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It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

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Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#211

Post by SwellJoe »

wambotron wrote: post #209
SwellJoe wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#212

Post by c54 »

beat wrote: post #41

As someone who has been playing for 35 years or so, here are some observations... First and foremost, guitar is a pretty straightforward instrument for beginners. There's a reason it's the most popular instrument in the world. If you put in the effort, you can be playing something musical in a few months, and proficient in basic folk/rock music in a couple of years. It doesn't take "talent". It just takes effort. Som…

I’m left handed but also in the possession of a regular guitar, I’ve half gotten into it a couple times and can play the basic letter chords and do some progressions etc.

Is it worth while to get a lefty guitar? Will picking ability limit me in a big way? I have noticed that being rhythmic in licking with my right hand can be tricky, but I figured it’s something I can learn through...

Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#213

Post by flavio81 »

ralmeida wrote: post #102
DanHulton wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is involved in getting your guitar "set up" anyway? I'm looking to get back into learning the guitar I bought a few years ago, and I mean it sounded fine to me when I brought it out to check on it, after a tuning, of course.

Basically: intonation and action. I'll explain. Guitars are made of wood, an organic material, which is very susceptible to environment changes (humidity and temperature). So, after time passes, the wood may expand or contract, which changes the physical parameters of the guitar. There are two forces at play: when tuned, the strings exert force pulling the fretboard "up". In most guitars, there's a long screw inside…

Great post, just to add some info:

The 'screw' that counterbalances the pulling force on the neck exerted by the strings is the "truss rod" which sits inside the neck (on an electric guitar and some acoustics); this rod is adjustable.

This adjustment influences the 'action'. But the 'action' is also set by the bridge saddles' height, which is adjustable. Most often this height is adjustable independently for each string.

Each time the action is changed (raised or lowered), intonation should be adjusted again, accordingly.

It sounds very complex but it isn't, it just takes a bit of patience and experience (for making a good judgement of what an ideal action would be).

To be honest, much more laborious and difficult is to tune a drum set so it sounds great. There are more adjustment points...

Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#214

Post by flavio81 »

billconan wrote: post #158
marsrover wrote: post #18

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 h…

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

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!

Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#215

Post by flavio81 »

francisofascii wrote: post #10

I tried picking up a guitar this past week, and was overwhelmed. Just playing a basic chord was a struggle. How do you get your figure to press down just right on the string and not interfere with another. Amazed by people who can play effortlessly. The post encouraged me to try again. 15 min a day sounds like a reasonable practicing goal.

> How do you get your figure to press down just right on the string and not interfere with another.

The main secret is: Press just behind the fret. This will give the cleanest sound with the less amount of pressure.

Also, you need good ergonomics. Your wrist should never feel ackward; it should be as straight and relaxed as possible. This often needs wearing the guitar with a strap, and with the guitar hanging high (as most bass players do), rather than low as in most music videos (because it looks so cool to have the guitar hanging low...)

Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#216

Post by flavio81 »

c54 wrote: post #212
beat wrote: post #41

As someone who has been playing for 35 years or so, here are some observations... First and foremost, guitar is a pretty straightforward instrument for beginners. There's a reason it's the most popular instrument in the world. If you put in the effort, you can be playing something musical in a few months, and proficient in basic folk/rock music in a couple of years. It doesn't take "talent". It just takes effort. Som…

I’m left handed but also in the possession of a regular guitar, I’ve half gotten into it a couple times and can play the basic letter chords and do some progressions etc. Is it worth while to get a lefty guitar? Will picking ability limit me in a big way? I have noticed that being rhythmic in licking with my right hand can be tricky, but I figured it’s something I can learn through...

> Is it worth while to get a lefty guitar?

If electric, you can just use the regular "righty" guitar, just fit the strings accordingly. Jimi Hendrix, probably the most famous electric guitar player ever, did this way. He was a lefty. If you haven't seen him on video, please do it right now. Your mind will be blown!

If acoustic, they are often totally symmetrical, so no difference.

> I have noticed that being rhythmic in licking with my right hand can be tricky, but I figured it’s something I can learn through...

I think lefties are more likely to be able to play guitar "ambidextrously", an impressive sight.

The rhythmic hand (strumming hand) is the most difficult to train, IMO. Pressing the frets is learned way quicker than picking properly.

Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#217

Post by pcsanwald »

zwieback wrote: post #182
pcsanwald wrote: post #151

I've been a professional guitarist since I was a teenager, and switched to upright bass about 3 years ago (I'm 40). The biggest advantages to learning as an adult is on average you are going to have money to pay for lessons and a decent instrument, and are probably going to be more organized in terms of practicing and all that. The disadvantages are that it's harder to network and find others at your level to play wi…

Straight to upright or did you play bass guitar first? I started playing upright in addition to bass guitar and it's a lot of fun but a lot of relearning as well.

I played electric bass for 6 months or so, then rented an upright for 6 months, and then bought an upright. I've been playing about 3.5 years, there's a recording of me here: http://paulsanwald.com/music

Definitely a lot of learning for me, particularly regarding the bow. I went through the George Vance books and they were helpful with the basics.

I was able to start playing professionally on it pretty quickly, though, played my first gig on upright after 6 months of playing. But things like higher thumb positions and soloing with the bow (I'm a jazz musician) are very much a work in progress. Luckily, in jazz you can get a long way just knowing a couple positions.

Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#218

Post by ralmeida »

flavio81 wrote: post #213
ralmeida wrote: post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Basically: intonation and action. I'll explain. Guitars are made of wood, an organic material, which is very susceptible to environment changes (humidity and temperature). So, after time passes, the wood may expand or contract, which changes the physical parameters of the guitar. There are two forces at play: when tuned, the strings exert force pulling the fretboard "up". In most guitars, there's a long screw inside…

Great post, just to add some info: The 'screw' that counterbalances the pulling force on the neck exerted by the strings is the "truss rod" which sits inside the neck (on an electric guitar and some acoustics); this rod is adjustable. This adjustment influences the 'action'. But the 'action' is also set by the bridge saddles' height, which is adjustable. Most often this height is adjustable independently for each str…

Good point, forgot to mention the name of the truss rod and the saddle height - which is arguably the most influential parameter in overall action.

I also second the opinion that it's quite approachable if you're patient and methodical.

Another tip (to _keep_ the setup working) would be to have the guitar professionally set up, then carefully measuring and writing down the parameters, so they can be reproduced later.

The hardest one is neck relief, but even this can be approached in a reproducible way by pressing the first and last frets on a string and measuring space left at the 12th fret with a "feeler gauge" or some other width reference (credit cards, stacked sheets of paper, etc).

Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#219

Post by pcsanwald »

fenwick67 wrote: post #173
pcsanwald wrote: post #151

I've been a professional guitarist since I was a teenager, and switched to upright bass about 3 years ago (I'm 40). The biggest advantages to learning as an adult is on average you are going to have money to pay for lessons and a decent instrument, and are probably going to be more organized in terms of practicing and all that. The disadvantages are that it's harder to network and find others at your level to play wi…

Yeah it's been a real struggle for me to find people to play with as an adult. It's hard to find adults who aren't either A. really good, B. really bad, or C. too busy

I honestly think the best thing to do is to take lessons, and ask your teacher if they have other students who'd like to play with you.

You can also go to jam sessions if you live in an area that has a good music scene; I live in SF and there are regular jam sessions for bluegrass/jazz/folk/country/blues nearby. But, the thing about jam sessions is that you have to be able to play at a certain level to really enjoy them.

I think honestly the best solution is one that almost no one takes: hire really good musicians to play with you. When I was in music school, I had a professor that would literally say: "For all the money y'all pay in tuition, you would play better if you took that money and hired $famous_drummer and $famous_bassist to come play trio with you at your house".

Obviously if you are a beginner you don't need to hire the best people in town, but most professional musicians in this day and age are going to be happy for a gig like this.

Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#220

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

baby wrote: post #208
beat wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ugh, no! I love a good bargain guitar myself, but I can also tell what's a diamond in the rough, versus what's just bad. I can tell what repairs are needed, etc. A lot of cheap guitars are unplayable, and can never be made to play well and sound good, no matter how much effort you put into them. Just because usable cheap guitars exist does not mean that all, or even many cheap guitars are usable.

> A lot of cheap guitars are unplayable I don't think that's true for a beginner who can't really tell the difference, and I think that's also a discouraging sentence for people who are wondering if they should try learning guitar.

> I don't think that's true for a beginner who can't really tell the difference

Yup. My first (and only!) guitar is an Ibanez Gio. I paid $55 for it and a practice amp. The amp sounded like garbage, but piped through a $100 Peavey Vyper or through Rocksmith and it sounds pretty good.

But I'm an extreme noob. I imagine an experienced player could pick up on all the shitty sounds it produces. The only time I ever notice it sounding bad is when the strings need replacing and the pitch of a note wobbles all over the place and they go out of tune in 15 minutes of playing.

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