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It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

adamharkus.com

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Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#221

Post by Sohcahtoa82 »

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…

> - 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.

Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#222

Post by eternalvision »

Congratulations to Adam Harkus and to "adamlovesgin". This was the post that broke the camel's back. I am going to leave earth now because of this article. I'm jaded from the endless harassment. Good job to Palantir and others for the wonderful weapons you've built. See you in hell, possibly. Bye!

Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#223

Post by wambotron »

SwellJoe wrote: post #211
wambotron wrote: post #209

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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).

Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#224

Post by pcsanwald »

telekid wrote: post #85
sp821543 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Great job! Here are some other great books for you: J.S. Bach - Six Cello Suites (transcribed for guitar) Jim Hall - Exploring Jazz Guitar Joe Pass - Virtuoso (find transcription(s) or do it yourself) Gene Bertoncini - Approaching the Guitar

Thanks! I'll be sure to look for these.

There's also Mick Goodrick's masterpiece, "The Advancing Guitarist". which is still probably the single most inspirational guitar specific book I've ever read. I've had it for 25 years and still find it inspiring to look at.

Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#225

Post by vondur »

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 learned on a cheap (sub $100) strat copy. I was only 14, so I didn't know any better. What I did know is that I wanted to learn to play Iron Maiden songs, and it worked.

Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#226

Post by throwaway14159 »

cousin_it wrote: post #6

Warning! If you're middle-aged and thinking of picking up the guitar, you should realize that the public image of guitarists has shifted from "sexy gods" to "annoying hobos" sometime in the last two decades. If you are at least partly motivated by popularity (and who isn't), maybe pick another hobby that actually helps people be popular now, not in your imagined past. So in a sense, yes, it is sometimes too late :-(

Sadly, also true for emacs...

Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#227

Post by pcsanwald »

probably_wrong wrote: post #161

Since there are so many guitar players in this thread, I'll go ahead and ask The One Question that pushed me away from playing (and keeps me away): How do you know what to do with your right hand? Most books I've (admittedly, casually) read and most tabs on the internet are surprisingly silent about this.

The jazz guitar form of bikeshedding is discussing right hand picking technique. There is endless amounts of discussion on consecutive picking, alternate picking, sweep picking, gypsy picking, benson picking, etc.

Have a look at Tuck Andress' take on this to get a flavor: https://www.tuckandpatti.com/pick-finger_tech.shtml

Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#228

Post by asteli »

baby wrote: post #198
fastbeef wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

+1 on getting good gear from day 1. Being a "guitar guy" people always ask me to recommend a starting kit when their kids are starting to play. I always tell them, look, spend twice as much as a crappy beginner set on a decent used Fender + decent amp. This will make playing much more fun and the chance that they will continue to play is much higher and if they don't catch the bug? No biggie, sell it for the same amo…

I have a different take, I always advise people to get the cheapest guitar they can find, a second hand one if possible (because for the price you'll get better quality). I've bought guitars for 50$ that were really good guitar for myself, so I can't see why you wouldn't be able to start with that.

If you're a novice (or a well meaning parent), it's difficult to know the difference between a functional instrument and a 'toy' version, and it's easy to end up with something that's barely functional that causes you to discount the entire sport/instrument as "not for me."

This happened to me with skating. $35 Wal-Mart board, 2x as thick and heavy, junk bearings and wheels. When I stood on it and it barely rolled, I decided skating wasn't my thing.

So I suppose the lesson is: if you're serious, have someone who knows what a guitar is supposed to feel and play like if you're going to pick one up used. I've bought a 30$ electric that I still own and play, and a $100 one that was total junk because I hadn't handled enough guitars at the time to know better.

Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#229

Post by xsmasher »

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.

Data point: I bought a used mandolin on craigslist for my first instrument; it had such a high action that it was literally unplayable unless you were a robot with clamps for hands, but I didn't know know that because I was a newbie.

Re: It's Never Too Late to Learn Guitar

#230

Post by tabtab »

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…

Re: "If you put in the effort, you can be playing something musical in a few months..."

Months?! With an auto-harp, one can be playing in an hour. Auto-harp is instant gratification; I just wish it had a fuller sound. Inventors, work on that.

I tried learning guitar from Youtube vids, and my fingers were sore. They don't bend that way, at least not without pain. Will the pain go away? I'm not young.

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