free jam tracks - brought to you by nick cresswell

Learning Guitar - The Difference Between Acoustic and Electric Guitars

Learning guitar

Most people like the thought of being able to play a musical instrument and one of the most popular choices is to play guitar. Nearly all the songs we hear on the radio and television have guitar as an integral part of the song. This helps give guitar its appeal to people because they have a desire to be able to play the songs they know and like.

When you are first thinking about playing guitar the obvious question that arises is 'should I learn to play acoustic guitar or electric guitar?'. Here are some things to consider when you are thinking about which type of guitar you want to learn on.

Learning to play an acoustic guitar

Acoustic guitars are great for a lot of reasons. First of all they look great. As simple or trivial as that may sound its nice to have a guitar that looks cool. Acoustic guitars look good when people are playing them and they also look great just sitting in the corner of a room or even resting on the sofa. Another great thing about acoustic guitars is that you don't require an amplifier to get a good sound out of them. As the name suggests, they sound good acoustically. When played an acoustic guitar compliments vocals very well, also without amplification. And you can always plug and acoustic guitar into an amplifier or a p.a. system.

That's one important thing to consider when thinking about learning to play guitar. Do you want to be able to take it places and play so you can hear the guitar well without having to carry around other equipment? Another thing to think about is if you are wanting to play solo or with other acoustic instruments or do you want to play in a band with louder instruments? Playing in a band situation raises the question about learning to play on an electric guitar.

Learning to play an electric guitar

Like acoustic guitars, electric guitars look great. As the name suggests, you need to plug an electric guitar into an amplifier to get an audible sound from the guitar. One benefit of an electric is that you can play it quietly when not plugged into an amp, or through an amp with headphones. So you can play in one room and someone won't hear you in the room next door. To state the obvious, acoustic guitars are louder instruments acoustically than electric guitars. However if you want to play with friends in a band, especially when there is a drummer, then you will most likely want to use an electric guitar so you can get the volume you need.

Electric guitars are also better instruments for playing lead guitar on than acoustics. Acoustic guitars are great for chords, but when you go to play lead the sound is not very rich and the notes don't sustain very well. On an electric guitar, the notes sustain for much longer periods of time. This gives playing solo notes a fuller, richer sound.

As well as sound, another fundamental difference in playing an acoustic guitar compared with an electric guitar is the amount of strength required to play each instrument. You need more strength go play an acoustic guitar than you do an electric guitar. String tension on acoustic guitars is tighter than the string tension on electric guitars, this makes acoustic guitars harder to play. Especially for beginner guitar players. Although having sore fingers from playing guitar for an hour or two is actually quite a good feeling. Playing regularly builds up strength in the hands making it easier to play guitar over time.

You should also keep in mind the types of songs and music you wish to play. If you want to play songs that are recorded with acoustic guitar then you obviously want that acoustic sound, so an electric is probably not the right choice for you.

Keeping the above in mind you'll be better equipped when deciding what type of guitar is the right guitar for you. Whatever your choice, guitars are great instruments to learn and play, both acoustics and electrics.