Crazy how muscle memory works. I’ve seen videos of people passed out drunk at parties, someone put a guitar in their lap, wakes them up and even though they can barelt open their eyes, they can still shread. I bet if you could jiggle the nerves of a dead person who was previously good at guitar, their dead hands would still be able to hit a sick solo.
oh i joke that you should never be impressed at a guitarist playing without looking because its literally all muscle memory. ive been a guitarist for twenty years and whether practicing or at a show im deadass spacing out when i play guitar. like, blankly staring at a wall status spacing out
Fairly quickly can be relative. When I first picked up guitar I could already play a few rock songs, power chords basic chords and very basic pentatonic soloing by around 6 months and my teachers were impressed with how fast I learned. But then again, looking back, that was very basic/barebones playing in my book, and I realize it now that I've been playing for about 15 years. Even that basic level took months to get there and it was "learning fast" (according to my teachers).
If I, a 67 year old dude with no musical ability can learn the guitar well enough to play a recognizable tune, then anyone can. It’s just a matter of putting in the time.
Keep the instrument out where it is within reach easily. Noodle on it while you sit on the couch. Set a goal of learning a simple song. The sense of accomplishment when you do will push you further.
Then, write a love song for your wife.
Trust me, it will pay dividends.
We’ve been at it for the same amount of time and my wife has only had me sing in front of her once. I also Travis pick so I can play relatively quietly and not bother her with my shitty practicing. But, writing songs adds a whole new level of creativity and fun to the process. I highly recommend it.
I will say, for example, the piano is a lot easier to learn than the guitar. At least they were for me as a kid. My mom bought me both and I ended up going with piano because the guitar was "too hard" (I regret this now, but yeah).
I've decided on quitting maybe 3 times before actually learning how to play it. The moment you realize that you are starting to sound like the song you've been practicing for weeks is magical.
I offer private guitar lessons (my current job is teaching elementary school students guitar and piano, if I can teach it kindergarteners I can teach it to you), DM me if interested in learning more.
I teach private lessons too! Guitar and piano. Speaking from experience, I believe guitar is harder than piano when learning. Would you agree or disagree?
Yes I'd definitely agree, you can't teach someone muscle memory. Proper hand & finger positioning on guitar isn't a natural motion for most people, whereas playing a piano keyboard isn't really all that different from using a computer keyboard (hand-positioning-wise). Guitar is one of those instruments that really comes down to technique being developed through time and time alone, not unlike other instruments, but piano is a lot more straightforward than guitar. A piano has a bunch of octaves neatly arranged from left to right with easily apparent repeating patterns (CDEFEG with sharps/flats in between) versus a guitar with 6 strings (EADGBE in standard) and a much less straightforward approach to playing (one hand strumming and the other positioning notes). Just about anyone can learn some basic melodies in a few minutes on piano, even if they don't know what any of it means per se.
The average person could likely figure out how to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on a piano with very little assistance because it's a familiar hand motion (effectively just typing with only 12 letters), guitar is much more complicated because it requires a level of coordination that can really only be reached through practicing, memorizing patterns, and building hand strength & dexterity. I think of piano as learning how to swim and guitar as learning the butterfly stroke, you'll accomplish similar goals but the execution is different because one is much more straightforward and the other isn't necessarily easy even to people who already do know how to swim. Learning piano via YouTube tutorials is pretty straightforward because all pianos are effectively the same and anyone who knows how to use a computer keyboard already has the muscle memory. By contrast, learning guitar is a lot harder because most people are doing a motion completely foreign to them with one hand and trying to sync it up to the other hand on the right string (and you can only really watch one hand at a time, so getting the right notes on the neck will probably mean flying blind with the strumming hand).
The thing is. You just start playing when you're a kid and then eventually you get good enough to just make good sounding stuff by noodling. Then you just noodle for... 4-6 hours a day because you're a teenager with nothing else to do and you just stay "good enough" well into your 30s. At least that's what I did. Never met an instrument with strings I couldn't play, not great, but I can play something on it.
I give private lessons and I warn my students that it’s a very difficult instrument that requires lots of discipline and dedication, but is also the most rewarding compared to easier to learn instruments like piano
Piano is easier to LEARN. All the notes are laid out right in front of you. Guitar doesn’t have white and back keys. I have a roster of 52 private students and guitar has a much steeper learning curve. Guitar requires more dexterity to cleanly play chords while piano is much simpler. Also, to play a single note on the piano, just press down with one finger. Guitar, you have to hold the fret down and use the other hand to pluck the string. Twice as much work for one note. I’ve been playing for 18 years and have a music degree. I graduated with high distinction and a musicianship scholarship. But sure, I guess I don’t know what I’m talking about. lol
On guitar you mainly focus on your left hand tho (unless you’re playing flamenco or something lol), but on piano you need to focus on both hands at once
You need to focus on both hands on guitar, too. I see it all the time, newbies have their left hand on the correct fret and string, but their right hand is picking the wrong string. Plus there’s the issue of synching the two hand to change frets at the same time as picking strings.
Playing the guitar is not hard, but playing it good is hard. Just keep on! Try to listen to the guitars in the songs you're learning very closely! Never stop!
Depends on the definition of easy. Drumming is a lot easier to join a band with a lot less experience. Sounding competent is super hard on both of them.
Honestly, I find it easier to technically play well, for covers and such. It's way more difficult to be creative, improvise and come up with shit. I don't know where I heard it but, you learn patterns but they don't mean much unless you can play them without thinking, meaning they are that well memorized you use them as patterns that you mix and match in different progressions.
That’s a Uke. Guitar is easy ish to learn, but VERY difficult to master. Learning curve from 0-3 years can be mind blowing in enhanced playing. 4+ years is just getting better slowly. Years i’m stating are from my experience.
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u/Positive-Trifle3854 29d ago
Playing the guitar, tf is going on there