Subj : Help! - guitar newbie
To   : Psyduk Freek
From : Jenn Cowfish
Date : Wed Jul 19 2000 06:35 pm

 RL> Jenn Cowfish wrote in a message to All:

 JC> I want an Ibanez 7-string which costs, as I was informed by a
 JC> guitar magazine, close to 3 000$.

 RL> Ouch.  Even in US currency, I've never paid close to that for
 RL> anything.
 JC> now? I've never played the guitar before, but I just have a feeling
 JC> that it'll be...right. Somehow I just know it will be, so whether
 JC> not I'll like it isn't a question here.

 RL> I would advise any beginner to start with a GOOD entry-level guitar,
 RL> or a good quality used one at a good price.  You can probably get a
 RL> very playable new Fender Squier series with a small solid-state amp
 RL> (you'll always want a practice amp anyways, so it's not a waste of
 RL> money) for under $500 CDN.
 JC> Something else I'd like to know is how hard/easy it is to get
 JC> started on the guitar.  I'm not asking to become Santana in a week,
 JC> but I'm just wondering how long does it take to get the basics
 JC> down.

 RL> It depends on your "natural" abilities.  I've seen people pick it up
 RL> in weeks, and I've seen people struggle with it for years.  Having a
 RL> good teacher helps, and I would certainly advise lessons.  Even after
 RL> playing for 20 years, I still find it refreshing to schedule a month of
 RL> lessons every now and then, once or twice a week.

 JC> As a player of over half a dozen different instruments, I
 JC> know that none of them are easy.  But what I mean is it easy to
 JC> start up on, like will I need lessons, or will it take me years to
 JC> learn off books etc.?

 RL> Lessons will definitely be an advantage over books, especially for the
 RL> basics.  Once you have the basics down, you can use books to continue
 RL> your learning, but lessons will get the basics down to a couple of
 RL> weeks.  There are some things that books can't teach properly, such as
 RL> playing position.  They can tell you what you should do, but if it
 RL> doesn't feel right, it doesn't mean that it's wrong... it may mean that
 RL> you need to get used to it... or it may mean that you don't have it
 RL> exactly right.  A good teacher can clear that up for you immediately.

 RL>
 RL> C-ya!  Rich
 RL>
 RL> -!- timEd 1.10.y2k
 RL>  ! Origin: Colossus Galactica, Chino CA (1:218/704)


                       
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