZs

Acoustic is a great way to get started, and learn, and most importantly a great way to develop GOOD habits.

My recommendation is to buy the instrument you are going to want to play.

I keep a guitar in my office and it's a nice way to disengage from a problem for a few minutes. An acoustic would be far too loud.

Another nice thing about electrics for me is that I love playing with the sound through my crappy little effects box (I bought an old Line 6 Pod device - it looks like a big kidney bean).

Plus, you can plug an electric into Rocksmith which I've found to be a fun way to spend more time playing.

I don't think the amp is an issue these days. I've got a mini amp I plug straight in to the guitar (gives about 8-10 hours of playing time between recharges), and has headphone jack for when I'm playing but don't want to disturb anyone else (for example when playing late at night).

> - Use an acoustic, you don't want to have to carry an amp around with you.

Considering I want to learn how to play Avenged Sevenfold, Judas Priest, Offspring, Rise Against, etc., this is not useful advice.

is classical guitar a good beginner choice? I heard most people recommend electric guitar, but I want to learn to play fingerstyle.

If you want to play finger-picking in the folk style, you would be better off picking up a steel string guitar and learning on it, I think. Classical guitars have wider necks and higher action (more space between the strings and the fret board), so you would be acquainting yourself to differently configured guitar if you went with a classical. The only advantage to a beginner on a classical guitar is that there is less tension on the strings, so they are easier to press down. I think it is better to develop the finger strength on a steel string, and doing so is certainly not detrimental. With regular practice you adapt to it in a few weeks.

That said, playing any guitar is great when you are starting, as opposed to no guitar at all.

If you want a great guitar for the price, check out Monoprice.com. I have been playing for years and recently picked up a steel string cut-away for less than $100 (on sale) and it plays like a dream.

Fingerstyle is easier on a classical guitar because of the spacing between the strings. However many guitar players play the electric fingerstyle as well. A really accomplished player, like Jeff Beck, can be equally proficient with fingerstyle and pick playing.

But, with regards to your question: The classical guitar sounds different and feels different. Play the classical guitar if you're in love with its sound!

> Use an acoustic, you don't want to have to carry an amp around with you.

If you want to play an electric guitar get an electric guitar. Get a small amp that you can carry around.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com