I've always wanted to play the guitar. My 18 year old son has started taking guitar again after about 5 years of not, and he bought himself a new Fender Telecaster Player recently.

So for Mother's Day, I got an entry level Fender Acoustic, and I am using the Fender Play program to try to learn.

And you know what? It's HARD! I had no idea. At least with the piano, you hit the note and the note sounds, and the tips of your fingers don't hurt!

Just sayin'.

So far I'm on a practice streak since I got the guitar (remember MOYD at ABF?)

Excited for you..

And I remember the sore fingers trying too. You desire to practice and can't. Grrr.....

This was years ago for me and I gave up.

Hope you can develop the callases or whatever it takes to continue. I often wish I had.

Is nylon string easier for beginners, finger pain wise?


Also remind me what MOYD was. I think I used to know.

I would love to play guitar as well. String instruments in general just elude me. There's something about having to contort your fingers into extremely unnatural positions - I just can't. LL#2 has become very good and during the boredom of our recent power outage, I asked him to show me how to play something on his acoustic. We got through like 3 chords that involved 2 strings each and I had had enough. Maybe someday.... :-) Good luck to you - I hope you are able to ignore the finger pain and stick with it!

I've thought about doing that for years, but I never had any follow-through. Good for you!

The guitar is too hard for my fingers, but the ukulele is not. I am enjoying that immensely.

quote:

Originally posted by jodi:
The guitar is too hard for my fingers, but the ukulele is not. I am enjoying that immensely.

I joined a ukulele group shortly after I moved to Reno just as a thing to do in my free time. I am enjoying it quite a bit more than I expected.

Haven’t worked my way up to Rachmaninoff yet…

quote:

Originally posted by jon-nyc:
Is nylon string easier for beginners, finger pain wise?


Also remind me what MOYD was. I think I used to know.

Master of your Domain

Edit--inspired by a Seinfeld episode.

I think it was cindy's brainchild--get your butt on the bench every day.

quote:

Originally posted by jon-nyc:
Is nylon string easier for beginners, finger pain wise?

Nylon strings are much easier.

quote:

Originally posted by rustyfingers:
I've always wanted to play the guitar. My 18 year old son has started taking guitar again after about 5 years of not, and he bought himself a new Fender Telecaster Player recently.

So for Mother's Day, I got an entry level Fender Acoustic, and I am using the Fender Play program to try to learn.

And you know what? It's HARD! I had no idea. At least with the piano, you hit the note and the note sounds, and the tips of your fingers don't hurt!

Just sayin'.

So far I'm on a practice streak since I got the guitar (remember MOYD at ABF?)

That's awesome, rf!

I play guitar for at least two to three hours every day. My fingers no longer hurt no matter what I do. I can do a full glissando up and down the neck that would probably actually produce a friction burn for most people and not feel a thing. Your finger tips will cease hurting in a couple to a few weeks depending on your perseverance.

After all these years of dreaming to play a particular piece, knowing full well that I will never do it as well as the original, I have started down the arduous journey of learning "The Clap" by Steve Howe. This piece is so difficult on so many levels. Classical and many other genres and years of mostly self taught, training, has prepared me well enough, but this piece is like a little classical had a secret tryst with a little blues, had a mostly, ragtime baby. lol



The transition from the first chord to the second chord is so brutally difficult, it has made me quit trying to learn this piece on many occasions. I have finally busted through that barrier and although it still gives me grief, it is slowly forming in my muscle memory and eventually it will be like second nature. I have been concentrating on the first few measures for the past 4 days or so. I can muddle through it. Sometimes I even hit the timing and finger placement perfectly, and it actually sounds like what you hear in the video. lol

It is a slow progress instrument just because of the finger dexterity training you have to go through. Finger independence is critical so look for exercises that put emphasis on that aspect.

If you are interested in classical guitar, The Classical Guitar Corner website and podcast is a great resource. Some great freebies there but it steers you toward a subscription like most do. I just really like the creator, Dr. Simon Powis. He has a PHD in Classical Guitar Performance from Yale.

I am always willing to discuss anything guitar related. Just ask!

Quick note--

monkeyfingers has a nylon string acoustic, so I am able to switch off when I need to, and he's never had a steel string acoustic, so we've been swapping liberally.

Plus his nylon string is a little smaller and a little easier for me to hold. I find with the big dreadnought shape the fretboard/headstock flies away from me as I change shapes unless I'm wearing a strap.

The callouses are definitely coming--drawback is that now my typing is much slower because my fingertips aren't as sensitive. It's always something.

Thanks for the encouragement!

I actually played classical guitar before starting piano. I was taking classical guitar lessons in high school when I broke my arm (quite badly). By the time my arm was better I was in college and didn't have time (or didn't know how to make time) for guitar. I took up the classical guitar again years later, in Japan. But without a teacher, I got to a certain point and just could not get past it. I also had a hard time reading the score and being able to play the pieces I wanted to play, in retrospect I think I was just in way over my head and there was probably easier repertoire that could have been a bridge to that more difficult music that I wanted to play.

Randomly, an acquaintance lent me her digital piano. I taught myself how to read the bass clef in a nanosecond, and compared to the guitar music I was struggling with, piano seemed soooo easy (little did I know!) It's funny that I had a hard time reading classical guitar scores, but with the piano I took to it immediately and found reading to be so intuitive and so much easier than reading guitar music. And, as you say, the experience of just hitting the key and having the note sound just amazed me!

Anyway, at that point, I pretty much abandoned the guitar and took up piano (and now here we are!) Had I been playing folk style or with a pick, I suppose I might have continued, but because I was playing classical style (which relies on RH fingernails), I decided I couldn't do both. And it was just so gratifying to play piano and feel like I was instantly progressing. It took several years for me to realize that piano is probably the hardest instrument, but by that time I was more strategic and had been taking lessons, which always makes a huge difference regardless of the instrument.

Anyway, sorry for the threadjack! But you have my sympathies w/ regard to just the mechanics, getting used to the chord positions, getting the fingertips in shape, all of that!

Neverthless, the guitar is a wonderful instrument! Make a video of yourself and share it with us! Even if it's just Twinkle Mary or something!

Arthritis in left hand has all but killed guitar for me. Bought a Uke.

jf

RF, you mentioned the big dreadnought doesn't fit you very well. I would suggest looking at the smaller OM, (Orchestra Model) or even smaller OO and OOO models. All of these "O"'s are Martin Guitar's original model designations. Larrivee and other luthiers adopted this model of designation over the years.

They even make "hybrid" or cross-over guitars that use nylon strings but have narrower nut widths, and a shorter scale. Cordoba has some nice, affordable offering in that arena. Yamaha also. Never discount a Yamaha guitar. They make excellent instruments.

12 fret steel strings typically are smaller body guitars and are somewhat easier to play as you don't have to reach so far to get to the first and second frets. I have a Larrivee OO-40 12 fret, and I absolutely love it. I play it more than the rest of my guitars combined. Mostly because it is sitting right behind me where I work. lol

An OO 12 fret, might just be perfect for you. You should visit a good guitar showroom. There are so many out there. One for every budget as well.

Pay attention to the nut width. Some people prefer narrow and some wide. Coming froma classical with a 2" nut, to a steel string with 1 3/4" nut is pretty dramatic. I used to transition to a 1 11/16" nut from a 2" and it was seriously cramped. I actually sold that guitar for that reason alone. I loved that guitar otherwise.

You wouldn't think that such a small measurement would make such a difference in feel, but it does.

What ever you do, don’t fret about it!

Your fingers will get used to it and strengthen over time.

During the cold weather months, be sure to apply a skin moisturizer to your hands. You don’t want to get the guitar strings bloody.

If you live in a big city, see if there are any group adult beginner guitar lessons available. It’s more fun, I think, to play in a group.

Playing a piano requires you to read two staffs of music simultaneously. A guitar does not but there is a “tablature”. If you don’t know what a tablature is, you’re going to find out.

I play a bass guitar and I like it. Not quite good enough yet to be up on a stage playing with a band.