<p>This isn't a music school question, so I apologize if questions outside school are frowned upon.</p>
<p>I took guitar lessons for a year in high school but didn't stick with it for very long, and I'm looking to start learning again. There seem to be quite a few knowledgable people here, and I'm hoping I could get some advice on two questions I have.</p>
<p>I've been taking piano lessons for a few years now, and after seeing all of the technique required, I recognize that there would have been no way to teach myself. But I'm up for teaching myself guitar, although I'm worried about not learning the proper technique or forming bad habits. I was taught the basics of guitar-playing during that year in high school. So would it be better to look into lessons, or is self-teaching doable?</p>
<p>Finally, I'm interested in playing jazz, classical, and folk. I do want to take a structured approach to learning in the beginning, and I'm fine with not playing in all three modes right away. What style would be best to begin with, and most suitable for branching out to the other styles? Also, I've heard people say it's best to learn on an acoustic guitar, rather than electric, to build up finger strength. But what about acoustic vs. classical?</p>
<p>My son plays guitar. He started off by teaching himself and was doing pretty well. Then he decided to take lessons with a really good teacher and his playing improved tremendously. There seem to be some students on guitar who teach themselves and do very well that way, but I think most people would benefit from taking lessons from someone who knows both how to play and how to teach. You need to find the right teacher, however, not just walk into a music store at the mall and sign up with whoever they happen to have that month.</p>
<p>I think the choice of instrument is a very personal decision and it will depend on what kind of music you want to start off with. (You probably don’t want to try to learn three very different styles all at the same time.) A good teacher can help you select the right instrument.</p>
<p>My son also plays guitar. He learned using a computer program when he was 14. I can’t remember the name of the program, but it was a long time ago and is probably obsolete now anyway. But it helped him learn to tune, gave him pitches to match, showed him chords and rhythms, etc. He already played piano, so he had that going for him. But I think it was helpful having a visual and audible example to help.</p>
<p>After 2 months, when he’d finished the program and showed us how serious he was, we found him a teacher. She said he’d done an excellent job teaching himself acoustic, and therefore, she’d like to teach him classical. He took lessons for 2 years, and still plays, 12 years later.</p>
<p>Re: acoustic versus classical: It’s really up to you, but here are a few thoughts:</p>
<p>I personally would be inclined to pursue both - very different techniques but each of course require finger independence and strength. The fret board is wider in classical, which is in some ways more forgiving and in other ways more challenging to develop reach/speed/etc. (I am not exactly a musician but I did first learn on classical as a child, which made me seem much better than I really was playing rock later on electric )</p>
<p>My friend, who is a high level classical player, first learned contemporary on an electric guitar no less. He had to go away for several months during his Masters to reinvent his technique because he had carried forward a few bad habits and caused a repetitive stress injury. He would now tell you to learn classical first to train your technique if you want to play classical later.</p>
<p>Acoustic/roots style/folk is a little different, uses a different kind of strength (eg, finger strength for hammerons, etc.). Many people learn this way – it’s gratifying to be able to chord out and accompany a song, etc. You can move to jazz from here, but really, jazz makes more sense to me on an electric guitar. To me, it’s a different kind of strength to nail jazz chords/barring etc.</p>
<p>So I guess the best answer rests with what kind of instrument you have now and what kind of music you are most serious about. I strongly recommend though using a teacher, at least in the beginning, to secure your foundation in terms of form.</p>
<p>Our daughter tried acoustic/folk/jazz and even electric bass, but very quickly moved to classical, with a nylon string classical guitar made by Alvarez that cost $100. This guitar had a nice sound, but sure did require a lot of strength and work for her fingers. Her teacher, who is quite discerning about guitar quality, actually was impressed and said that that hard work really built up her strength.</p>
<p>Her first teacher claimed to be teaching “classical” but it wasn’t. It was more like finger picking. By the time she got to a really excellent teacher, he said she had done very well considering, but what she had learned was like “tennis without a backhand” or “being in a canoe without a paddle.” You get the idea.</p>
<p>She unlearned and relearned, and the new teacher got her onto the etudes very quickly (Sor, Carcassi, etc.) She has been playing for maybe 8 years now.</p>
<p>After maybe 2 or 3 years, she used babysitting money to purchase a luthier-made guitar. The luthier kept his eyes out for used guitars that came to him for repairs, and tailored one for her. Quite costly, but what a difference.</p>
<p>Her teacher also plays jazz professionally (as well as classical) but we know little about jazz guitar!</p>
<p>One other thing: she ran into some reverse snobbery when initially trying to find a teacher for acoustic (as opposed to classical) and some didn’t read music, and used tablature.</p>
<p>In a long story turned short, I started with electric and have moved to jazz and classical. I think that the latter styles are a lot harder to start off with, they require considerable technique, especially classical and a deep knowledge of music theory. and jazz requires the ability to improvise, comp, play melodies etc. without a lot of guidelines, you’ll never play a tune the same way each time. For just learning how to play the guitar, folk/rock etc. would be the best in my opinion, getting a basic understanding of the instrument, the common chords, etc. It’s best to start with an " easy" style of music when you first start an instrument, to get your bearings. and see where it takes you</p>
<p>No that is an excellent place to start, it goes over notes, rhythms, scales, positions, chords etc. it’s very comprehensive and is applicable to all kinds of music</p>
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