Learning a musical instrument - esp. the Guitar

[Raistlin]

Evening all

Quick question for anybody that teaches an instrument, or has learned an instrument or might be learning an instrument at the moment. (especially the guitar).

How does the quality of the instrument affect the learning process?

What I mean by that is this:

If you are teaching someone to play an instrument would you normally find that they learn more easily with a better quality of instrument? Does playing (or learning to play) on a cheaper, possibly less well constructed, instrument make any difference?

If you're learning (or have learned) what difference do you think the quality of the instrument you're playing makes?

[Maggy J]

Well as a teacher I've observed with school students using borrowed instruments at the start of a course it's more about WANTING to learn as about the instrument.

How quickly they come to blame the instrument depends entirely on their actual ability.

[Graham M]

Having an instrument which matches the playing style you intend to learn definitely helps, I've been playing the guitar since I was 8 (still not that great at it but still) and I would say going from a cheaper instrument to a quality instrument (if we are talking electric, the amp definitely is a factor as well) you definitely notice the difference . Still it still can be said that there is no problem with a cheap package from Argos for example would do for a complete beginner.

And as Maggy says, it's as much as wanting to learn the instrument as anything else

[danielf]

Funnily enough. I just brought my guitar down from the loft and was going to have another go at trying to master it. In response to your question: It seems to me that if you're as crap at it as I am (or of my age even), the quality of the instrument doesn't make any difference. It's all about dexterity (and your pain tolerance; your finger tips will get sore from the strings cutting into them), and the quality of the instrument is not going to affect that one bit.

[Angua]

Always a good idea to borrow or use a cheap version to start with. Then if you get on with the lessons and progress well get a better instrument. Decent instruments cost an arm & a leg so only worth it if you have a reasonable talent or are dedicated and determined.

The basics are the key and the quality of instrument will not make you sound better if you cannot master them.

[Mr Angry]

Tip 1:

Learn on a decent mid priced acoustic (there are some perfectly good Fenders around for under £150.00 which will give years of service & enjoyment).

Tip 2:

Stick rigidly to the rudiments of hand exercise, positioning and standard tunings / scales as bad habits are hard to break once acquired.

Tip 3:

Play a little every day.

[mart44]

I think a poor quality guitar can be an off-putter when learning. With inexpensive ones, the strings tend to be too far above the the frets and difficult to push down. Better guitars don't seem to suffer from that, or the height is adjustable. I'm no ace guitarist but once had an opportunity to try out a Fender Stratocaster and a Gibson. They were a lot easier to play than my guitars. Chords seemed to fall into place.

I bought an Spanish guitar for £20-00 from a customer many years ago. An artistic friend decorated it as a birthday present. I spent some time lowering the strings and got to prefer it to an Epiphone that I have. Don't play either much now but they make good decorations.

Epiphone
Spanish guitar

[Graham M]

Yeah Mart is quite right, some cheap guitars are mass produced with a very high action and sometimes it can be difficult/impossible to lower to the strings without some major changes, having the strings high above the fretboard obviously makes it quite a lot harder to get the strings to ring and requires quite a lot of pressure.

[Mr Angry]

Originally Posted by mart44

I think a poor quality guitar can be an off-putter when learning. With inexpensive ones, the strings tend to be too far above the the frets and difficult to push down. Better guitars don't seem to suffer from that, or the height is adjustable. I'm no ace guitarist but once had an opportunity to try out a Fender Stratocaster and a Gibson. They were a lot easier to play than my guitars. Chords seemed to fall into place.

I bought an Spanish guitar for £20-00 from a customer many years ago. An artistic friend decorated it as a birthday present. I spent some time lowering the strings and got to prefer it to an Epiphone that I have. Don't play either much now but they make good decorations.

Epiphone
Spanish guitar

I have both a strat and a Les Paul and, as you say, chords do fall into place - hence my earlier reference to rudiments. It is too easy to develop bad / lazy habits when playing / learning to play on these types of guitars (especially where digital processing effects and amplification are concerned).

I'm quite a competent player (over 30 years) but I know myself that had I learned on an acoustic as opposed to an electric the value of my having done so would have been clear.

An acoustics action (string height from fretboard) is an important factor in building strength, dexterity, speed and accuracy of the fingering hand. Viable alternatives to an adjustable action are the Planet Waves varigrip tool.

NERD ALERT!!!

Pictured below are my custom Boss pedal board PSM5, NS2, DD3, RV2, PH3, CS3, MZ2, DC3 TU12 running in two loops and both my "babies" at rest in the studio.

The strat is an '87 which has been custom fitted with a Floyd Rose, two Seymour Duncan Alnico proII's (neck and middle) with a Seymour Duncan hotrails in the bridge position. She is also fitted with Schaller M6 locking machineheads as I didn't want to ruin the overall asthetic of the guitar by fitting the Floyd Rose locking nut. She's custom wired using phase / parallel push pull pots and a Jackson custom five way switch which more or less covers every permutation available. She was custom wired by Peter Dawson with build assistance and advice from Matt Davies at Fender.

The Les Paul is pretty much a bog standard studio edition with gold hardware - put together in Nashville in '98.

[Angua]

Often those who learn on an electric guitar don't use all of their fingers. Where classical training on an acoustic gives a better grounding in the basics and uses all the fingers properly. (Eldest brother teaches classical guitar). Many of the best rock guitarists were classically trained & so have a wider skill base.

[Raistlin]

Originally Posted by Mr Angry

[...]NERD ALERT!!!

Pictured below are my custom Boss pedal board PSM5, NS2, DD3, RV2, PH3, CS3, MZ2, DC3 TU12 running in two loops and both my "babies" at rest in the studio.[...]

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why would you do that to me?



I have a genuine problem with guitars in that as well as having had a real passion to learn how to play one properly since I was about 17 (but never having had the time or money since then for lessons) I also have a thing about them from an aesthetic point of view. They're a thing of beauty as far as I'm concerned.

I've wanted a Gibson LP (in the 'Tobacco' sunburst that they do) and a 'blonde' Telecaster for as long as I can remember, but I've made a deal with myself that I can only have one once I've learned how to play 'properly' (note that the definition of 'properly' is sufficiently vague that I can go out and buy one if I manage to justify it to myself ).

Seeing pictures of beautiful, well cared for, guitars in a studio setting isn't helping my resolve any

[Graham M]

I'll get you a photo of my guitars at some point, nothing as exciting as Mr Angry's but still And very nice they are too Mr A

[Raistlin]

You'll be in trouble if you do (well.....one of us will be ).....

[Maggy J]

Oh fer goodness sake Rob buy what you really want to buy and get on with it..

I can see this becoming a guitar pron thread at this rate..

[dilligaf1701]

And to think i only learnt to play the flute.... Those guitars look nice