Should I learn guitar?

Question

I played saxophone for almost 15 years. I'm not really tired of it, but for some reason I've developed this love for guitar music. I want opinions on whether or not I should learn guitar. I've given it a small effort in the past with not alot of success but I have new motivation. Any honest opinions will be appreciated and weighed. Thank you.

Adam

Answer 1

Hi Adam

Motivation and ability are the two main ingredients for success in any endeavour. Having played sax for 15 years, you obviously have musical ability. So I would advise you with your new motivation to give the guitar a go. You have nothing to lose and plenty to gain.

It will be a new challenge for you, which will be good for your mind and spirit. New challenges stimulate areas of our brains previously unused, thereby increasing our overall intelligence level. They also broaden our range of life experiences and thus inspire our spirits to new heights.

Learning a new instrument can only enhance your musicality. There are many musicians who can play more than one instrument, and play all of them very well. Wikipedia has a list (referenced below) of some amazing feats by mult-instrumentalists. Just a few of the many famous musicians proficient at more than one instrument include David Bowie, Ben Folds, Paul McCartney, Mike Oldfield, Prince, Steve Winwood and Stevie Wonder. Imagine the insight it will give you to study and play a familiar melody from the new angle of not only a different instrument, but a whole different family - strings as opposed to wind. That can only deepen your appreciation for musical interpretation and expression.

Once you learn how to drive a car, does that mean you should never try learning how to driving a bus or ride a motor bike or fly a plane? Whilever you keep learning new things such as a new instrument, you will keep on improving and growing, both as a musician and as a human being. Plus you could open up a whole new area of fun and joy in your life. You might find that the guitar turns out to be more your instrument than the sax, and think what a multitude of possibilities that could open up for you.

If it doesn't work out, you will still have learnt something from the experience. Plus, it will give you a batch of memories to look back on instead of a bunch of regrets, over what you might have achieved but didn't even try.

Life is short enough without cutting ourselves off from new experiences through fear of possible failure. Just because you didn't have a lot of success last time does not mean that you won't this time. There are probably heaps of factors that are different now. For one thing, your mind is more open and that will make success easier to achieve.

Your musical talent is a gift. Enjoy it. Make the most of it. Give the guitar a try. Then after you have mastered it, have you thought of the harp? The bagpipes? The glockenspiel?

Good luck and have fun!

Answer 2

Guitar and Piano are two entirely different beasts. The guitar has a lot of timbral versatility to it compared to the piano. For example, the 6th fret on the low E string is the same pitch as the 1st fret on the A string, but they have relatively different sounds because resonance gets involved. It's quite a fun instrument to play however. If you're leaning to play Electric, get a Squier Strat. Every guitar player you know is probably gonna tell you otherwise, because, it sounds bad or isn't the greatest guitar in the world. While that is true, it's also cheap, and compared to One Act guitars, it's not too bad. It's less than $250 for the pack with the amp and the tuner, cable, bag, and everything else, and it's not a bad set. I'm still using the gig bag I got from it 5 years later on my Iceman. The amp eventually went because I used it outside in awfully humid conditions and the electrics corroded over. But for the short term, it's a good investment. When you first pick up an instrument to learn, you need to develop your practice skills, both mechanics and regularly practicing, so don't spend $400 on a guitar right away. It's a shame to see people spend $500+ on Epiphone Les Pauls and knock offs, learn how to play a few songs, and then give up and have the guitar stuffed in a closet. If you do get the set, there's usually a book included where it teaches you a few notes on each string, then some chords, gives you some basic songs, with notes and chords. Nothing to deep into the theory but use that in learning the mechanics, which'll eventually help you in the theory. Go through the book, make sure you know it, then go to a teacher, who will teach you (ideally) advanced mechanics, then start introducing theory. Some people say to learn how to play tabs which are very helpful if you want to learn a song or a new technique but stick with the standard notation because it'll honestly help you. Guitar isn't necessarily difficult to learn if you're willing to put in the time to practice, but it's ridiculously rewarding to play.

Answer 3

I've been a guitar player for about 9 years now. My opinion is definately yes. Having played sax for so many years i'm sure you have a great understanding of theory, and that will allow you to learn really quickly. Even if you didn't practice very often, it won't take you long to get to a point where you develop your own style and songs. Guitar seems to be the favorite of "on the side" instruments for musicians. It will be a big change, but well worth it for the versatility.

Answer 4

Diane J expressed well the advantages of learning the guitar. Unlike the saxophone, the first obstacle facing you will be the building of calluses on your left fingertips. That is the hurdle every string player must first overcome if they are to succeed. It takes will-power, drive, and strong motivation to move beyond the sore fingertips, but once the calluses are formed, the whole world of guitar playing awaits.

You have the advantage of music theory already, so that is a head start for you.

Go for it!

Answer 5

Go for it if you're serious. You've got to be motivated enough to practice for more than a week. Sure, it sounds good and makes great music, but it takes a LOT of work to play the guitar well. You stuck with the sax for 15 years. That's impressive! It seems likely that you can make it work. Try it. If you don't like it, don't do it.

Answer 6

nobody on here can truly predict if you'll enjoy the instrument or not.

the best thing to do is look to make a minimal investment into a guitar and see it piques your interest, and then go from there.

go to www.musiciansfriend.com

they have many low priced guitar packages, whether you want an acoustic, you can get some as cheap as $99, or an electric guitar package, some of those go for around $200, and that includes an amp, picks, case & cables.

best of luck.

Answer 7

I play guitar and sax and let me tell ya. Nothing compares to the sound of a sax. But it is always good to learn something new. It will definitely make you more versatile. But be ready to put in some time and effort into getting the guitar down.

Answer 8

All you need to do is learn several chords and you can play many folk, pop and rock songs. To do that, Its not that hard. The key is getting a good guitar thats easy to play. Here are some articles to get you started... http://www.danomusiconline.com

Answer 9

Attempt Air Guitar first.
If successful and enjoyable move on to real Guitar.

Answer 10

i did the same thing with trombone to bass it just felt right if you stick with it even after the blisters it will be worth the calluses