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.

seriously Cub!st, the Squier guitars by Fender are good value.
last time i checked, the korean models were around £120 and were really nice to play (thereby not making your learning any more difficult than it needs to be). my main advice is to TRY every guitar you look at, even if you just sit with the volume down plucking a few strings to see how it feels. remember, the guys who demo them in the shops only have to play them flashly for 30 seconds to demo them, but you'll have to play it a lot more, so make sure you get one that feels comfortable , with a nice feeling fingerboard (some can be really dry and it'll cain your fingers when you get to bending techniques and things, but the squier range have nice smooth fretboards)

so yeah, try a few in your price bracket and pick the one that feels the most comfortable.

good luck :)

For a beginner a Yamaha Pacifica is perfect. And I doubt you'd get any cheaper than from that one link I gave.

Unless you're willing to pay over £200 for the guitar alone there isn't really that much choice.

I mean I could go around telling you to get Gibson SGs and Les Pauls and so forth, but that would just be stupid and pointless.

Every man and his dog plays guitar.. be original and go for the keys.

Guitar.

I got my guitar from Dawson's. Fender Squier Strat, 10 watt amp, strap, lead, plectrum etc for £170. Not a bad guitar or amp, but you'll probably need to buy a decent lead and grab a few plectrums while you're there. The leads they supply are rubbish.

Heh did give ONE but that's hardly showing me the bigger picture. Yeh that's ONE guitar I may possibly want but that doesn't mena there aren't a huge variety of others that I would love to have a look at too.

Cub!st wrote:
> This is all very interesting but can any of you recommend a guitar to
> buy as my first? Just to learn on you know, a link or two would be
> good if any of you have any ideas.

Memo gave one earlier, pay attention.

You don't have to learn how to read proper music to play guitar, I've been playing bass since Xmas and all you need to know is tabs (which are very simple, they just tell you what string(s) to hit, and what fret(s) your left hand fingers should be on).

Sure, it wouldn't hurt to learn some of the musical theory, I'm going to buy some books to read up on this infact because I think it'll help me a great deal in being able to come up with basslines rather than just playing along to CDs...

Anyway, erm... yeah... I just decided I wanted to learn bass and got one for Xmas. I don't have any regrets about the instrument I chose, but if I were you I'd try to have a go at each instrument with someone there who knows how to play. You said you;ve got mates who play guitar, so ask them to teach you some chords and see what it feels like. If you can, try and do a similar thing with a piano, and then make your decision.

But yeah, I can imagine it could be tricky finding a spare corner to put a piano in...

*chuckles*

How about the xylophone? ;)

This is all very interesting but can any of you recommend a guitar to buy as my first? Just to learn on you know, a link or two would be good if any of you have any ideas.