I didn’t realize how fn hard guitar was until I started learning piano. All I could think was, “Wow, this is laid out incredibly f’n simple…and if I press down on a key it makes the same sound every time!” No random noises, out of tune bends, ripped up fingers, or contorted hands trying to make chords. But…it’s just not as much fun. I always come back to that damn guitar.
Yes!!! The fact that it's challenging that's what makes it interesting , you have to be accurate , when your finger is on the 3rd fret 3rd string your right had has to pick the third string and then playing a song requires acuracy no string skipping and playing chords especially fast requires sharp reflexes. I hate it when something is challenging and I don't give it a go which is like the guitar, because If I don't practice makes me feel like the guitar is saying to me 'What's wrong am I too difficult?, i'm just a piece of wood with six strings get up and play, theres's still more to learn'.....It's psychological ,I remember I used to do piano lessons for a school and it just didn't interest me, It wasn't challenging enough.But the first time I played guitar and felt pain on my finger tips because no callus was formed, I fell in love with instrument, I found it daring, and once the callus was formed I felt a real sense of achievement the fact I was able to.pull through the pain and then finally play without feeling pain on the finger tips, It was the best feeling ever now I've been playing for over 6 years and I have seen growth my fingers are more flexible and stronger as well as my hands,wrists and arms......etc..I know lots of chords , quite a lot of songs the list.goes on....😥😥.
I can vaguely remember being in the basement of my parents house with an old Harmony flat top, a pitch pipe and a Mel Bay book. The rest of the fam would be watching TV, while I spent every night learning chords from that book. There was no music in our house and nobody played an instrument. I didn't even know anybody that played guitar. It took me a long time to learn those few chords. After what felt like forever, I had saved enough $$ to buy a song book. I don't remember much after that, that was 55 years ago. Now you can't walk 10 feet in my house without bumping into a guitar. 8) --gary
I have tried and quit many times in my life, but this time I am trying again so I can play for my daughter. She suffers from a neurological disorder and loves music so much. Music is one of the only ways to get through to her sometimes. It was easy to quit and walk away from guitar in the past, but this time it is for her and I cannot quit. I need to succeed.
You will succeed. I think most aspiring guitar players (like myself) quit because we lack motivation. Your love for your daughter will motivate you to stay with it. You're an awesome dad - you've got this.
I've been playing guitar over 50yrs. I've been in bands since high school. I'm still learning. Admittedly, I'm probably a slow learner... The thing that makes you stick with it is your passion for guitar. If you don't have that, the chances are you'll jack it in. Ta.
Andres Segovia said all the other instruments are contained within the guitar and accessible at your fingertips with the highest level of polyphony of any instrument available to the single player in which voicings can be made that cannot be physically played on any other.
Over the past year or so I have been playing A LOT and have learned a ton. I find I have to force myself to put my guitar down some evenings after 3 hours of practice/playing. This comes after 25 years of on and off playing. I still have not even come close to tapping into all the sounds a guitar can make. The versatility of the guitar is unmatched, as are the possibilities. I'm so glad I picked one up all those years ago and stuck with it. Keep shining boys :)
I’ve been playing more days than not for the past 35 years. I’ve got 54 guitars, countless amps and associated equipment. Any time I think I may be getting somewhat decent at the instrument, all I need to do is watch the average 20 something’s guitar TH-cam video and, boom.. right back down to earth!
How do you manage to play 54 guitars?.. I've been playing for 42 years (I'm 51yrs old) & have 5 guitars & play them all almost daily (My #1 a handbuilt custom Morrison SC with Seymour Duncan '59s, Telecaster (modded), Strat SSS, Gretsch Pro-Jet SC Filtertron TV's & a 12-string Fender Hellcat Tim Armstrong). I use them all ad-nauseum 'til the cows come home the missus is threatening divorce & brandishing a Wiltshire-Staysharp with Bobbit-esque mean intent grimacing visage eyes san-paku brow-furrowed shrieking like a lunatic ...'turn that SH*T down Matt for f'sakes!' my neighbourhood loves my power chords whether they like it or not?... & I try not to yield chicken out nor turn it down - at least until the local pigs lob 'round & show up making demands & threats of jail or just a truncheoning & face-full of capsicum spray! If my wife Sarah, is lookin' ornery & has got that Wiltshire out tho, I just unplug, get up & run like Hell for she means business (... bloody ball n' chain, ballbreaker - gotta love her tho - can't shoot 'em? can ya). We've been married 21 years & she HATES guitars but LOVES guitars & even me when I play & sing her 10cc's multi-track all-time classic 'I'm Not In Love' (she doesn't seem to recognise the irony there?..) but I loves her to bits! Anyways, jeepers Matt, 54?.. count 'em... 54 axes I can't imagine the maintenance on 'em? Strings etc? I'd go broke cos I snap em like mad too. As for my small 5 x axes of choice all 5 get punished severely (played to death) for various stuff / songs / parts / tone / weddings parties anything... etc..? Only have 2x amps Marshall & Blackstar & half dozen BOSS & NUX multi-fx pedals. Wow!?. If I'd collected 54 guitars I'd start a store maybe? No offence at all bra, but 54 axes seems like gear over-kill or un-diagnosed GAS? Peace, cheers & far too much guitar practice is grossly inadequate, woefully insufficient & nowhere near enough. Guitarcheology = Y'know It Makes Sense 🤘🏻 Didyabringyabongalong Station, Central QLD, Australia.🎸
@@matthewtayloryowieresearch1912 lol love the response! Ahh the fun of TH-cam comments! Trust me I wrote it as a joke, hopefully that was somewhat clear, although I really do have 54 guitars. And undiagnosed GAS? No way, trust me it’s diagnosed!! And yes to the looker/doer commenter, I certainly do NOT play them all. I have a group of eight I play regularly, about twenty others occasionally and the rest just sit in the collection. I enjoy them all, many have sentimental value. They’re all there to enjoy, not hurting anyone… That’s what counts right?
I started when I was 8 and 1/2 years old. Now I’m 22. I’ve wanted to quit many times over the years, for many reasons, but one way or another, I always find more reasons to stay and continue than reasons to quit. Guitar now is not only my passion and hobby, but my full time career. I don’t know if I’ll make it alive of this, but I will sure as hell work my ass off to make it worth the trouble. Guitar might not be the most beautiful sounding instrument, or the most complex or the most difficult, but it sure is the best instrument.
I played the violin for 13 years. was concertmaster in my orchestra. But when I started it took me about 3-4 years before anything coming out of it resembled music. Maybe another 2 years before it actually sounded good. Ive been playing guitar now for close to 2 years... four guitars deep I think I'm a lifer. But for me what the guitar can offer that a violin could not is multiplicity of rhythms and the focus on chords exactly as you guys said. If you can get past the stage of hardening your finger tips and gradually increasing your hand strength and flexibility its all fun from there
I'd been playing guitar for awhile. Had the cowboy and Barre chords down. Picked up my Grandfather's violin, thinking it should be easy. Nope. Definitely nope. Aside from the beginners schreech, the simple rotation of my left wrist totally messed with me.
I wanted to sing and play guitar in College, and I was borrowing every body's guitar to learn. I prayed and was gifted one. That was 50 years ago. At 45 I decided it was time to pick up a fiddle and did fairly well with it but could not lead singing while playing. I volunteer to sing/play for folks who can't get out: assisted living, memory care etc. It was a challenge but being legally blind is more of a challenge. Thanks for this conversation. Next? Mandolin, ukulele and maybe banjo.
Love you guys! Love your videos. I'm 65 and have been playing on and off since I was 14. Marriage, kids, job have taken time away from playing. Each time I pick up my guitar again I have to go through a re-learning period and re-callousing period again. It's hard. But, it's definitely worth it. I can't imagine life without guitar.
Been playing for 35 years and I can say I am a pretty good guitarist. That being said there's still so much music I can't play. It's a never ending journey to master that instrument that I will never reach. You just gotta love playing music.
Years ago some guy was doing a piano course on PBS. The line I remember is “ there’s nothing on the a piano that’s physically harder to play than an F chord on a guitar”
I play both piano and guitar to a high level. The guy doing the piano course must not have ever played through Chopins etude op.10 no.1, or he has very large hands.
I am still learning my guitar Everytime I pick it up.. after 30 years.. and I still love learning it.. Guitars to me are also very therapeutic. I can't live without playing now..
Tried at 18 - failed, picked it up again 30 years later just prior to the pandemic. An older head, with less distractions has certainly helped me to try and stick with it - plus the wealth of knowledge now on the internet. re: difficulty - not only do you play the "basic" way with strumming via a pick - but you can fingerpick, use a slide, hammer-on/pull off, hybrid pick and other techniques whereas other instruments just have 1 way to play them. Also your fingers do so many different things - needing to be highly accurate to move precisely to hit the string you need, they may need to cover more than 1 string or mute a string. Your fingers may need to add tremolo, accurately bend up 1/4 or 1/2 pitch, or slide to a note rather than lift and place, or hit a position slightly differently than normal in order to grab a harmonic However - Drums - having all 4 limbs doing things independently comes close in my opinion.
There's a great moment in the documentary "Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool" where Miles calls up someone while idly strumming a guitar, and tells his friend: "man, the guitar is a mo-fo".
@@warburgaby know how I know I'm old? In my generation, if you asked "what's a mo-fo" if you weren't Amish, you'd be by proxy, as for popularity. Mother is the mo part, let's see if your fast enough for the second part. I'm literally class of 99' so yeah, it's quite impossible this isn't or hasn't been used around you.
Been playing 50 years, but only recently got the insight to make the whole thing make sense: All the strings are a 4th apart (with the first/bottom two a step/fret low). The scale pattern is EXACTLY THE SAME starting from ANY NOTE ANY WHERE - with the one "trick" that the first/bottom two strings are a single fret low. There aren't 5 minor blues scales - there's ONE - it's just the shift when you cross 3rd string to 2nd. Ain't very far along, but it was the FIRST thing that made "sense" rather than memorizing hundreds of things.
47 years old. First instrument I have invested in learning since my 5th grade recorder. I actually think I am enjoying in more now because of patience in my middle age. I have never felt so fulfilled. So does Jonathan constantly talking about his wood.
The guitar is the most versatile instrument that actually produces notes. (Drums are even more adaptable, but you cant play multiple pitches at once) You can therefore argue that it IS the most difficult. Here's one of my favorite musical comparisons: Bass guitar. I've played both bass and 6-string guitar professionally in a variety of venues and styles. Bass is easier to "get by" on. If you can maintain a rhythm, you can play root notes of most Rock/Blues/Country/Pop songs and sound ok. That's why most 6 string guitarists can play a simple bass guitar part. You can't really get away with that on guitar. However, to really be a GOOD bass guitarist, it's every bit as challenging as 6 string.
I blame television… Not the band, Baxter.🤠 The kids shows all show a group of friends and inevitably one of them says “ let’s start a band!” The next day, they all miraculously have instruments and the place to rehearse and buy the next week they’re winning the talent show… Easy impression to make on impressionable children. I am thankful that you guys posted a video today… Hope you guys are staying safe, doing well and spending the day with people you love. All the best!
Guitar is really hard. Just getting to know the gear is a task in it self. I made it past the hump 1 year 6 months and 13 guitars later and it is the best thing I have ever done in my life. Playing guitar will change your life!
I play drums and bass guitar along with regular guitar. I think it’s easier to fake it on drums and bass. Guitar is a lead instrument, in addition to rhythm, so it tends to be up front more than the bass/drums, so with all eyes on you better not mess up and better be interesting! Guitar probably has one of the hardest initial learning curves, mentally and physically, as you have to deal with sore fingers along with the expected mental difficulty of learning an instrument. If it wasn’t so cool there would be way less people struggling through the pain
I have been back to playing guitar religiously for about a year now, after a 10 year break. And and what I have found out for me personally is the retraining! and saying "well I used to be able to do this" it is pretty much starting at the beginner level again. But from where I started last year to where I am now I am greatly appreciative of how much my hard work has payed off, and I know it will get better even with the bumps in the road so stay at kids.
I was lucky I started when I was 5. Piano and guitar. I loved guitar because my teacher was a rocker and I enjoyed hanging out with him. I see the reason people don’t make it, lack of practice or understanding practice. If you want to shred you need to practice slow to a metronome. Practice practice practice. Most people can’t commit.
Comparing to piano was a great place to focus for the start of the video. My first thought was, "Isn't piano pretty much the hardest?". And you, with experience, shed some light on that right away. 😎 Thanks guys
When I was in my early 20s, I had a borrowed acoustic. Gave up after the teacher focused on plinky stuff like Greensleeves. Tried it again in my later years but this time I started with a cheap Squier Bullet and a Roland Cube. Man did I have some fun with that. A few TH-cam lessons later and I was playing some blues, then rock, then metal. If only I started with electric I’d have stuck with it. Kids, don’t let them tell you to start with an acoustic. Pick the instrument used in the songs you love.
That is the key. I figured this out the same way too. Learning songs that you want to play as opposed to the instructor is what makes a huge difference between quitting and keeping at it
I recently bought a new premium-quality 00 size acoustic guitar. I’ve been practicing for a few years (mostly electric) but I still use extra-light strings. When I asked the store about changing out the 12s for 10-47 gauge strings the manager refused, saying it wouldn’t be playable. What’s the message here for a long-time beginning player? I went and bought the guitar elsewhere.
As a teenager, the desire to play the guitar, to have an emotional voice, was stronger that enduring the pain in my fingertips. I learned how to play on my dad's Stella Sundale. My guitar teacher told me if I could make that sound good, I could make anything sound good. Challenge accepted. Here I am almost 40 years later, still playing guitar and bass. Still learning guitar and bass. For some of us, its a passion, and we stick with it. Paraphrasing Frank Zappa- its an instrument capable of making some obscene noises. Happy Thanksgiving, y'all! Be good to you!
The guitar itself is a beautiful beast. The math on the notes to the specs to the sounds is very unique. The tunings, the fingers picks and fingers just everything
I also play sitar, for real, I studied with Harihar Rao in Los Angeles for years, and believe me, guitar is a piece of cake. Ravi Shankar says it take two years just to learn how to sit correctly.
I began in a 10.00 Sears guitar in 1970. The action, of which I knew nothing about was easily three times what t should have been. I played that guitar for three years, 8 hours a day on average. My wrist is now so damaged that I need two surgeries and Hope that will help. So… a great instrument is important. This is why I should get that PRS Silver Sky🤣
Play Every Day... Started piano in 68', picked up the guitar in 70'... have played faithfully ever since... in the mid 80s' I started playing professionally... after 50 years invested, I'm still learning, and growing as a player. I've loved every minute, reinvented my playing style multiple times, fought through carple tunnel surgeries, and full time day jobs, all for the love of the instrument. Now, learning to play keys and trigger samples with floor controllers, while playing guitar... Play Every Day .
The personal touch you can bring to the guitar is why I love it so much. Like when you're at a gig and it's just kicking ass and ya nail a huge bend on the guitar goin into a blustering solo. Yes. Thats where it's at and how can you emulate that feel on a piano?
"If you start this job, there's an 80% chance you will not be here a month and half later." That accurately describes my 40+ years in the workforce. Funny that you meant it to be beyond-the-pale.
Never understood why people reference the high E as the 1st string, I’m teaching my little brother guitar lately and this comes up all the time, we just refer to the low E as 1 and high e as 6th. He’s been able to wrap his head around the technicality of scales and octaves, majors, minors and everything in between, getting his fingers to do what his brain wants them to is the tricky part. He’s over the hump now, I’ve shown him several great channels on YT, he’s in for the long haul now. It also helps that we got him a Mexican Strat and I did a nice setup on it. Plays like butter.
@@216trixie I get that that’s the “standard” , just feels backwards to me. When I’m telling someone to play a 5-7-7 power chord, it’s gonna be played on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd string.
I always thought of the low E as the 1st string too... Then again I took off the high E string anyway ( I'm a 5 string banjo player - and just tune my guitars as if a banjo. I'm not the only one doing this - though others may remove the low E string - rather than the high E string.
@@Okla_Soft I got my first guitar in 2013 after playing banjo since 1973... Seemed the obvious thing to do for my old brain. I have to make adjustments to the tunings as the guitar does not have that high drone string of a banjo. A typical 5 string tuning low to high might be EAEAB - or EAEAC (open A minor) - or for a song I'm recording this week - EAEAC# (open A) - these are all banjo tunings pitched down (I tune my banjo lower as well) Another good tuning is EBEGB (E minor) In old time banjo lots of different tunings are used. I never liked standard guitar tuning (EADGBE) I avoid it like the plague.
The key thing that makes the guitar more difficult IMO is for example: there are 5 middle Cs, on the piano there is only one. This make things exponentially more challenging mentally.
I picked up guitar really quickly and in 2-3 weeks could play through several songs with riffs and chords. I chose to get a lefty to make life easier for myself (if I’d used a righty I would have given up after a month), I taught myself Bass, Drums, Piano, and Mandolin from transposing it from the guitar. I’m not a virtuoso on any of these instruments but I know where the notes are and can play the things I need for the songs I write. I bought a Saxophone and have used it in a very basic way with a few 4-6 note vamps on several songs. Where my musical journey came to abrupt halt was the violin, where I learned just because I know where the notes are, doesn’t mean I can find them accurately with speed. Even if I’m in tune, it isn’t particularly totally pleasing.
I've always thought of guitar not so much as difficult to play, but difficult to play well... and virtually impossible to master! Oh, well... better go practice!
Thanks for the entertaining video! Guitar playing is hard. I've been playing on and off since the late 60's, and it's finally starting to get sorta kinda easier.
Bass player here, that is attempting to learn guitar. Though both are technically guitars, I find the bass so much easier to play than the guitar, because I took to the bass rather quickly, whereas the guitar is a bit more difficult. I believe it's because the fretboard is so much smaller on the guitar, and I'm used to the larger fret spacing on the bass and chording, especially bar chords, ugh! I hate bar chords. It doesn't help that I have large hands and when chording I tend to mute the string below the string I'm fretting and it is a needed string for the chord. It can get very frustrating.
Last month I was up at Dave’s in La Crosse WI just passing through. And I impulse bought a ‘75 Telecaster Custom, 60th Anniversary Edition. About two weeks later I was bored at work and started down a Reverb rabbit hole and learned that I payed significantly less than what people are asking on Reverb. I did end up popping the neck to make sure it was real. It is!
I’ve been learning to play guitar for 32 years on and off and at best intermediate .Very ,Very few can master the guitar but it’s the greatest and most versatile musical instrument .
Great video! I'm just past 3 months playing now. Never played any other instruments. I play every day, and my fingertips are pretty hard. My mind is blown over all the things I have yet to learn (I go slow), and it is hard, but it is also super fun, and rewarding. I started with a nylon string spanish guitar, then got an acoustic Yamaha steel string guitar, and switch between them depending on how much I played that day and how much my fingers hurt. I don't see myself ever stop playing now.
Happy Thanksgiving! Yesterday is was all about getting your hands on wood. Today it’s all about how hard it is. I’ve been putting my hands on the wood for 35 years now, and it’s still sometimes hard. That’s the beauty of it I guess. Use it so you don’t lose it. By the way, is that the Chibson peeking out from behind Baxter?
I've played a few instruments over the years and each of them has its own challenges, but I've never felt more uncomfortable and simultaneously excited than playing the guitar. Brass and woodwinds are all about lungs. The violin always seemed to sound like someone strangling a cat at first. Although the piano is definitely challenging, I always want to pick up the guitar to practice rather than feel like practicing is a responsibility
As soon as I felt the guitar in my hands and I learned seven nation army on the first day of learning how to play... I knew the guitar was going to be a life long hobby.
There are many hardships I encountered when I learnt how to play guitar. I think the hardest part for me personally, was to transition from understanding shapes and patterns to the actual theory behind them. It's like I learnt all the shortcuts without understanding how everything worked, and that was a rude awakening. I know how to read the guitar tab under the staff and I can read the rhythm on the staff, but I couldnt read the notes on it so I had no idea how everything came together musically.
Bagpipers disagree. "The bagpipes are the only instrument whose player spends half the time tuning, and the other half playing out of tune." The piper followed this statement with the observation that's the reason for bagpipe bands since multiple pipers sound better together.
Wasn't hard for me got my first guitar in 1973 on my 11th birthday I advanced pretty fast after a year I was playing Jeff Becks Bolero note for note then in early 1978 when I herd Eddie van Halen is when I really buckled down with the guitar
What’s most confusing about the high E being the first string: when you list strings in a tuning, you list them the opposite way. We say EADGBE, not EBGDAE. Also what confuses me at times is that bass tuning is EADG, but mandolin is GDAE (g’day). Silly fourths vs fifths.
Don't get me started on Danish Pete - I hear,r also, that "The Captain" isn't really a captain, but an admiral. Great video, guys. To all learning the guitar, keep it up, it's worth it.
I learned playing piano starting at age 5 for 6 years then got my first guitar. The piano was easier to learn because each key has distinct shape so learning notes is easier and knowing where you are at octive wise. Frets and strings aren't as intuitive. The way each was taught was different, Piano you start off learning notes and keys. Guitar you just start learning Cowboy chords then bar chords then get into pentatonic scales.
The guitar is hard but there’s such a siren’s call to her. Something about the way we hold, caress and feel the guitar (really many lute family instruments) that grabs you.
I have been having this exact same thought. It must be that cosmic consciousness; the universal disappointment that calls out for hope, cry’s out with peeling fingers, with nary a tune, seeking out solace. The dirty little secret…It’s damn hard to play, no matter the level you attain. It has to hook you I should think. It was instant with me despite the struggle it has always been. I would encourage learning a few chords and then getting together with anyone else whose goal is to groove. You might stumble your way into music, as music is magic, Illusionary, as it may be. There are many two chord classics. Time, space and that communal vibe keeps you striving for more. Piano is a sensible place to start…it’s linear, it has a logic. You first have to learn what a note sounds like relative to any other note….that + time =melody, feeling , dissonance, darkness and light, language. It’s much harder to train your ear on guitar because it takes pain to play a proper note. I’ve got a feeling…there is going to be many a guitar back on the market. Love music first…and then hold onto it tight.
It's hard to say if it's harder or easier than other instruments. I really think it's all in "when" you start. When you're 12 years old, you can learn as long as you want to and maybe with a little prodding from your folks to stick with it. The one thing that does baffle players of other instruments is when you bring up the prospect of alternative tunings; I don't think many other instruments have that kind of thing where you have to shift everything you know.
Guy's HAPPY THANKSGIVING, Why are you making a video on Thanksgiving. Why I'm I watching it on Thanksgiving ? Because it's easier than learning guitar. Beginners, if your guitar is set up correctly, and use a tuner of some sort, you will learn. Especially when you have U Tube. Just play everyday for just 10mins, and I guarantee you'll be jamming in 5 or so years,lol. It's hard, but if it was easy everyone would be playing. Once you learn and have a good grasp of the neck, it does make you feel godish. It's like voodoo, what a feeling of accomplishment. And it's a great stress reliever. Never give up!
I couldn’t believe this video was unironic. Guitar is meant to be easy to play. It has frets! There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s not nearly as hard as wind instruments or non-fretted string instruments. Rock and roll instruments are all super accessible, and that’s part of why so many play them.
Agree! Also a teacher is key to stick with it. Videos and books are great also, but the right teacher sho you match well with and knows how to teach is huge!
Both of my sons are accomplished brass players, trumpet and euphonium, and we have this conversation a lot. They like to say brass is the hardest because you get different notes with the same valve fingering, depending on how much air you blow into it, plus other factors. They can both play guitar a bit but don’t work at it.
I started playing Trumpet, went to Sax which became my major instrument and wanting to become Music Teacher each year at Summer School I would take another Instrument as a way to expand my Abilities and School Band was an Amazing and Enriching Experience and 2 of my Best Teacher Ever were Music Teachers, and Chording was a bit of work but with a good friend you can Do and learn amazing things
Thanks for the video, I realised that it is not only me struggling. Started learning at 47 yo and man is it hard, never played any music before. That is 3 years ago and I have to say there were times that the guitar nearly met the axe. I love playing though, hope to be a decent player one day. Took me a good two years to start finding my feet.
When I taught guitar- some students had brothers or sister who took organ lessons We would have recitals and newer guitar students who were doing well for the short time they had played didn’t sound as good as their siblings The keyboards could beset to not be touch sensitive & to have a good sound. That gave a false impression at times they were way better than the guitar playing sibling .and some parents thought their kids weren’t any good Of course some guitar students & some keyboard students were real good, but the average keyboard student had an advantage over the average guitar student at the start
Having played violin, viola, electric bass guitar, and acoustic and electric 6-string guitar, I would still rate violin as the most difficult to learn and play. Single notes may seem easy but no frets on the fingerboard is tricky. The higher up on the neck the closer the the spacing. At some point your fingers are on top of each other to play those separate notes. Players with fat fingers are at a disadvantage. OK, double stops may not be a big deal. Try triple stops. Look at the neck and fingerboard and you will immediately see the difficulty. Of course you can pluck the strings but bowing technique is another dimension. It takes a while to get a good sound and tone with a bow. And different parts of the bow give different tones. There is one technique that calls for bouncing the bow on the strings. Offhand I forget the technical term. Tuning from the “headstock” is also not that at easy. You have to pull the pegs out, turn until you get your note and then push them back so the pegs and note locks. Then there are the fine tuners at the bridge to get it just right. I would recommend TH-cam videos of Itzhak Perlman’s live performances for the BBC of Bach’s Violin Sonatas and Partitas if wish to see the skills it takes to play violin.
My father played the violin. He used to tell me that it is the hardest instrument to master. I don't doubt that for an instant. Piano must be hard too with two hands playing different parts at the same time unlike the guitar where both hand work mostly together. Maybe guitar theory is harder to visualize.
Last year I started teaching guitar to a small class of high school students who are complete beginners and damn, seeing how hard it can be from a different point of view really puts it into perspective. Nonetheless, it's worth persevering with.
I believe some folks get it right away. Others struggle. I wanted to play at like 3 (photos with my Popeye guitar next to a phonograph). Took until i was 15 to get an electric and get deep after acoustics sat. Never got 'good' but ok enough to play in a band and get paid. ha, the singer of the band i was in said he'd try to play guitar and gave up. Same with my older brother who introduced me to Rock and Roll as a kid (born in '57). He tried more than once. Dave Menniketti started at 17...."A fast learner..." The first Yesterday and Today album literally changed my life. Over, all the younger the better.
When I played guitar for jazz band for high school i found out that most of the jazz songs are written by piano players. On piano, you can move one finger and have a whole new chords where guitar you had to contort your hand to make the chords in the speed of the tunes. A nightmare for me at the time.
It is like golf. You can spend lots of time and money to just get OK and still enjoy it for a lifetime but if you fall in love and want to reach that next level it can consume your very SOUL! I love and will not stop until my hands or brain don't work anymore.
I played the viola before guitar and it was hard too since it requires having proper finger pressure and wrist positions in the same hand, and the hand that bows needs proper wrist positions and motion to avoid straining it. But guitar is hard in it's own way too so I can see why some think it's the hardest, especially when trying to get a signature sound cuz it may require setting up a guitar a certain way that then makes it more of a challenge to play than a standard guitar. Like I had my Hammer electric guitar I use for performing on my channel setup to always use the Zakk Wylde Boomer strings cuz I like heavy strings' tone which is nice to get more of an SRV sound, but then those heavy strings also sound unique when I play using the techniques I learned playing viola which takes a good amount of effort to make a specialized style when performing. So, guitar can be very difficult depending on what someone wants it to do and sound like.
I remember when I first started it felt so uncomfortable I was getting super frustrated it sucked😂. I’m glad I persisted for almost two years now and it feels natural and some of the most fun I ever have
I didn’t realize how fn hard guitar was until I started learning piano. All I could think was, “Wow, this is laid out incredibly f’n simple…and if I press down on a key it makes the same sound every time!” No random noises, out of tune bends, ripped up fingers, or contorted hands trying to make chords.
But…it’s just not as much fun. I always come back to that damn guitar.
Yep, it’s fun! I can play a really mean air guitar, but nobody I know has ever attempted air piano.
Yes!!! The fact that it's challenging that's what makes it interesting , you have to be accurate , when your finger is on the 3rd fret 3rd string your right had has to pick the third string and then playing a song requires acuracy no string skipping and playing chords especially fast requires sharp reflexes. I hate it when something is challenging and I don't give it a go which is like the guitar, because If I don't practice makes me feel like the guitar is saying to me 'What's wrong am I too difficult?, i'm just a piece of wood with six strings get up and play, theres's still more to learn'.....It's psychological ,I remember I used to do piano lessons for a school and it just didn't interest me, It wasn't challenging enough.But the first time I played guitar and felt pain on my finger tips because no callus was formed, I fell in love with instrument, I found it daring, and once the callus was formed I felt a real sense of achievement the fact I was able to.pull through the pain and then finally play without feeling pain on the finger tips, It was the best feeling ever now I've been playing for over 6 years and I have seen growth my fingers are more flexible and stronger as well as my hands,wrists and arms......etc..I know lots of chords , quite a lot of songs the list.goes on....😥😥.
'I always come back to that damn guitar' because it's addictive.
I've learnt both but guitar is simply way more fun and the music sounds more dynamic
I can vaguely remember being in the basement of my parents house with an old Harmony flat top, a pitch pipe and a Mel Bay book. The rest of the fam would be watching TV, while I spent every night learning chords from that book. There was no music in our house and nobody played an instrument. I didn't even know anybody that played guitar. It took me a long time to learn those few chords. After what felt like forever, I had saved enough $$ to buy a song book. I don't remember much after that, that was 55 years ago. Now you can't walk 10 feet in my house without bumping into a guitar. 8) --gary
Amazing
I love it people dont realize how many more resources are available today its a good time to learn
That is awesome, kudos to you! Keep on rockin
@@creationinspired200 I agree 100 percent
Ha ha - I used to have to go to friends' houses to tune it.
I have tried and quit many times in my life, but this time I am trying again so I can play for my daughter. She suffers from a neurological disorder and loves music so much. Music is one of the only ways to get through to her sometimes. It was easy to quit and walk away from guitar in the past, but this time it is for her and I cannot quit. I need to succeed.
You will succeed. I think most aspiring guitar players (like myself) quit because we lack motivation. Your love for your daughter will motivate you to stay with it. You're an awesome dad - you've got this.
@@rlauck thank you roger. kind words
I think you are incredible, learning to play the guitar is so little compared to your heart, you will be able to do it very properly!
@@leonardomellado1949 thank you. 15-30 mins a day. Feeling like I am making some progress. Slowly
@@loadiam are you still playing?
I've been playing guitar over 50yrs. I've been in bands since high school. I'm still learning. Admittedly, I'm probably a slow learner...
The thing that makes you stick with it is your passion for guitar. If you don't have that, the chances are you'll jack it in.
Ta.
"The hard is what makes it great." Tom Hanks - A League of Their Own
Except if you yell at a musician and tell them "There's no crying in music!", they will probably cry. 😛
That's what she said
Wow, deep.
Andres Segovia said all the other instruments are contained within the guitar and accessible at your fingertips with the highest level of polyphony of any instrument available to the single player in which voicings can be made that cannot be physically played on any other.
I'm 64 and started learning 1 year ago during the Covid lockdown. It's hard but very rewarding once you get it. I practice everyday
It's a year later brother. Hope you're still at it!
dont give up, I've been playing since 2012 and still learning stuff today, you never stop learning :)
Over the past year or so I have been playing A LOT and have learned a ton. I find I have to force myself to put my guitar down some evenings after 3 hours of practice/playing. This comes after 25 years of on and off playing. I still have not even come close to tapping into all the sounds a guitar can make. The versatility of the guitar is unmatched, as are the possibilities. I'm so glad I picked one up all those years ago and stuck with it. Keep shining boys :)
Damn that’s beautiful…I can hear and feel the nostalgia in your comment
I just spent 5 hours fucking playing today, instead of learning for my exams. Fuck it tomorrow we ball.
I’ve been playing more days than not for the past 35 years. I’ve got 54 guitars, countless amps and associated equipment. Any time I think I may be getting somewhat decent at the instrument, all I need to do is watch the average 20 something’s guitar TH-cam video and, boom.. right back down to earth!
How do you manage to play 54 guitars?..
I've been playing for 42 years (I'm 51yrs old)
& have 5 guitars & play them all almost daily
(My #1 a handbuilt custom Morrison SC with
Seymour Duncan '59s, Telecaster (modded), Strat SSS, Gretsch Pro-Jet SC Filtertron TV's & a 12-string Fender Hellcat Tim Armstrong).
I use them all ad-nauseum 'til the cows come
home the missus is threatening divorce & brandishing
a Wiltshire-Staysharp with Bobbit-esque mean intent grimacing visage eyes san-paku brow-furrowed shrieking like a lunatic ...'turn that SH*T down Matt for f'sakes!' my neighbourhood loves my power chords whether they like it or not?... & I try not to yield chicken out nor turn it down - at least until the local pigs lob 'round & show up making demands & threats of jail or just a truncheoning & face-full of capsicum spray! If my wife Sarah, is lookin' ornery & has got that Wiltshire out tho, I just unplug, get up & run like Hell for she means business (... bloody ball n' chain, ballbreaker - gotta love her tho - can't shoot 'em? can ya). We've been married 21 years & she HATES guitars but LOVES guitars & even me when I play & sing her 10cc's multi-track all-time classic 'I'm Not In Love' (she doesn't seem to recognise the irony there?..) but I loves her to bits!
Anyways, jeepers Matt, 54?.. count 'em...
54 axes I can't imagine the maintenance on 'em?
Strings etc? I'd go broke cos I snap em like mad too.
As for my small 5 x axes of choice all 5 get punished severely (played to death) for various stuff / songs / parts / tone / weddings parties anything... etc..?
Only have 2x amps Marshall & Blackstar & half dozen BOSS & NUX multi-fx pedals.
Wow!?. If I'd collected 54 guitars I'd start a store maybe?
No offence at all bra, but 54 axes seems like gear over-kill or un-diagnosed GAS? Peace, cheers & far too much guitar practice is grossly inadequate, woefully insufficient & nowhere near enough.
Guitarcheology = Y'know It Makes Sense 🤘🏻
Didyabringyabongalong Station, Central QLD, Australia.🎸
He doesnt play them. Thats the problem. Hes a looker not a doer
@@matthewtayloryowieresearch1912 lol love the response! Ahh the fun of TH-cam comments! Trust me I wrote it as a joke, hopefully that was somewhat clear, although I really do have 54 guitars. And undiagnosed GAS? No way, trust me it’s diagnosed!! And yes to the looker/doer commenter, I certainly do NOT play them all. I have a group of eight I play regularly, about twenty others occasionally and the rest just sit in the collection. I enjoy them all, many have sentimental value. They’re all there to enjoy, not hurting anyone… That’s what counts right?
@@matthewtayloryowieresearch1912 collecting and playing are two different hobbies. No one here an eye when you collect stamps or coins
@@mattwork99 You do what you want as long as you're enjoying it, that's what counts :D
I started when I was 8 and 1/2 years old. Now I’m 22. I’ve wanted to quit many times over the years, for many reasons, but one way or another, I always find more reasons to stay and continue than reasons to quit. Guitar now is not only my passion and hobby, but my full time career. I don’t know if I’ll make it alive of this, but I will sure as hell work my ass off to make it worth the trouble.
Guitar might not be the most beautiful sounding instrument, or the most complex or the most difficult, but it sure is the best instrument.
I played the violin for 13 years. was concertmaster in my orchestra. But when I started it took me about 3-4 years before anything coming out of it resembled music. Maybe another 2 years before it actually sounded good. Ive been playing guitar now for close to 2 years... four guitars deep I think I'm a lifer. But for me what the guitar can offer that a violin could not is multiplicity of rhythms and the focus on chords exactly as you guys said. If you can get past the stage of hardening your finger tips and gradually increasing your hand strength and flexibility its all fun from there
Violin might be the hardest to learn.
@@216trixie its def difficult to make sound good. there's no fudging it. But guitar is harder on the hands overall
I'd been playing guitar for awhile. Had the cowboy and Barre chords down. Picked up my Grandfather's violin, thinking it should be easy. Nope. Definitely nope. Aside from the beginners schreech, the simple rotation of my left wrist totally messed with me.
@@thebrysmith3 yea playing the violin relies a lot on posture fundamentals. Sustaining a hold on it with your neck is another thing to get used to
I wanted to sing and play guitar in College, and I was borrowing every body's guitar to learn. I prayed and was gifted one. That was 50 years ago. At 45 I decided it was time to pick up a fiddle and did fairly well with it but could not lead singing while playing. I volunteer to sing/play for folks who can't get out: assisted living, memory care etc. It was a challenge but being legally blind is more of a challenge. Thanks for this conversation. Next? Mandolin, ukulele and maybe banjo.
Love you guys! Love your videos. I'm 65 and have been playing on and off since I was 14. Marriage, kids, job have taken time away from playing. Each time I pick up my guitar again I have to go through a re-learning period and re-callousing period again. It's hard. But, it's definitely worth it. I can't imagine life without guitar.
I tell people just starting out on guitar, “ you’ve got to really want it”.
Its really the most difficult instrument to play at professional level?
Happy thanksgiving fellas. I’m thankful for waking up, checking my phone and seeing another great video posted by my boys at Casino!
Been playing for 35 years and I can say I am a pretty good guitarist. That being said there's still so much music I can't play. It's a never ending journey to master that instrument that I will never reach. You just gotta love playing music.
Good for you Robert
Years ago some guy was doing a piano course on PBS. The line I remember is “ there’s nothing on the a piano that’s physically harder to play than an F chord on a guitar”
I play both piano and guitar to a high level. The guy doing the piano course must not have ever played through Chopins etude op.10 no.1, or he has very large hands.
Still practise everyday, love the guitar been playing 35 years and still learning, a great instrument to play, pro or novice.
I've been playing off and on for about 28 years. I've never been "great"....but I can play some badass slayer solos
I am still learning my guitar Everytime I pick it up.. after 30 years.. and I still love learning it.. Guitars to me are also very therapeutic. I can't live without playing now..
I’ve been playing for 42 years and I still learn things almost every day.
Tried at 18 - failed, picked it up again 30 years later just prior to the pandemic.
An older head, with less distractions has certainly helped me to try and stick with it - plus the wealth of knowledge now on the internet.
re: difficulty - not only do you play the "basic" way with strumming via a pick - but you can fingerpick, use a slide, hammer-on/pull off, hybrid pick and other techniques whereas other instruments just have 1 way to play them.
Also your fingers do so many different things - needing to be highly accurate to move precisely to hit the string you need, they may need to cover more than 1 string or mute a string. Your fingers may need to add tremolo, accurately bend up 1/4 or 1/2 pitch, or slide to a note rather than lift and place, or hit a position slightly differently than normal in order to grab a harmonic
However - Drums - having all 4 limbs doing things independently comes close in my opinion.
There's a great moment in the documentary "Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool" where Miles calls up someone while idly strumming a guitar, and tells his friend: "man, the guitar is a mo-fo".
mo-fo?
@@warburgaby He said something else, but I used a euphemism. Check Urban Dictionary etc.
@@warburgaby know how I know I'm old? In my generation, if you asked "what's a mo-fo" if you weren't Amish, you'd be by proxy, as for popularity. Mother is the mo part, let's see if your fast enough for the second part. I'm literally class of 99' so yeah, it's quite impossible this isn't or hasn't been used around you.
@@caiusmadison2996 ;))))) simon and motherfunkel! Ok NOW i understand :)))
@@caiusmadison2996 Yeah, I was shocked to see that question. I lived through the seventies, so it's second nature to me.
I never, ever thought I'd be able to bend a note to pitch. And then I got a Stratocaster!
Been playing 50 years, but only recently got the insight to make the whole thing make sense: All the strings are a 4th apart (with the first/bottom two a step/fret low). The scale pattern is EXACTLY THE SAME starting from ANY NOTE ANY WHERE - with the one "trick" that the first/bottom two strings are a single fret low. There aren't 5 minor blues scales - there's ONE - it's just the shift when you cross 3rd string to 2nd. Ain't very far along, but it was the FIRST thing that made "sense" rather than memorizing hundreds of things.
47 years old. First instrument I have invested in learning since my 5th grade recorder. I actually think I am enjoying in more now because of patience in my middle age. I have never felt so fulfilled. So does Jonathan constantly talking about his wood.
The guitar is the most versatile instrument that actually produces notes. (Drums are even more adaptable, but you cant play multiple pitches at once) You can therefore argue that it IS the most difficult. Here's one of my favorite musical comparisons: Bass guitar. I've played both bass and 6-string guitar professionally in a variety of venues and styles. Bass is easier to "get by" on. If you can maintain a rhythm, you can play root notes of most Rock/Blues/Country/Pop songs and sound ok. That's why most 6 string guitarists can play a simple bass guitar part. You can't really get away with that on guitar. However, to really be a GOOD bass guitarist, it's every bit as challenging as 6 string.
I blame television… Not the band, Baxter.🤠
The kids shows all show a group of friends and inevitably one of them says “ let’s start a band!” The next day, they all miraculously have instruments and the place to rehearse and buy the next week they’re winning the talent show… Easy impression to make on impressionable children.
I am thankful that you guys posted a video today… Hope you guys are staying safe, doing well and spending the day with people you love. All the best!
I think Jimmy hendrix said something like "blues is easy to play but hard to feel"
Guitar is really hard. Just getting to know the gear is a task in it self. I made it past the hump 1 year 6 months and 13 guitars later and it is the best thing I have ever done in my life. Playing guitar will change your life!
I play drums and bass guitar along with regular guitar. I think it’s easier to fake it on drums and bass. Guitar is a lead instrument, in addition to rhythm, so it tends to be up front more than the bass/drums, so with all eyes on you better not mess up and better be interesting!
Guitar probably has one of the hardest initial learning curves, mentally and physically, as you have to deal with sore fingers along with the expected mental difficulty of learning an instrument. If it wasn’t so cool there would be way less people struggling through the pain
I have been back to playing guitar religiously for about a year now, after a 10 year break. And and what I have found out for me personally is the retraining! and saying "well I used to be able to do this" it is pretty much starting at the beginner level again. But from where I started last year to where I am now I am greatly appreciative of how much my hard work has payed off, and I know it will get better even with the bumps in the road so stay at kids.
I was lucky I started when I was 5. Piano and guitar. I loved guitar because my teacher was a rocker and I enjoyed hanging out with him. I see the reason people don’t make it, lack of practice or understanding practice. If you want to shred you need to practice slow to a metronome. Practice practice practice. Most people can’t commit.
Comparing to piano was a great place to focus for the start of the video. My first thought was, "Isn't piano pretty much the hardest?". And you, with experience, shed some light on that right away. 😎 Thanks guys
When I was in my early 20s, I had a borrowed acoustic. Gave up after the teacher focused on plinky stuff like Greensleeves. Tried it again in my later years but this time I started with a cheap Squier Bullet and a Roland Cube. Man did I have some fun with that. A few TH-cam lessons later and I was playing some blues, then rock, then metal. If only I started with electric I’d have stuck with it. Kids, don’t let them tell you to start with an acoustic. Pick the instrument used in the songs you love.
That is the key. I figured this out the same way too. Learning songs that you want to play as opposed to the instructor is what makes a huge difference between quitting and keeping at it
Happy Thanksgiving day to Casino Guitars and to all of my fellow Americans.
I recently bought a new premium-quality 00 size acoustic guitar. I’ve been practicing for a few years (mostly electric) but I still use extra-light strings. When I asked the store about changing out the 12s for 10-47 gauge strings the manager refused, saying it wouldn’t be playable. What’s the message here for a long-time beginning player? I went and bought the guitar elsewhere.
As a teenager, the desire to play the guitar, to have an emotional voice, was stronger that enduring the pain in my fingertips. I learned how to play on my dad's Stella Sundale. My guitar teacher told me if I could make that sound good, I could make anything sound good. Challenge accepted.
Here I am almost 40 years later, still playing guitar and bass. Still learning guitar and bass.
For some of us, its a passion, and we stick with it. Paraphrasing Frank Zappa- its an instrument capable of making some obscene noises.
Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!
Be good to you!
You brought back memories of my first guitar, it was a kent SG looking guitar but the action was about an inch off the fretboard 😄
The guitar itself is a beautiful beast. The math on the notes to the specs to the sounds is very unique. The tunings, the fingers picks and fingers just everything
You guys are the "real" deal. Very entertaining listening to just about any subject matter you discuss. Thank you
I also play sitar, for real, I studied with Harihar Rao in Los Angeles for years, and believe me, guitar is a piece of cake. Ravi Shankar says it take two years just to learn how to sit correctly.
The danish pete from portugal thing made my mouth drop. You got me too man
I began in a 10.00 Sears guitar in 1970. The action, of which I knew nothing about was easily three times what t should have been. I played that guitar for three years, 8 hours a day on average. My wrist is now so damaged that I need two surgeries and Hope that will help. So… a great instrument is important.
This is why I should get that PRS Silver Sky🤣
Play Every Day...
Started piano in 68', picked up the guitar in 70'... have played faithfully ever since... in the mid 80s' I started playing professionally... after 50 years invested, I'm still learning, and growing as a player.
I've loved every minute, reinvented my playing style multiple times, fought through carple tunnel surgeries, and full time day jobs, all for the love of the instrument.
Now, learning to play keys and trigger samples with floor controllers, while playing guitar...
Play Every Day .
The personal touch you can bring to the guitar is why I love it so much. Like when you're at a gig and it's just kicking ass and ya nail a huge bend on the guitar goin into a blustering solo. Yes. Thats where it's at and how can you emulate that feel on a piano?
"If you start this job, there's an 80% chance you will not be here a month and half later." That accurately describes my 40+ years in the workforce. Funny that you meant it to be beyond-the-pale.
Lol.
Never ever thought about giving it up. Thought about throwing the guitar through the wall though.🤘😎🎸
Never understood why people reference the high E as the 1st string, I’m teaching my little brother guitar lately and this comes up all the time, we just refer to the low E as 1 and high e as 6th.
He’s been able to wrap his head around the technicality of scales and octaves, majors, minors and everything in between, getting his fingers to do what his brain wants them to is the tricky part. He’s over the hump now, I’ve shown him several great channels on YT, he’s in for the long haul now. It also helps that we got him a Mexican Strat and I did a nice setup on it. Plays like butter.
The high E is one. You can do it.
@@216trixie I get that that’s the “standard” , just feels backwards to me. When I’m telling someone to play a 5-7-7 power chord, it’s gonna be played on the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd string.
I always thought of the low E as the 1st string too... Then again I took off the high E string anyway ( I'm a 5 string banjo player - and just tune my guitars as if a banjo. I'm not the only one doing this - though others may remove the low E string - rather than the high E string.
@@HSet77 that’s pretty cool, so you tune it like a banjo too?
@@Okla_Soft I got my first guitar in 2013 after playing banjo since 1973... Seemed the obvious thing to do for my old brain. I have to make adjustments to the tunings as the guitar does not have that high drone string of a banjo. A typical 5 string tuning low to high might be EAEAB - or EAEAC (open A minor) - or for a song I'm recording this week - EAEAC# (open A) - these are all banjo tunings pitched down (I tune my banjo lower as well) Another good tuning is EBEGB (E minor)
In old time banjo lots of different tunings are used. I never liked standard guitar tuning (EADGBE) I avoid it like the plague.
The key thing that makes the guitar more difficult IMO is for example: there are 5 middle Cs, on the piano there is only one. This make things exponentially more challenging mentally.
Its all about the smiles! Thank guys!
I picked up guitar really quickly and in 2-3 weeks could play through several songs with riffs and chords. I chose to get a lefty to make life easier for myself (if I’d used a righty I would have given up after a month), I taught myself Bass, Drums, Piano, and Mandolin from transposing it from the guitar. I’m not a virtuoso on any of these instruments but I know where the notes are and can play the things I need for the songs I write. I bought a Saxophone and have used it in a very basic way with a few 4-6 note vamps on several songs.
Where my musical journey came to abrupt halt was the violin, where I learned just because I know where the notes are, doesn’t mean I can find them accurately with speed. Even if I’m in tune, it isn’t particularly totally pleasing.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING GUYS!!!!
I've always thought of guitar not so much as difficult to play, but difficult to play well... and virtually impossible to master! Oh, well... better go practice!
Thanks Derick for forcing the boys to make this video!!!
Thanks for the entertaining video! Guitar playing is hard. I've been playing on and off since the late 60's, and it's finally starting to get sorta kinda easier.
That's why us guitarists are the elite of the human race !!!!!!!!!
Damn ray really made me feel special lol. 10 yr guitarist right here 👋🏾
Bass player here, that is attempting to learn guitar. Though both are technically guitars, I find the bass so much easier to play than the guitar, because I took to the bass rather quickly, whereas the guitar is a bit more difficult. I believe it's because the fretboard is so much smaller on the guitar, and I'm used to the larger fret spacing on the bass and chording, especially bar chords, ugh! I hate bar chords. It doesn't help that I have large hands and when chording I tend to mute the string below the string I'm fretting and it is a needed string for the chord. It can get very frustrating.
😎 Thanks Casino ⚓️ Happy Holidays 🎊
Last month I was up at Dave’s in La Crosse WI just passing through. And I impulse bought a ‘75 Telecaster Custom, 60th Anniversary Edition. About two weeks later I was bored at work and started down a Reverb rabbit hole and learned that I payed significantly less than what people are asking on Reverb. I did end up popping the neck to make sure it was real. It is!
Yeah you can still find some deals..I found a 65 two pick up Melody Maker for about half of what they are going for Mint too
I’ve been learning to play guitar for 32 years on and off and at best intermediate .Very ,Very few can master the guitar but it’s the greatest and most versatile musical instrument .
Agreed brother
Great video! I'm just past 3 months playing now. Never played any other instruments. I play every day, and my fingertips are pretty hard. My mind is blown over all the things I have yet to learn (I go slow), and it is hard, but it is also super fun, and rewarding. I started with a nylon string spanish guitar, then got an acoustic Yamaha steel string guitar, and switch between them depending on how much I played that day and how much my fingers hurt. I don't see myself ever stop playing now.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Yesterday is was all about getting your hands on wood. Today it’s all about how hard it is. I’ve been putting my hands on the wood for 35 years now, and it’s still sometimes hard. That’s the beauty of it I guess. Use it so you don’t lose it. By the way, is that the Chibson peeking out from behind Baxter?
I love listening to you guys.
I've played a few instruments over the years and each of them has its own challenges, but I've never felt more uncomfortable and simultaneously excited than playing the guitar. Brass and woodwinds are all about lungs. The violin always seemed to sound like someone strangling a cat at first. Although the piano is definitely challenging, I always want to pick up the guitar to practice rather than feel like practicing is a responsibility
I subscribe to the notion that, whatever level of guitar playing you are at, if you play with a steady rhythm, it validates whatever you are doing.
As soon as I felt the guitar in my hands and I learned seven nation army on the first day of learning how to play... I knew the guitar was going to be a life long hobby.
There are many hardships I encountered when I learnt how to play guitar.
I think the hardest part for me personally, was to transition from understanding shapes and patterns to the actual theory behind them.
It's like I learnt all the shortcuts without understanding how everything worked, and that was a rude awakening.
I know how to read the guitar tab under the staff and I can read the rhythm on the staff, but I couldnt read the notes on it so I had no idea how everything came together musically.
Bagpipers disagree. "The bagpipes are the only instrument whose player spends half the time tuning, and the other half playing out of tune." The piper followed this statement with the observation that's the reason for bagpipe bands since multiple pipers sound better together.
Wasn't hard for me got my first guitar in 1973 on my 11th birthday I advanced pretty fast after a year I was playing Jeff Becks Bolero note for note then in early 1978 when I herd Eddie van Halen is when I really buckled down with the guitar
Playing along to albums was super important for me back in 73 as well
What’s most confusing about the high E being the first string: when you list strings in a tuning, you list them the opposite way. We say EADGBE, not EBGDAE. Also what confuses me at times is that bass tuning is EADG, but mandolin is GDAE (g’day). Silly fourths vs fifths.
Don't get me started on Danish Pete - I hear,r also, that "The Captain" isn't really a captain, but an admiral.
Great video, guys. To all learning the guitar, keep it up, it's worth it.
I learned playing piano starting at age 5 for 6 years then got my first guitar. The piano was easier to learn because each key has distinct shape so learning notes is easier and knowing where you are at octive wise. Frets and strings aren't as intuitive. The way each was taught was different, Piano you start off learning notes and keys. Guitar you just start learning Cowboy chords then bar chords then get into pentatonic scales.
The guitar is hard but there’s such a siren’s call to her. Something about the way we hold, caress and feel the guitar (really many lute family instruments) that grabs you.
One of the best things to do is find someone to play guitar with, preferably a better player than yourself.
I have been having this exact same thought. It must be that cosmic consciousness; the universal disappointment that calls out for hope, cry’s out with peeling fingers, with nary a tune, seeking out solace. The dirty little secret…It’s damn hard to play, no matter the level you attain. It has to hook you I should think. It was instant with me despite the struggle it has always been. I would encourage learning a few chords and then getting together with anyone else whose goal is to groove. You might stumble your way into music, as music is magic, Illusionary, as it may be. There are many two chord classics. Time, space and that communal vibe keeps you striving for more.
Piano is a sensible place to start…it’s linear, it has a logic. You first have to learn what a note sounds like relative to any other note….that + time =melody, feeling , dissonance, darkness and light, language. It’s much harder to train your ear on guitar because it takes pain to play a proper note.
I’ve got a feeling…there is going to be many a guitar back on the market.
Love music first…and then hold onto it tight.
It's hard to say if it's harder or easier than other instruments. I really think it's all in "when" you start. When you're 12 years old, you can learn as long as you want to and maybe with a little prodding from your folks to stick with it. The one thing that does baffle players of other instruments is when you bring up the prospect of alternative tunings; I don't think many other instruments have that kind of thing where you have to shift everything you know.
Guy's HAPPY THANKSGIVING,
Why are you making a video on Thanksgiving. Why I'm I watching it on Thanksgiving ?
Because it's easier than learning guitar. Beginners, if your guitar is set up correctly, and use a tuner of some sort, you will learn. Especially when you have U Tube. Just play everyday for just 10mins, and I guarantee you'll be jamming in 5 or so years,lol. It's hard, but if it was easy everyone would be playing. Once you learn and have a good grasp of the neck, it does make you feel godish.
It's like voodoo, what a feeling of accomplishment. And it's a great stress reliever. Never give up!
I couldn’t believe this video was unironic. Guitar is meant to be easy to play. It has frets! There’s nothing wrong with that, but it’s not nearly as hard as wind instruments or non-fretted string instruments. Rock and roll instruments are all super accessible, and that’s part of why so many play them.
Agree! Also a teacher is key to stick with it. Videos and books are great also, but the right teacher sho you match well with and knows how to teach is huge!
Both of my sons are accomplished brass players, trumpet and euphonium, and we have this conversation a lot. They like to say brass is the hardest because you get different notes with the same valve fingering, depending on how much air you blow into it, plus other factors. They can both play guitar a bit but don’t work at it.
I started playing Trumpet, went to Sax which became my major instrument and wanting to become Music Teacher each year at Summer School I would take another Instrument as a way to expand my Abilities and School Band was an Amazing and Enriching Experience and 2 of my Best Teacher Ever were Music Teachers, and Chording was a bit of work but with a good friend you can Do and learn amazing things
Thanks for the video, I realised that it is not only me struggling. Started learning at 47 yo and man is it hard, never played any music before. That is 3 years ago and I have to say there were times that the guitar nearly met the axe. I love playing though, hope to be a decent player one day. Took me a good two years to start finding my feet.
When I taught guitar- some students had brothers or sister who took organ lessons
We would have recitals and newer guitar students who were doing well for the short time they had played didn’t sound as good as their siblings
The keyboards could beset to not be touch sensitive & to have a good sound.
That gave a false impression at times they were way better than the guitar playing sibling .and some parents thought their kids weren’t any good
Of course some guitar students & some keyboard students were real good, but the average keyboard student had an advantage over the average guitar student at the start
Having played violin, viola, electric bass guitar, and acoustic and electric 6-string guitar, I would still rate violin as the most difficult to learn and play.
Single notes may seem easy but no frets on the fingerboard is tricky. The higher up on the neck the closer the the spacing. At some point your fingers are on top of each other to play those separate notes. Players with fat fingers are at a disadvantage.
OK, double stops may not be a big deal. Try triple stops. Look at the neck and fingerboard and you will immediately see the difficulty.
Of course you can pluck the strings but bowing technique is another dimension. It takes a while to get a good sound and tone with a bow. And different parts of the bow give different tones. There is one technique that calls for bouncing the bow on the strings. Offhand I forget the technical term.
Tuning from the “headstock” is also not that at easy. You have to pull the pegs out, turn until you get your note and then push them back so the pegs and note locks. Then there are the fine tuners at the bridge to get it just right.
I would recommend TH-cam videos of Itzhak Perlman’s live performances for the BBC of Bach’s Violin Sonatas and Partitas if wish to see the skills it takes to play violin.
My father played the violin. He used to tell me that it is the hardest instrument to master. I don't doubt that for an instant. Piano must be hard too with two hands playing different parts at the same time unlike the guitar where both hand work mostly together. Maybe guitar theory is harder to visualize.
You guys are the best!
:) we try:..just tell
Our wives that as well please
Oh I wish you could have held it together with the Danish Pete bit. That would have been fantastic.
I was very fortunate...I could play lead before I knew any chords Started by playing along to 70's albums ABB...Free...LS...the good stuff
Last year I started teaching guitar to a small class of high school students who are complete beginners and damn, seeing how hard it can be from a different point of view really puts it into perspective. Nonetheless, it's worth persevering with.
Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
biggest problem is that the E on the 2nd fret D is the same a the 7th fret A or 12th fret low E and so on, only one of those on a piano
I believe some folks get it right away. Others struggle.
I wanted to play at like 3 (photos with my Popeye guitar next to a phonograph). Took until i was 15 to get an electric and get deep after acoustics sat. Never got 'good' but ok enough to play in a band and get paid.
ha, the singer of the band i was in said he'd try to play guitar and gave up.
Same with my older brother who introduced me to Rock and Roll as a kid (born in '57).
He tried more than once.
Dave Menniketti started at 17...."A fast learner..." The first Yesterday and Today album literally changed my life.
Over, all the younger the better.
I still see my hopefully new guitar on your wall.
When I played guitar for jazz band for high school i found out that most of the jazz songs are written by piano players. On piano, you can move one finger and have a whole new chords where guitar you had to contort your hand to make the chords in the speed of the tunes. A nightmare for me at the time.
Finally, someone explains my struggle!
It is like golf. You can spend lots of time and money to just get OK and still enjoy it for a lifetime but if you fall in love and want to reach that next level it can consume your very SOUL! I love and will not stop until my hands or brain don't work anymore.
Just now learning in y late '50s. Crazy beautiful alchemy.
I agree it’s the physical aspect of playing, also the guitar isn’t linear like a piano. At least we are not stringed Harp enthusiast 😉
I played the viola before guitar and it was hard too since it requires having proper finger pressure and wrist positions in the same hand, and the hand that bows needs proper wrist positions and motion to avoid straining it. But guitar is hard in it's own way too so I can see why some think it's the hardest, especially when trying to get a signature sound cuz it may require setting up a guitar a certain way that then makes it more of a challenge to play than a standard guitar.
Like I had my Hammer electric guitar I use for performing on my channel setup to always use the Zakk Wylde Boomer strings cuz I like heavy strings' tone which is nice to get more of an SRV sound, but then those heavy strings also sound unique when I play using the techniques I learned playing viola which takes a good amount of effort to make a specialized style when performing. So, guitar can be very difficult depending on what someone wants it to do and sound like.
Happy Thanksgiving to all
I remember when I first started it felt so uncomfortable I was getting super frustrated it sucked😂. I’m glad I persisted for almost two years now and it feels natural and some of the most fun I ever have