Still Trying To Learn To Play Guitar?

It's a trick question!

What's the difference between I'm going to learn to play guitar and I'm going to try to learn guitar? Trying implies that you're not sure about your decision to play, while going to shows more determination.
When a beginning guitar student signs up for lessons and then tells us they're willing to give it a try, or that they're going to try it for a couple months, a red flag goes up. Like any other pursuit, you need to commit to it. We have students that "don't want to spend much money in case I don't like it," or will buy an el cheapo instrument until "I get better." What message are you sending to yourself? It screams maybe I'll be lucky and be able to learn guitar.

Go in with a can do attitude. 

Music is something you can enjoy for a lifetime if you keep at it. I have a parent who keeps telling his child she needs to become more passionate about music, yet he's been telling me for a couple years about how he loves music and hasn't done anything to pursue his so-called love. So when you decide you're serious about learning and when you commit to learning, that's when your success rate increases.

I'll leave you with 2 of my favorite quotes:

Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right. 
Henry Ford

Do, or do not, there is no try.
Yoda 

But I Don't Deserve a Good Guitar

Do you deserve a new guitar?

Have you been thinking about buying a new, better guitar don't think you "deserve" it. I have students who believe they should earn a more expensive instrument by attaining a certain level before they reward themselves. Then there are others who go out and buy an instrument that's probably more than they need, or is it? There are two schools of thought, and maybe after reading this post your viewpoint will change. At the very least you'll have some food for thought.


The guitar as a reward.

Setting goals and offering a reward, in this case a new guitar, can be a motivating factor, but are you sacrificing something that would make beginning guitar much easier? Does your current guitar at least play and sound good? Buying an inexpensive guitar used to be a much worse idea. Basically, if you bought a cheap guitar you got a cheap guitar. With the lower price point more competitive now, the manufacturers are improving the quality. The bar has been raised and it's much more difficult to pass off a poorly made guitar. So, if you're happy with your present guitar you probably should keep it for a while until you reward yourself with a nicer, better sounding one.

The guitar as a motivational tool.

The other way to look at it is by investing a larger amount of money you'll be more motivated to practice. When you've handed over more of your hard earned cash it shows a higher commitment level than the ever popular "I won't lose much if I quit." Beginning guitar students have that attitude a lot more than you'd think, and I can't but think to myself, strike one. When they come in with a guitar that's obviously been given serious thought, it shows that it's not just a trial period to see if they like it.
Many of the major brands including Martin, and Taylor among others, have entry level guitars that are
well made and reasonably priced. Does a Baby Taylor or a Martin DX sound as good as their expensive guitars? No, but when you own a guitar made by a reputable builder you know you haven't wasted your money on an entry level instrument.

So the main points to keep in mind are to do some research, get some opinions from guitar players you know, and most important, try to choose an instrument that you'll keep for at least the first couple of years until the guitar bug gets you. Once that happens you'll be hooked.

Action, Intonation, Neck Relief? What's That?

Do guitar teachers and salesmen talk in a foreign language?

When you're looking at guitars you will hear the term action, which simply means how far the strings are away from the fretboard, and how hard you have to push to make a note or chord. If you're just starting out, it's a good idea to bring along someone who can play guitar so they can judge its playability. A cheap guitar will usually have high action and that means the beginning guitar player will have an unusually hard time playing it.

Intonation has to do with the guitar playing in tune up and down the neck

The easiest way to check intonation is to play a string with no fingers on it, (open), and then play it at the 12th fret. If you have an electronic tuner the open note and the 12th fret note should both be in tune. Most stringed instruments are adjustable, so the intonation can usually be corrected. Again, bringing along someone that plays can be helpful.

Neck Relief

Many times you'll see someone sight down the fretboard as though they were aiming a rifle. What they're doing is checking to see if there's a bow in the neck. There should be a slight amount of curve in the neck, but if it's extreme it means the neck is out of adjustment. Almost all fretted instruments have a truss rod which can bring the neck back into alignment. The truss rod is a steel rod that runs through the length of the neck and is adjusted with an allen wrench. A warped or severely warped neck should be avoided.

Practical Advice

So if you're a beginning guitar player, remember that you get what you pay for. I get calls all the time from people that want to know if they should buy a used guitar, and the answer is always "only if you know what you're doing." It's possible to get a great deal on an instrument, but it's also possible to waste a good chunk of money. The best advice is to buy from a music store and to make sure that you can return the guitar if it's defective. Most music stores will adjust and set up the guitar before they sell it to ensure that the customer is happy.

Why Do Some Guitars Cost Less Than $100 While Others Cost Thousands?

A lot of times we'll get that question and the answer is why does a Hyundai cost less than a Mercedes? In both instances it's workmanship, materials and the branding. Martin, Gibson and Fender are all well known brands and while they have cheaper instruments in their lines they can also cost thousands of dollars. If you have an older, more collectible one they can run into 6 figures.

The less expensive the guitar, the more cheaply it's made, simple as that. If you buy a guitar at Walmart, Target or Sam's Club, you can expect the quality to be in direct proportion to the price. While the lower priced models have gotten better because of competition, there's really no comparison.

In the next blog post I'll describe some of the differences in guitars so you can get the most for your money. Even though I said in the previous paragraph that you get what you pay for there are some good buys out there. Again using the car example, just because the Mercedes is more expensive it doesn't necessarily mean you can't buy a good car for less.