Sounding Good

Playing guitar as a hobby is great. There is really no pressure. So when we practice or play at this level we just have fun. Let’s talk a little about the process. Practice is working on what you can’t do and hope to do. Play is sounding out what you already know and can do.

I often hear complaints from students like “It doesn’t sound good” or “It doesn’t sound right.” The reason for this is that what the guitarist is doing is not known to them and they can’t do it. So this falls under material for practice. Try not to expect to sound good right away. Gradually work to make the material sound better day by day.

If you do have something that you can play and does sound pretty good then play a little. Give yourself the reward of playing something and getting it out there. This is fun and really what playing guitar is about ultimately. Play for someone, a group or just yourself.

Play or perform material that sounds good and practice material that doesn’t sounds good. Try alternating between practice and playing so that you are making improvement with practice and having some fun playing. Though the more time spent practicing, the larger your repertoire will get and the better you will sound overall.

Electric or Acoustic

What to purchase when starting out

When your first starting out and are looking to buy an instrument one decision to make is to go with electric or acoustic. There are advantages to both. Let’s take a look at them and come up with a decision that fits well for you.

The acoustic fits well on the body while sitting. The sides of the acoustic are generally much wider than on electric. For this reason electric guitars tend to slide down and tilt up while sitting. Electric guitars are also heavier, not helping the situation. Another issue is the picking or strumming arm. Since the acoustic has wider sides, the upper arm has a place to rest.

The electric works great for a standing posture held in place by a strap. The guitar lays very nicely and doesn’t need the leg to help with balance. This is very good for jamming and having fun. With an amplifier and some effects there are a lot of sounds that you can get that don’t work on acoustic. For beginners it’s easier to press down the strings, but difficult to position in a seated posture.

Ideally, you want to have both. And if you end up liking the guitar and pursue the instrument long-term, you will have both. Starting out though, budgeting for just one instrument, I would say that acoustic is the place to start. If you plan on taking lessons you will be sitting with your instructor. Holding the guitar while sitting tends is a good posture for practice. Hooking up an electric guitar to an amplifier can create a small barrier to practice.

So think about buying an acoustic first and adding an electric guitar after you have gained some skill. The material you learn on acoustic will transfer well to the electric.

Guitar Materials for Beginners

Six Items Guitarists Need to Get Started

Guitar

I usually recommend starting out with a steel-string acoustic guitar. If the strings are painful to press try out a set of silk and steel strings. You want to find a guitar that fits well with your size. Go to a music store and try out several guitars. Have a sales person help you position the guitar comfortable. Also, ask a sales person to play something on the guitar so you can hear how it sounds.

I have seen decent guitars for as low as $100. Be careful about getting something too cheap. Some guitars on the market are more toy than instrument. Avoid renting or renting to own guitars. If you purchase a decent guitar and it goes unused you can sell it or give it to a relative or a friend who has taken an interest.

Picks

A standard medium pick is generally where you want to start. Choose something that is quality and doesn’t have rough edges. These are generally celluloid. You’re going to want to purchase several picks. They get lost easily and only cost about .25-.50 cents each.

Method Book

Find a standard guitar method book. Mel Bay Method One and Hal Leonard Method One are probably the two most common choices and cost around $10. These books are just one part of your practice routine. Be sure to check the beginning pages to get a good foundation.

Foot Rest

Having a foot rest helps to keep the guitar in a more comfortable position. These cost $10-$20 and often have several height settings. I recommend placing the foot rest under your right leg, unless you are setting out the play classical guitar.

Music Stand

A music stand will help you view your materials while sitting with the guitar. I would avoid wire music stands and get something sturdy enough to hold a binder. Stands usually range from $15-$50.

Summing Up

These six items will get you what you need to start. Now it’s up to you to practice, daily.

Starting a Practice Habit

Habits can be hard to break and a good habit like practicing the guitar is one worth keeping. So how do we develop habits? We do this by participating in the same or similar activity repeatedly over time. This creates a familiar rut or channel in our behavior.

Let’s address types of habits. Some habits are very easy to development while others are difficult. An easy habit to develop might be something like eating ice cream in the afternoon. We probably wouldn’t set out to develop this habit, but maybe we like to eat ice cream. When we do this often enough we will likely develop a habit and will feel strange if we don’t partake in our afternoon ice cream session. In this case we may find we like the activity and it is easy to do, but don’t like that we have a habit of doing the activity.

Other habits may be difficult to develop. Practicing guitar can be very challenging. Initially it may be difficult to participate in the activity. The reward of being able to play something can appear to be distant. It might take days, weeks, months, or even years to play certain songs. So unlike the ice cream, practicing guitar can have little or no immediate reward.

So what do we do? Think about that distant goal? Put post it reminders all over our house or workplace? Well, these approaches are not likely to work long-term. What we can do is rely on the habit forming part of our human nature. We can practice every day for three to four weeks straight and let the habit take shape.

Of course there will be busy days. On those days we can pick the guitar up and play something quick. Even taking a few seconds to play a G chord can help the habit along. So good luck and it’s time to commit to three to four weeks of daily practice.