Thinking about learning and buying an acoustic guitar (after 35 years of keyboards)…

[Sundown]

Hey all,

 

My musical tastes have broadened very rapidly, and I don’t think I can achieve my musical goals with just keyboards. I’ve known that deep down for a while as music that is 100% synthetic never sounds as good as music that blends “real” instruments with synths. For the few compositions I’ve done I find that they always improve sonically with a few electric or acoustic guitar parts, no matter how brief.

 

My music theory is strong but I don’t know how well that will translate to guitar. The idea that four intervals are perfect fourths and one is a major third is really strange to me. But maybe it would be strange to a guitar player that adjacent white keys can be a whole step or a half step, depending on location/note choice.

 

I’ll probably borrow one of my brother’s old guitars to try it, as I don’t think buying one outright is a great idea. I may try it and not like it at all. But I certainly love the sound.

 

I’ve watched some videos on chords, etc. and my intent would be to learn online and by trial and error. With my job, kids, etc. I don’t think lessons or a teacher would be practical right now. But perhaps down the road I can find a good teacher. I would want someone who can speak theory and build on what I know (maybe a jazz teacher).

 

If I do choose to get an instrument, I’m thinking it will be an acoustic guitar with an embedded mic for convenience of recording. I can of course mic it as well, but for a quick setup or to lay down a part, it’s hard to beat the convenience of a built-in jack. I believe this is called an “acoustic-electric” guitar.

 

Price-wise, guitars obviously aren’t cheap. I don’t want to spend more than a thousand right now, so hopefully I can find something comfortable in that segment.

 

Any tips, thoughts, or suggestions for learning another instrument (other than being patient and persistent)? If I can learn to play triads with inversions, seventh chords, some harmonics, and some picked/muted melodies, I think it will really enhance my songs.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Todd

 

 

 

 

[Shamanzarek]

These days you don't have spend a thousand dollars or more to get a good playing guitar. Yamaha guitars are very good for beginners and entry level models start at around $200. Also brands such as Alvarez, Blueridge, Eastman, Epiphone, Seagull, A&L, and others make guitars that are relatively inexpensive but play as well as some higher end guitars.

[pinkfloydcramer]

I think you would enjoy that thoroughly, because I am, myself. In high school I learned enough guitar to accompany a good bluegrass banjo player but other than a short term infatuation with learning electric, I hadn't played since. Until a year ago, when I picked up a decent Yamaha acoustic (A3m). I have had a blast recovering my "boom-chuck" skills, playing those old fiddle tunes, and inventing new chords without the aid of a Mel Bay book. I agree that Yamaha is the way to go for "bang for the buck". The A3m has very good onboard electronics including condenser mic modeling. I do struggle with stretching my fingers to cover some barre chords on the dreadnaught, perhaps I will at some point try a slightly smaller guitar. 

 

I have found that learning guitar is so much more easy and fun when you know the music, know what you are trying to play. Good luck!

[Nowarezman]

I'm self-taught on acoustic guitar.  Started when I was a freshman in a dorm - my roomie had a Martin D-28 that he never played and he was fine with me playing it all I wanted (he spent all his time at his girlfriend's).   So I just started picking out the notes from songs I liked - James Taylor, Leo Kottke, Donovan, Beatles, and a little bit of Doc Watson, slowed way down.  My grade point average was really bad that first year, but I made big strides on guitar

 

It takes a lot of time, starting on acoustic guitar.  First hurdle is that your fingertips hurt until you build callouses.  Then you have to decide to use a pick and strum, or fingerpick, or attempt both.  I stuck with fingerpicking - never bothered to get good with a pick. 

 

After you get the big open string "cowboy chords" down, you have to cross the big Rubicon of barre chords, where you use the first finger of your left hand to hold down all six strings, then place the other fingers to make the various chord shapes.  This also will probably cause a bit of pain - and lots of beginners give up right at this point.  It can be done!  You just have to persist.

 

The big problem with being self-taught is that you inevitably build some bad habits that can become quite entrenched and eventually serve as a barrier to further progress.  Just a few lessons with a good teacher can help you avoid the more common bad techniques.  

 

My bad habits were:

 

1 - pressing the strings too hard with my left hand.  Eventually this led to carpal tunnel!  And it always hindered my speed and smoothness.  Eventually I switched to a classical guitar, eased up the pressure, and sort of had to start over once the carpal tunnel healed via surgery.  (Yes, surgery!).  

 

2 - trying to play too fast too soon.  This is universal mistake, I think.  

 

3 -  never warming up or stretching a bit before playing. 

 

4 -  just playing the same old things over and over a gazillion times.  This is a good problem to have in that you have to just love playing to fall into this bad habit.  And I love playing anytime, all the time.  But I have to force myself to progress and not just indulge my favorites.

 

Best o'luck - there are a lot of good YouTube channels with acoustic guitar lessons.  Nothing's as good as a good, in-the-flesh teacher, but if I had had YouTube in the 70s, I would have gotten a lot further a lot sooner and maybe even skipped the carpal tunnel. 

 

nat

 

 

 

[RABid]

If you were in college I would tell you to buy an acoustic, take it to the dorm, play a few chords and wait for other guitarists to show up and offer to show you a few things. That is the nature of guitar. It is a very social instrument. Luckily there are also a lot of free lessons online and on iPad. Gearfest used to be a good time to find a good deal. Ibanez, Yamaha, Alvarez and others make good budget guitars. Stay away from nylon strings. Start with a regular 6 string steel strings guitar. By the way, I found my ability to read piano music very handy when learning to play guitar. 

[KenElevenShadows]

On 6/24/2023 at 10:22 AM, Shamanzarek said:

These days you don't have spend a thousand dollars or more to get a good playing guitar. Yamaha guitars are very good for beginners and entry level models start at around $200. Also brands such as Alvarez, Blueridge, Eastman, Epiphone, Seagull, A&L, and others make guitars that are relatively inexpensive but play as well as some higher end guitars.

 

I don't have any advice for learning how to play guitar if you are a keyboardist. I just began playing by ear and doing it. Sometimes, I would work out parts by playing the guitar, and sometimes, I would work out melodies on keyboards first and then figure it out on guitar. I never got hung up on whether I was "playing a guitar like a keyboard" (whatever that means) or anything else as long as it sounded cool.

 

For inexpensive guitars, I like Seagull and Yamaha, and will add that you can get a Washburn acoustic for not very much money, and they can be excellent guitars.

 

I hope this helps.

[Stokely]

I had a Yamaha 200s (I think that was the model) for years, a laminated side spruce top that was great for the money.  The action was a little high but I ended up giving it to my niece instead of (arguably) paying the worth of the guitar to have that adjusted.   I decided I HAD TO HAVE an all solid wood guitar but didn't want to pay big bank, and heard a lot about Eastmans being a great value, so I ended up getting an E1D and I'm really happy with it.   Eastmans are made in China, handcrafted.
 

 

[GovernorSilver]

For learning online, I like https://www.pickupmusic.com/

 

It's subscription-based at reasonably (imo) priced rates.  They offer Beginner and Intermediate Learning Paths, each several weeks long, although you're more than welcome to progress at your own pace.  

 

The extra value that they offer compared to other online guitar instruction services, imo:

 

1. At the end of each grade, you have the opportunity to submit a video of your playing and get feedback from a pro guitarist.  The feedback will come in the form of a video that the guitarist will make for you, and only for you.   No extra charge for this.

 

2. A group class is offered practically every week, usually with a choice of 2 different time slots.  You can ask questions in realtime on chat or on video, and even play and get feedback on your playing.   Also no extra charge for this.

[Nowarezman]

My first two acoustics were made by Alvarez - very good value in the $300 - $400 range.

 

nat

 

[Sundown]

Thanks for the advice everyone. My brother is going to loan me his original Yamaha and I’m going to put some fresh strings on it and give it a go. He recommended a Taylor CE214 if I decide to take the plunge (about $1,100 locally). If I do decide to buy I’ll go and see what feels right within my range.

 

Todd

[Dave Bryce]

I also picked guitar up after years of keys.  Started with acoustic a while back, now I’m into the electric side as well.

 

Can’t recommend it enough.  If your experience is like mine, it’ll even change the way you approach keyboard playing.

 

dB

[Sundown]

20 hours ago, Dave Bryce said:

 

 If your experience is like mine, it’ll even change the way you approach keyboard playing.

 

dB

 

I suspect the same, Dave. Anything that breaks us out of existing paradigms, habits, and patterns is a good thing.

 

Todd

[jazzpiano88]

This came over the transom a few weeks ago an makes me want to play.   Jamese's solo arrangement of this song is simply amazing.  He makes it look effortless and the accompaniment is pretty much the definition of perfection IMO.     The guitar is an Olson, which I'm not familiar with.

 

This would be an excellent project for transcription and learning it.   And as dB says, lots of insights would probably follow as a piano player.

 

 

[Greg Mein]

To learn guitar you really need to start with the "open", often referred to as cowboy, chords; major E, A, D, G, C, F, Minor E, A, D and 7th chord shapes. Obviously there are 1000's of songs derived from just those. As you progress you take some of those shapes and learn to play barre chords but if you're just interested in chord accompaniment you can cheat quite a bit by just using a capo.

 

[Stokely]

I made pretty good progress with the cowboy chords, and using barre chords (though more on electric).

One simple exercise I saw on youtube...just kind of randomly switch chords as you strum, using all the chords you know.  Obviously this won't be a song   Do it slowly enough so that you can cleanly form each chord, and that might be very slow at first.  Over time you speed up.

The thing I noticed with guitar as an aged beginner myself--it's been too long since I was at this stage with keyboards, and I was young in any case which means you learn things fast as ****--it can be easy to think you aren't getting anywhere.  You think back to last week and feel like you are making no progress, or even backsliding.  For one thing, your hand and fingers can hurt!   However, when you get a couple/few months out and look back, you'll realize you've made amazing progress.  It's just slow, especially compared to how fast you can do things on keyboards.

My biggest issue with guitar is that the "2d" nature of the fretboard hurts my brain.   I'm used to "left is down in pitch; right is up!"     Now you have, right and/or away from you is up, left and/or towards you is down.  And don't get me started on the damn B string being a different interval, I mean whose idea was that?!