Learning guitar

[Pelado]

My wife mentioned that she was thinking of buying an inexpensive acoustic guitar for our 12-year-old to play around with. He's had some instruction at school on the violin, but no other formal musical instrument training. I'm not too worried about lessons, especially since there are so many resources on YouTube and the like.

Suggestions, guidance? Better for him to start with acoustic? Are there youth sizes we should consider? Any particular new inexpensive guitars that would be suitable, or would we be better off with something used? If we do opt for lessons, how often is typical/enough?



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We're back looking into acoustic guitars for our now 14-year-old son. Not willing to throw $300+ at a new guitar, so I'll probably look at the used market. If I can't find the Yamaha FG730s recommended by Shaka or the Fender that SJS's son gravitated toward, any other models that would be decent for him to learn with?

[BigPiney]

We're back looking into acoustic guitars for our now 14-year-old son. Not willing to throw $300+ at a new guitar, so I'll probably look at the used market. If I can't find the Yamaha FG730s recommended by Shaka or the Fender that SJS's son gravitated toward, any other models that would be decent for him to learn with?

I bought one on monoprice for my son because I am super cheap. He seems to like it.

[Pelado]

My son's birthday is this week. We went to a local pawn shop that has a really good selection of guitars. Their guitar specialist recommended the only new guitar that they carry - an acoustic Jasmine - for $129.

Because my wife tends to be very sensitive to noise, I thought it might be better to get an electric guitar with which he could wear headphones. But he preferred the acoustic and, when adding up all the necessary accessories, the electric setup would have been a bit more costly, too.

I also considered a hybrid, acoustic-electric, or whatever they're called. They didn't have very many, and all but one of them was more than double the price of the Jasmine.

So I got him the Jasmine. After getting home and tuning the guitar, we watched YouTube tutorials from three different instructors. Seems like the fingers used for each chord vary based on the player.

Speaking of tuning, the guy at the pawn shop mentioned that clip-on tuners are pretty popular. What do you guys use and/or recommend?

Speaking of recommendations, any other accessories that he definitely needs?

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[Commando]

My son's birthday is this week. We went to a local pawn shop that has a really good selection of guitars. Their guitar specialist recommended the only new guitar that they carry - an acoustic Jasmine - for $129.

Because my wife tends to be very sensitive to noise, I thought it might be better to get an electric guitar with which he could wear headphones. But he preferred the acoustic and, when adding up all the necessary accessories, the electric setup would have been a bit more costly, too.

I also considered a hybrid, acoustic-electric, or whatever they're called. They didn't have very many, and all but one of them was more than double the price of the Jasmine.

So I got him the Jasmine. After getting home and tuning the guitar, we watched YouTube tutorials from three different instructors. Seems like the fingers used for each chord vary based on the player.

Speaking of tuning, the guy at the pawn shop mentioned that clip-on tuners are pretty popular. What do you guys use and/or recommend?

Speaking of recommendations, any other accessories that he definitely needs?

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I tune it by ear to the E string.

But seriously, if you need a pitch there are plenty of guitar tuning apps you can download to your phone.

You might want to stock up on strings a little and teach him to string the guitar. Other than that, pick up a capo and some tabs if you want and he's set. I got this book a while ago and it's a lot of fun.

[Pelado]

I tune it by ear to the E string.

But seriously, if you need a pitch there are plenty of guitar tuning apps you can download to your phone.

You might want to stock up on strings a little and teach him to string the guitar. Other than that, pick up a capo and some tabs if you want and he's set. I got this book a while ago and it's a lot of fun.

He doesn't have a phone and I don't want him dependent on my phone. Pretty sure he doesn't have perfect pitch, so tuning by ear is probably not an option.

What are tabs?

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[Lost Student]

He doesn't have a phone and I don't want him dependent on my phone. Pretty sure he doesn't have perfect pitch, so tuning by ear is probably not an option.

What are tabs?

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You don't need perfect pitch, you just play the same note on two strings one right after another and compare. The guitar won't necessarily be in tune with other instruments but that doesn't matter unless he's playing in a group.

[Pelado]

You don't need perfect pitch, you just play the same note on two strings one right after another and compare. The guitar won't necessarily be in tune with other instruments but that doesn't matter unless he's playing in a group.

What about the other strings?

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[Commando]

What about the other strings?

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On second thought, those little guitar tuners are pretty cheap- I'd get one of those. 'Tabs' means guitar music tablature - basically sheet music for guitar that is easy to follow and based on just chord positions and then after that fingerpicking arrangements.

[Lost Student]

What about the other strings?

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You tune each string relative to the next lower string.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6YWJWKSHmE

[Sleeping in EQ]

This is the tuner all the cool kids have:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Pelado]

You tune each string relative to the next lower string.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6YWJWKSHmE

Cool. I'll show him that method.

This is the tuner all the cool kids have:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I almost ordered that one last night. Now I have ordered it.

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[USUC]

I tune it by ear to the E string.

But seriously, if you need a pitch there are plenty of guitar tuning apps you can download to your phone.

You might want to stock up on strings a little and teach him to string the guitar. Other than that, pick up a capo and some tabs if you want and he's set. I got this book a while ago and it's a lot of fun.

I learned pretty quick to use the fifth fret method when playing along with songs. So many recordings are slightly above or below standard tunings. Usually just tune the low E or A to each song.

[USUC]

My son's birthday is this week. We went to a local pawn shop that has a really good selection of guitars. Their guitar specialist recommended the only new guitar that they carry - an acoustic Jasmine - for $129.

Because my wife tends to be very sensitive to noise, I thought it might be better to get an electric guitar with which he could wear headphones. But he preferred the acoustic and, when adding up all the necessary accessories, the electric setup would have been a bit more costly, too.

I also considered a hybrid, acoustic-electric, or whatever they're called. They didn't have very many, and all but one of them was more than double the price of the Jasmine.

So I got him the Jasmine. After getting home and tuning the guitar, we watched YouTube tutorials from three different instructors. Seems like the fingers used for each chord vary based on the player.

Speaking of tuning, the guy at the pawn shop mentioned that clip-on tuners are pretty popular. What do you guys use and/or recommend?

Speaking of recommendations, any other accessories that he definitely needs?

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99% of beginners should start with an acoustic. Buying an electric really shouldn't be done willy nilly. You have to figure out the type of music they are into. Then have to find good used gear that can approximate it. There is an endless amount of garbage gear out there. 90% of guitar center is junk.

[Shaka]

You guys are tuning geniuses.

As for me I have a Snark for every guitar I own plus one that sits on the desk in my studio. Since I still do studio work my guitar stable is pretty large which means I currently own about eighteen snarks. I also keep pedal format tuners on my main pedalboard and my smaller board for my fly rig. While I believe the other methods of tuning are worthwhile to learn, most pros use electronic tuners the vast majority of the time.

99% of beginners should learn on acoustic thing is nonsense. Beginners should learn on whatever lights their fire and can play the music that interests them.

[USUC]

99% of beginners should learn on acoustic thing is nonsense. Beginners should learn on whatever lights their fire and can play the music that interests them.

I stand by it. No doubt you can learn on whatever you want. But you are a better player mastering the basics on an acoustic first. Get the pain out of the way and get those finger tips callused up on an acoustic. You can't hide a wrong note or poorly fretted chord on an acoustic, so learn to play it right.

I respect that not everyone has a choice on what to learn on. And others are gifted enough that they'll master whatever they pick up. But if you are a scrub like me and most players out there, the benefits of learning on an acoustic outweigh the other options.

Truth be told, I bought my first acoustic in July of 93 and had my first electric by that November. But those first few months helped me immensely.