Viewing Thread:
"What instrument to learn..."

I have always wanted to learn an instrument, it is on my official list of things to do before I die but I don't know which one I have narrowed it down to Piano or Fender Guitar (Is that even the right term heh?) Anyway as you can see I haven't a clue about either but I have a list of pros and cons and I'd like some of you to add to it, tell me what points are invalid and basically choose for me. Here is the list so far:

Guitar Pros-
>Looks very cool
>You can move about when you play it which is a lot more fun that sitting/standing by a piano
>Depending on where you get it and how much you are willing to invest in your first one you can get one for around £200
>Guitar music is brilliant for any band and has a wider range of popular modern music to learn which the Piano doesn't have(or so I'd imagine)
>I could play the Buffy theme tune!! Ahem...

Guitar Cons-
>I can imagine it being very fiddly to play until you get the hang of it


Piano Pros-
>Very classy instrument
>It would actually be acceptable to show off your musical talents on the Piano infront of family however Guitar is more of an instrument your parents would tell you to stop playing whenever you were playing with your mates
>You can play a variety of songs and set almost any atmosphere despite not being the best instrument to try playing The White Stripes, Travis or whatever on
>I think it's be easier to play just because I feel more comfortable with my fingering when at a piano, feels wierd trying to wrap my hand round a guitar pushing down on strings etc but that's probably becauseI don't know how

Piano Cons-
>I can imagine it costing a bloody fortune
>I'd have to find a place to put it
>I think I'd definitely need to seek professional help in learning to play however with the Guitar I would at least try to teach myself or get one of a few of my friends who already play to help me
>Oh yeh did I mention it'd cost a fortune?

Mutual Con-
>I'd have to learn sheet music which I've been told is like another language but my mates who already play can help with that too

Now you know how I feel about each instrument please feel free to enlighten me with new information on each instrument and so on. I really want to learn I think it'd be a great thing to be able to play an instrument and when I finish my exams this year I'll have ages just to sit back and learn. Especially during the summer holidays. That'd be good.
Anyway chances are this wont amount to anything for ages and ages if at all but I'd still liek some advice. Thank y'all.

Ms NY wrote:
>You want her? Or him?

I dunno bout pianos but all guitars are definately female. And must be named. Usually after a past or present girlfriend, or your mum if you're a member of Lynyrd Skynyrd. But thats just....a bit wrong.

So you're going for a guitar now then! Goodgood, if you're a good/quick learner, you'll pick it up in no time. Strangely enough though, the piano is not the same :s
How could you though?! Piano's have such an amazing sound.. then again, so do guitars!
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/lee.pedder/ image/piano-front.JPG
She's my beauty, but she *has* to be sold :( You want her? Or him? hehe ;)

You can recommend it whether or not I get it is a different thing.

As for an amp, may I recommend to you the Marshall MG10CD? Here's the spec:

- Twin channels - Clean & Overdrive

- Contour Control for dramatic mid sweep and 'scooping'

- Emulated Line Out jack and Headphone jack

- CD input which allows you to play along to your favourite discs

- 6.5" custom-voiced speaker

- FDD (Frequency Dependent Damping)

The next model up is the same but a 15 Watt 1x8. The next one up from that is the same as the 15W but with reverb, then with reverb and Digital Effects, then a 30W 1x10 with DFX, then a 50W 1x12, a 50W 2x12, a 100W 1x12, and finally a 100W head with four modes(Clean/Crunch on Clean and OD1/OD2 on Overdrive), parallel effects loop, independent tone controls for Bass, Middle & Treble on each channel, and the DFX. Alternatively you could just go to www.marshallamps.com/images/products/mg/mg.html and find this all out for yourself! What ever you do though, you can NEVER go wrong with a Marshall.

Nope I live in Scotland's capital not England's. Anyway thanks for the web addy.

Go to www,gak.co.uk once you've decided what guitar you want. They're pretty good value and have a huge range of axes, amps, effects, everything really. Also if you live near London I highly recommend you get down to a place called Peter Cooke's Guitar World if you can. I've never seen a cheaper guitar shop EVER. I don't know where exactly where it is but if you type the name in on Google I'm sure you'll find something useful on the place.

Sorry Flockhart I'm going with the Guitar. It seems the right way to go for me. I would like someone to tell me if the guitar at that place I found is a good price, is it a reliable shop and so on. I had never heard of it before I just found it through www.kelkoo.co.uk

piano.
get a upright,they are not that big,they are expensive if you buy one new, get a second hand one,you can get them very cheap.
sheet music is not hugely difficult to learn,but it will take time to master.get yourself a good guide book,i've got TOTAL PIANO TUTOR it's comes with a audio cd.

Hmm is this a good place to get my guitar from and is this a good price? What else would I need? Here's the link:

http://www.piedog.com/PDGShop. asp?WCI=htmProduct&WCU= PROD_PKEY=9228,VIEWALL=Y

For the guitarists out there, I'm thinking of getting an Ibanez GSA60. Anyone own or played it?

P.S Get a guitar if you want to learn how to play tunes fast, as piano can take quite long before you get good.