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| Playing the guitar means different things to different people. One of the most popular views has come from seeing a rock-n-roll guitarist on stage with all the lights, smoke and screaming fans. |  |
Q & A |
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| While rock-n-roll is a fun style to play, the reality is that it isn't suited for most beginners. There are fancy hot licks that you hear screaming from the lead guitarist but for most it takes some time to get there. | Can
I learn?
What will I learn on the guitar? |
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| In addition, the electric guitar is really an ensemble instrument. That means that you really need a singer, drummer and a bass player before what you play sounds like a whole song. Most rock-n-roll tunes vary between the singer and the lead guitar player. So the lead guitarist usually only plays lead part of the time and chords the rest. | |||||
| Another issue is trying to get a "band" together. While some succeed, most find the lack of skill, inability to play together , scheduling problems and personality conflicts generally make it an up hill battle. | |||||
| At The By Ear Musician, we take the approach that for beginners it's best to establish one's self as a musician and then try to play with others. This usually means playing different styles of music including folk, pop, classical, blues, jazz as an independent musician |  |
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| We also believe that a classical guitar is the first instrument of choice for the beginner. Most do not know that Eric Clapton recorded Tears In Heaven on a classical. Also that James Taylor and Willie Nelson play classical guitars as do many others. It doesn't mean you have to play classical music although most students find the rich heritage of the classical provides a solid foundation for playing most other styles. | |||||
| The classical guitar is lighter, easier to play and has a rich tone from the very beginning. There are styles of music that sound better on steel string guitars but until a student learns to play, the classical works just fine. | |||||
| We have a retail store at The By Ear Musician to help match instruments with students. They range in price from the beginner models to professional. | |||||