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Choosing The Guitar

May 13, 2011 Music
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As promised, here’s a post about the guitar I’m going to order! I’ve done a bit of research and apparently Squier is a branch of Fender that’s specifically designed to provide guitars to beginners. They are relatively cheap but still look good – I can’t tell the difference between the Squier and the Fender – although I’m sure there is a difference in sound and tone. As my friend pointed out, until I’m good enough to recognise the differences in tone between instruments there really is no point paying a lot of money for an expensive one!

In the package I also got an amp and tuner. The amp is just a small model that should be fine for practicing while I get going. I think I’m going to have to lower my expectations even further though –I’m definitely not going to be at the standard of playing in a band for a while.

The next step is to start finding some learning materials. I like to self teach, but I’m thinking a guitar teacher might be a good idea to start with just until I get the basics sorted. Definitely don’t want to get into bad habits so early on, although lessons are quite expensive. There are a lot of good lessons online so I’ll probably start with those while I’m looking for a good teacher.

Start Of A Guitar Journey

May 10, 2011 Music
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I want to start playing guitar but it’s going to be a long process! I think the problem is that everyone these days is used to playing guitar hero, where after a few hours of practice you can bang out tunes like you’re a pro. The real thing is obviously a lot herder – something which I found out when I was at a friend’s the other day – but I’m going to give it a go and see how far I get.

I think the hardest part about learning an instrument is the increased expectations you have when you’ve played a game like guitar hero. It’s better to think of it as a challenge – if it was really that easy then the guitarists we all idolize wouldn’t be anything special. OK, so I might never be the next Steve Vai – but I’d be satisfied with being able to play some of his tunes!

In the next post I’ll talk about which guitar I decide to buy. It’s difficult because I naturally want to go for a really expensive model – I’ve got my eye on the Gibson Les Paul Studio – but there’s no way I can justify getting that yet. I’ll probably go for one of the starter packages but I’ll let you know how I get on with searching in a few days.