How do I learn?

[TheRiddler]

So as way of introduction, I'm in my mid 40s, two kids, a wife, and I have been air guitaring for around 30 years...

 

Maybe it's a mid life crisis, maybe it's a lockdown thing, or something else, but I really want to see if I can actually play. 

However:

1) It's lockdown, therefore lessons will have to be online, possibly from an app / YouTube. I realise this isn't the best way to learn, but I'm not looking to become the next Brian May, just have a bit of fun

2) I'm left handed, and when air guitaring, I play left handed. I assume I would need to buy a left handed guitar? Is that even a thing. or do other lefties just use a normal guitar and learn that way?

3) I'm thinking of starting off on an electric guitar, mainly because I figure I can play with headphones so it should in theory be 'silent' and not disturb the rest of the house? 

4) Under that setup would I need an amp, or can I just plug a normal headphone into the output? 

anything else I should know?

[Rikki_Sixx]

Hi Riddler, I know your post is old-ish now so hopefully you're already on your journey! If not, I'll have a go at answering these.

1 - I'm also learning online. I currently have a subscription to Fender Play. It's really useful, the lessons are broken into bite-sized chunks and it has simplified versions of a lot of popular songs on there. For a while they had 3 months free in lockdown but even if that's expired they do a 1 month trial. Off the back of a trial I got a good deal on 12 months, it just took a little patience! There's also JustinGuitar which is completely free, mostly YouTube based. He's a great teacher and his lessons are really easy to follow.

2 - You can indeed buy left-handed guitars! I'm a righty so I've no experience on the matter, but I'd definitely suggest getting a left-handed guitar. In the past some lefties have forced themselves to learn on a right-handed guitar, but that seems a cruel and unusual punishment.

3 -  An unplugged guitar is much quieter than an acoustic obviously. I have a semi-hollow electric which I do play unplugged sometimes but it's still nowhere near an acoustic in volume. If you do go the electric route, be sure to get something you can play through for sure.

4 - That brings us onto the amp! You can get headphone-only amps like the new Fender Mustang Micro or a VOX Amplug, and there are plenty of small "proper" amps out there which you can play with or without headphones. You might want to look at the home practise amps from Yamaha and Blackstar which you can play at low enough volume as to not disturb neighbours and even people in the next room, while still sounding good! A lot of small home amps have a headphone jack and an aux-in socket so they double as a music player, which I do a lot with my Yamaha THR10. Plus you can plug in your phone and play along to Spotify! One thing to note - you can't just plug normal headphones into a guitar. You will need an amp or headphone-amp. 

Some other poiners for anyone still with this. If you can, go to a music store and touch some guitars. Even if you can't play a chord, it's nice to get your hands on the neck and see how it feels. If something feels obviously too thick, thin or heavy then try something else! When buying, have a look at second hand stuff and buy what you can afford. Don't necassarily go for a 20-year old clunker just because it's cheap - it could put you off for life. Going second-hand you might find you can afford something of slighlty better quality, and still spend under £100 if you're strapped. 

Now away with you and buy some gear!

[Kiwi]

On 27/01/2021 at 05:00, TheRiddler said:

1) It's lockdown, therefore lessons will have to be online, possibly from an app / YouTube. I realise this isn't the best way to learn, but I'm not looking to become the next Brian May, just have a bit of fun

This is the most important part.  Even more important than having a teacher.  If you're not relaxed and engaged in what you're learning to the point where you forget time is passing then your learning isn't at it's most efficient.  (Seriously.)  So it's important to pick songs to practice that have some significance for you, either because you get a buzz from them or because the learning process is meaningful in some way.

On 27/01/2021 at 05:00, TheRiddler said:

2) I'm left handed, and when air guitaring, I play left handed. I assume I would need to buy a left handed guitar? Is that even a thing. or do other lefties just use a normal guitar and learn that way?

Whatever way works for you.  It might be more logical to use a left handed instrument, although there are lefty players who play with the instrument strung for a right hander - low notes on the bottom edge and high notes on the top edge of the fingerboard.  Having said that, I'm a lefty and I learned to play right handed mainly because I learned to play drums right handed.  Sometimes I wonder what it might have been like to learn left handed but it's opened my world up to a much greater choice of instruments than I might otherwise have been able to access.

On 27/01/2021 at 05:00, TheRiddler said:

4) Under that setup would I need an amp, or can I just plug a normal headphone into the output? 

For three and four above - a headphone amp is pretty cheap.  Although you might want to invest in a cheap, secodhand multi effects unit like a Zoom G3 because not only will it have a headphone out but you can tinker with effects and see what each one does and how they mix.  That'll get you even closer to sounding like the records you like and they're less than eighty quid secondhand.

[ubit]

Kudos to the points above. I was learning with a teacher and lets not beat around the bush, a one on one lesson face to face with a teacher is the best way to learn. Unfortunately, it's hard at the moment but things are opening up. My problem was my guitar teacher charged me £23 per lesson and spent most of it chatting to me about my job or my basses. I would get the last ten minutes of a lesson. My job doesn't allow me to plan far ahead now so I have to rely on online lessons. At least they don't chat to you and waste time!