Blog Posts: Which is Better for the Student an Electric or Acoustic Guitar?

Is it better to learn on an Acoustic or Electric Guitar? This is one of the questions that parents frequently ask. Most parents believe that their child would need to start on the acoustic guitar and then move to the electric, once they are more experienced.

This was the conventional way of learning when I was growing up and first starting to play guitar way back in 1969. After all, that’s how my father learned to play, so that’s how I should learn, right? I remember going to the local music store and buying this really huge acoustic guitar. The strings were so stiff and difficult to play that my fingers quickly formed blisters and my hand hurt for days.

After a very short time, about 3 weeks, I couldn’t stand the pain and discomfort any longer. I was determined to learn how to play and I wasn’t about to give up so, I went back to the local music store and asked the man behind the counter what I should do. He said “try this one” at which point he reached up on the wall and handed me down a bright red electric guitar. It was really cool and it had all these knobs and switches on it. It was a bit intimidating at first, but, as soon as I felt the neck and strings I knew that this was the solution that I was looking for.

Wow, what a difference! I found that with the smaller sized body and lighter gauge strings that I could play for longer periods of time and really enjoy the learning experience. The musical possibilities were endless.

Over the last 40 years, I have learned that many adults wanted to learn to play the guitar when they were younger; however, the acoustic guitar was too big and hurt their hands so they just stopped playing. I explain to them that if they would have started on and Electric Guitar they would probably still be playing today.

I highly recommend starting all students, adults as well as children on electric guitars. Most students will eventually own both electric and acoustic guitars. It’s just so much easier, in the beginning, to learn to play when the guitar feels comfortable and, of course, you can plug it into an amp and rock out to your favorite bands!

Roger Newcome  

CENTER STAGE AGOURA

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