Guitar vs. Piano: Which One Should I Learn? Music Genre
Friday, June 11, 2021 by Chandra Davis | Guitar vs. Piano
If you are trying to decide between piano and guitar lessons, the biggest factor to take into consideration should be your preferred music genre. What kind of music do you or your child want to play? There is nothing worse than trying to learn an instrument when you are not excited about it. Enthusiasm really does have a profound effect on how quickly a student will progress.
Students who are interested in classical music will likely start out with the piano due to its long history with popular composers such as Beethoven or Chopin. Beginners will probably have a very enjoyable experience since they will come across famous classical pieces early on in their training. However, learning piano does not necessarily mean that your only focus should be classical repertoire. The piano is a very flexible instrument and is used in other types of music such as jazz and pop.
Students who want to learn their favorite songs on the radio will probably gravitate more toward the guitar. Some of its musical genres include rock, pop, jazz, and country. Since the guitar is so prevalent in all types of music, you are not limited to just one style of playing. Once a student can grasp a few of the basic chord shapes, they can find plenty of easy songs to learn. The best part about this instrument is being able to jam along with others who have the same musical taste as you. Considering this aspect of the guitar can promote much excitement for anyone who wants to learn.
Keep in mind that both piano and guitar can present their own specific set of challenges. The most important thing is to choose the instrument you are most excited about. In doing so, you or your child will find much enjoyment even when things seem difficult at first.
Guitar vs. Piano: Which One Should I Learn? Learning Curve
Friday, June 4, 2021 by Chandra Davis | Guitar vs. Piano
In a previous article, I discussed the layout of the piano and guitar to give you a comparison of how the notes are arranged. In this blog, I will talk about the learning curve for both instruments and how they differ.
If you or your child has very little time or patience, then the piano may be the way to go. Learning piano generally provides faster results than guitar for most beginners. Once you learn the proper posture along with the correct finger and wrist technique, all you need to do is simply press a key to make a sound. Typically, beginners start off using one hand at a time. As the student progresses, piano does become more challenging since the student is having to play different notes and rhythm patterns while using both hands simultaneously.
With the guitar, it is important to note that it does not give you the instant gratification that piano does in the beginning. Since one hand is responsible for strumming and the other hand must fret the strings, the first note or chord that a student plays may not be pleasant. It could take a few lessons to develop coordination with both hands for the sound to ring out nicely. Beginners may start off learning a few single notes one at a time or a few simple chords that require the use of only one or two fingers. Over time, the guitar does get easier to play. Once you have a few chord shapes under your belt it is possible to learn your favorite songs faster than on a piano. The final article in this series will consider how a student’s desired musical preference can influence their rate of success.
Guitar vs Piano: Which One Should I Learn? The Layout
Thursday, May 27, 2021 by Chandra Davis | Guitar vs. Piano
Since I opened my studio, many have asked about the difference between piano and guitar lessons. Which instrument is easier to learn and how do I decide if it is the right fit for me or my child? The answer to these questions depends on a few different factors. In this article, we will compare the layout of the piano and guitar along with their pros and cons.
On the piano, the notes repeat across the keys in the same sequence. There are white keys which identify your natural notes and black keys that identify your sharp/flat notes. This layout is easy to memorize, and students can quickly identify intervals (the distance between two keys). Playing to the right of the piano raises the pitch while playing to the left lowers the pitch. This concept is helpful to beginners when they are learning how to read music. The pitch of a note is never repeated anywhere on the piano unless you play the same key twice.
The format of the guitar is a bit more challenging to learn for two reasons. Each string has a different note sequence, and the same note can be found on different strings which can be confusing to beginners especially when learning how to read music. Unlike the piano, there are no black and white keys to distinguish where the sharp/flat or natural notes are. Anyone who is learning guitar must put in the extra effort to memorize the fretboard in sections over time. Another aspect of playing guitar is tuning. When the weather changes, so does the tension on the strings, so it is important to learn this skill quickly since a guitarist must check the tuning each time before they play. In the next article I will discuss the learning curve for both instruments and what kind of progress a student should expect when taking lessons.
