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Should You Learn on an Acoustic or Electric Guitar?
Based on
my experience, the short answer is electric. Here's the exception:
If a person loves the acoustic guitar and only wants to play
acoustic guitar music, or the acoustic guitar is all that a person
has the option of playing, I would recommend she/he learns to play
on an acoustic guitar.
Learning how to play the guitar
involves complex motor skills and is a physically demanding
instrument in itself – Why not make it a little easier on yourself
if you can? You can always play acoustic guitar after first learning
on an electric guitar.
Electric guitars are easier to play
because they usually use lighter strings and the action (the
distance from the string to the fretboard) is usually lower on
electric guitars. Also, many people have the goal of playing a style
of music that sounds better when it's played on an electric guitar.
For kids, and those of us with smaller bodies, (women) an
electric guitar may fit better because it's a smaller instrument.
Yes, there are a few smaller-sized acoustic guitars out there (I use
a small Yamaha guitar in my YouTube videos:
www.youtube.com/leadcatpress ) but they don't sound as good as a
full-size acoustic, and the action is still higher than on an
electric guitar.
Many folks living in apartments or sharing
houses with other people play electric guitar because they can
practice more quietly on an electric guitar, either unplugged, or
with headphones plugged into their amplifier. Of course, if you
decide to go electric, you will need not only the guitar, but an
amplifier and a cable to connect the guitar to the amplifier.
Regardless if you chose to play electric or acoustic guitar, I
encourage you to purchase a guitar from a music store. That way, if
it needs any adjustments, you can take it back to the store to have
them repair the guitar. (A lot of times they do that for free.) Here
in Seattle, I recommend that students visit American Music in
Fremont or Emerald City Guitars in Pioneer Square.
One more
thing - Make sure that you buy a guitar that you really dig, not
just one that is on sale. You are going to spend a lot of time with
your guitar, so you want to have a guitar that you find attractive
and you can really love playing.
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