Which is harder to play?

[EARTHQUAKE2689]

Acoustic guitars or Electric Guitars

[RobH4413]

Kind of depends on what you mean.

Generally speaking though, acoustic guitar is harder to play because it requires more effort to hold the strings down, slide up and down the frets, etc...

If you talk to a lot of the best electric guitar players, they'll tell you that they only play electric during their shows... Sort of the swing the heavy bat before you go up to the plate mentality. If you're just learning, it's probably best to practice on acoustic, or even buy an acoustic plug in.

You'll find that you're going to start getting incredibly painful blisters, sore hands, and annoying tendinitis. The only thing you can do is play through the pain. Eventually your blisters will turn to calluses, your hands will get stronger, and you'll learn to deal with any other pain. I'm sure since you've played other instruments you're probably familiar with some/all of these symptoms.

If you're teaching yourself to play, I'd recommend learning all the basic chords first, then trying out some tabs from your favorite songs and just building on that. Eventually start learning some major scales, and you'll be jamming in no time.


Good luck my friend.

[GhettoDogAllStars]

I agree with Rob. Acoustic is harder than electric, mostly because the strings are higher gauge.

Personally, I like to play classical when I'm playing casually. The strings are super light, and easy on your fingers. The only drawback is that the frets are wider than other types of guitars, so you might have to stretch your fingers a little more.

I own an electric, acoustic, and classical, and I have the most fun playing my classical. Although, it really depends on what kind of music you want to play.

[Lady Brave]

Once you have "Smoke on the Water" down, you're well on your way.

[jsarno]

The easiest is a bass guitar. (i know, not one of the options, just saying)

[EARTHQUAKE2689]

Originally Posted by jsarno

The easiest is a bass guitar. (i know, not one of the options, just saying)

i knew that

[That Guy]

well, you could get nylon strings, then acoustic isn't really much harder unless you're trying to use it above the 12th fret.

[EARTHQUAKE2689]

my GF has been playing the guitar for years and she is the one teaching me and i am teaching her how to play the piano

[mredskins]

Guitar Hero = hardest to play

[Hog1]

TOTALLY it is the Acoustic. HOWEVER, acoustic will force you to play better (because it less forgiving), thus you will play your "Fat Strat", or your "Les" better as well.
Acoustic forces you to "fret" the note or chord better (closer to the fret bar) or you will get a lot of string buzz that sounds like crap. You can get away with that stuff on the elec with no negative results.
I have a tendency to sit on the couch messing around with my Strat. It takes much less effort than my Guild. I sit up and pay more attention with the Guild.
Important safety tip:
I mostly play my strat un-amped, as it makes little noise, and draws little scorn from the family as a result.
As my old teacher used to say, "everybody loves a good guitar. Everybody hates putting up with what it takes to get there".

[RobH4413]

Yeah... learning on acoustic makes you the better player. It kind of forces you to hold done every note, basically keeps you from being lazy... and thus makes you a better guitar player.

Before you know it, you'll end up like this...

[Hog1]

Welcome to Wammy bar, 101

Or maybe this:
YouTube - Geico "Esteban" commercial