ESCOLHER A PRIMEIRA GUITARRA

"Choosing your first guitar

In my years as a musician and music coach I have observed that usually, people start playing guitar because there has been one lying around, or they know someone who plays. Maybe someone else in the family has one, or it’s been given to you, or it’s been in the loft for 30 years. More often than not, they are not the best guitars, but if it gives you the bug to play, then it’s done its job as far as I’m concerned. However you get there, there may come the time you want to get your own. Here are a few things to consider, that may help you make a good decision that is right for you or your child.

How much should I spend?
This is obviously very personal, and what each person considers to be "cheap" or "expensive" is relative to your circumstances. I will be focusing on value for money. Choosing a first guitar is always tough. No one wants to spend too much money until they know that they, or their child, are really going to enjoy playing and want to keep it up. If you or your child doesn’t enjoy playing, you don’t want to find that in a few months time, the instrument you bought is lying around just taking up space. Unfortunately, if you then buy the cheapest guitar available, the chances of you enjoying playing is slim to none, and increases the likelihood that you will give it up... making whatever you have spent, a complete waste of money. There’s no denying that learning guitar in the early days can be tough, and a cheap instrument that doesn’t sound good even when you do get it right, is only going to make those first few weeks worse. Therein lies the dilemma.

A good ball park is around the £100-£200 mark. Anything less than £100 and you’d be taking a bit of a risk in my opinion. A model such as the Fender CD60 is a fantastic starter – Fender is a highly respected and quality make, and will give you a great start in your acoustic guitar life. Nevada keep in stock a wide range of acoustic guitar guitars priced below £200, which would be perfect for a beginner. If you are more inclined towards electric guitar, the Epiphone Les Paul Special II is a great model within the same price range. Again, a well respected make of guitar. In my view, both the Fender CD60 and the Epiphone Les Paul special represent excellent value for money, and will give you a good experience of playing to get you started.

What sort of music do you like?
So should you buy and electric guitar or an acoustic guitar? The experience of playing an acoustic guitar over an electric guitar is not the same. Firstly, think about what sort of music you like as this is where you will naturally get huge enjoyment, from learning to play songs that you know...at least to start with. This may not be the case forever though. I certainly love to listen to music that I don’t particularly enjoy performing, and also get pleasure from singing and playing music I don’t particularly choose to listen to, but it’s unlikely to be what happens when you start. If you like acoustic artists such as Ed Sheeran and Jason Mraz, then let that guide you.

Secondly, think about what it's going to be like playing acoustic verses electric, and how you prefer to spend your time. An electric guitar, really, is a band instrument. It is in it’s element cranked up loud with drums and bass, or other instruments. If you’re interested in playing lead guitar, then electric is a great way to start. If you’re not intending to join a band or guitar group, or playing with other people in some way, you will probably spend your practice time playing along with backing tracks, for a more complete electric guitar sound. You will also need an amp to go with it, being an extra consideration for taking it out, to lessons for example. The acoustic guitar gives a more 'complete' sound when learning songs on your own, as beginner players tend to play the whole chord. It is much more portable than the electric guitar, and to state the obvious, it doesn’t need electricity to get decent volume. For those reasons, the acoustic guitar tends to be a bit more of a sociable instrument. I have played my acoustic with other people at house parties, train stations, campsites, beaches and even up a tree once! You really don’t need anything but you and your guitar. Loads of brilliant songs sound great on acoustic guitar, even if the original was played on electric, and you can learn to play lead on an acoustic. However, starting on an acoustic does tend to be harder in the very beginning. There is a process of building strength in the hands that happens whatever instrument you have, as the dexterity and application of strength required to play guitar is not something that occurs naturally in everyday life. It WILL get better if you persist, but unfortunately there is not much you can do to bypass the process I’m afraid. It’s unpleasant, but all I can say is it won’t take as long as you think, and it is so worth it.

Some people choose to start on electric because you don’t have to press so hard, and therefore it’s easier and hurts less. This is one consideration, but look at the larger issue of the sort of music you like to play, so after a few weeks when your fingers have toughened up, you’re not stuck with the wrong instrument. A typical example of this is buying a classical or Spanish style acoustic because the nylon strings hurt less. These guitars are designed for – you guessed it - classical and flamenco style music, and playing pop music on them doesn't always sound great even after you have battled to get it right. The hurting will go away, but you’ll never rock Wonderwall on nylon strings. Trust me.

Does it feel good?
There are various different sizes, thicknesses of body, widths of fretboards. Your ideal guitar should feel good in your hands. You shouldn’t feel like you have to reach up or round with your strumming arm. There are 3/4 sized guitars for kids to get them started. My own first guitar when I was a young teenager was full sized, but had a narrow body and narrow fretboard which fitted my small hands and short fingers. Parents,if you have a young child of primary school age, you’re really not sure they will take to the guitar, and you really don’t want to spend £120 to find that out, try a ukulele first. You can spend as little as £20, and many skills are transferable to the guitar when they’re bigger.

New Vs second hand
Although it is possible to pick up a bargain used instrument, be careful when buying second hand guitars from places such as eBay and Gumtree. The only advice I can give really is that take this consideration as if you were buying a car. Take someone who knows what they’re doing with you, as you never really know how an item has been treated by a previous owner.  Alternatively, pop into Nevada who always have a good range of pre-owned guitars in stock and a friendly sales team to offer you advice.

Get assistance...
I hope these points have been useful, but if you are still not sure, there is no substitute to getting some advice. Ask questions and have a try on a few different models until you’re happy. You can always contact the staff at Nevada Music or the Igloo Music team to chat if you’re thinking about starting to play or buying a gift for someone. music@nevada.co.uk info@igloomusic.co.uk

Happy Strumming!

Written by DiElle
Igloo Music

www.igloomusic.co.uk

About the author...

DiElle is a singer-songwriter, vocalist and music coach who was first published by Acorn Music Group in 2006 and is currently recording her new acoustic album 'Fearless'. She accidentally fell in love with teaching music along the way, and after several years of working alone, decided that music needs community. Igloo Music UK was founded in April 2010 with the view to provide music education and recreation, primarily for adults - an environment where adults of all abilities can learn, have fun and meet people, and enjoy being musical. Igloo currently offers coaching in singing, guitar, songwriting, bass guitar and ukulele, runs a songwriting festival and their own creative choir.
Call (023) 92 006507 for more details...
www.igloomusic.co.uk
www.diellemusic.com"


Artigo copiado do site da loja Nevada Music em Portsmouth, UK.
Link original: http://www.nevadamusic.co.uk/guitar/blogs/choosing-your-first-guitar

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