Acoustic eyeopener - should I concentrate on acoustic or electric?

That’s great advice. I didn’t do that and now find the electric a huge challenge.

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Switching between the 2 guitars is a skill in and of itself, which is worth learning.

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If you finished all 7 modules of Grade 1 (75 lesson videos total) in 8 weeks, you are either a natural at guitar, or, you are speeding through the lessons way too fast. I humbly suggest that you re-assess your progress following Justin’s “How to PASS Grade 1” criteria before diving into grade 2. You will be doing yourself a great dis-service if you charge forward without a having your grade 1 skills consolidated.

If your strumming, chord changes, and song memorization indeed meet Justin’s recommendations, then BRAVO!! :+1:

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@Fast-Eddie Well I am definitely not a natural. For some reason I assumed one week per module was about right. I do tend to rush though. I think maybe another few weeks on module 1 wouldn`t hurt. I saw the “Pass Grade 1” and thought it ok except for song learning.

I have been practising 3 hours a day on average

Thats good going, tbh if you are remembering what the lessons are about and its all sinking in then keep going.

IMO theres a lot in grades 1 & 2 you will be practicing for your entire playing days

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Hi @tommion,

Some more discussion to consider here:

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I have been told that if you learn on acoustic then electric is a lot easier because the action is lower and less tension on the strings.I play mostly acoustic and have them set up with lighter strings and it makes a big difference

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Physically this is somewhat true, lower string tension usually from thinner strings etc

But you have to learn to moderate your fretting and bending etc to the lower tension and lighter strings, plus adjust to the fretboard etc.

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Hi, I am 64 years old also & 6 weeks into Beginners Grade 1. I am using an old Aria acoustic but plan to get an electric in the next 4 months. Fast-Eddie’s comments are very valuable as there are no set times on when to move on after each module other than Justin’s guidelines. We are our own judge so very hard when deciding right? I have just started module 6 and realising now that I need to slow down lots. I need to get songs under my belt that at least sound like the real McCoy :grinning: And like you, get faster accurate with my chord changes - having fun with Hey Joe at present. All the best in your exciting journey

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I find electric easier to play in every respect except one- at the nut end the strings are very slightly closer together, so accidentally muting strings you don’t want muted is more of a problem.

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I purchased a cheap electric guitar 3 years ago and I got through all the beginners 1,2 & 3 much quicker than on an acoustic. (I also had a Washburn acoustic guitar from 20 years previous when I learnt the basic chords and stopped). Once I had nearly finished grade 3 I started using my acoustic with lighter strings to help build the strength in my hands. Everyone is different but this worked for me. Looking back, I still definitely advise starting with an electric guitar for speed of learning but the electric guitar I would choose would be a semi-hollow such as an ess335 copy so you don’t need to plug it in all the time to practice as you get a low intensity sound

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FWIW back in the day when I was doing the old Beginner Course I used both.

I would learn and practice new techniques on the electric and when I was happy with them and ready to move on to the next lesson, I would then practice them on the acoustic.
The fact that the electrics action being lower made things easier to learn and apply, gave added confidence to my learning. Following up on the acoustic also ensured that I had got the technique down correctly and good enough to apply to a guitar with thicker strings and higher action. Now I happily switch between the two types with no problems.

Hope that helps

:sunglasses:

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My suggestion would be to learn on an acoustic guitar with light strings. It is very easy to get distracted playing electric. With an electric guitar you will have choices to make about an amp, do you want to use pedals, and what effects do you need. All of this takes your attention away from learning to play the guitar. Learn the basics before you expand into the world of electric guitar.

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That’s true.

I am with @Mark_in_NJ
The electric guitar is a very vast instrument once you include the amplifier settings pedals and all that. Mind boggling, really.
I have spent enough money with out going there.

I still want to play electric a. But someday, but have opted to put my efforts into Classical and steel finger style. That is hard enough to keep me busy for another decade.

I would think one of the appeals of electric guitar is that you can have a lot of cool diversity and fun from an earlier stage of learning, but all the time you spend researching “tone” and creating that atmosphere is time not learning to play guitar. Still valuable and cool, but only if that is what you want.

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Wow–thanks for all the response. A lot to digest. I do find the electric easier. I use one of those Fender Micros for around the house but Im not going to give up on the acoustic, I just love the sound. I will get some lighter strings to try out though.

← looks at the beating my Maton has had this year

yeah acoustics never get you distracted…

I highly recommend to pick up electric guitar becoz you can learn some fantastic Blues guitar from Justin =)

It is really down to personal preference. And would say acoustic guitar has a really high learning curve in terms of technical stuff (Well I only play acoustic guitar so thats what I can comment on haha)

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Interesting discussion. Just my 2 cents regarding this:

It absolutely doesn’t have to be like that. I have a small modelling amp, my time researching tone has amounted to about 1 hour, total. I have 3 tones set up: clean, crunch, lead and when I sit down to practice, it takes 3 seconds to punch in the one I want. I have zero pedals (except for a looper) and I have no intention of getting any anytime soon. Can I replicate Brian May’s tone? Absolutely not, but hey I’m just trying to learn how to play a decent blues solo. That’s what I’m concerned about for now.

It’s true that lots of people go down the tone rabbit hole, constantly fiddling with their amp settings, researching (and buying) pedals, trying to understand what a compressor does ( :slight_smile:), but that’s their choice. You don’t have to do any of it.

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Of course we don’t HAVE to. But some of us aren’t strong enough, like me. I geek out on stuff like that.