Why Guitar Lessons?
Piano vs. Guitar: What is the best instrument to learn first?
There are many people who will ask what is the best instrument for a beginner (usually their child) to learn on? It often comes down to the piano versus the guitar. There are many pros and cons to learning each instrument first but what it comes down to is which sounds the most appealing to you or your child and how hard the student is willing to practice.
For a beginner, it may be easier to learn and memorize the notes on a piano because they repeat in the same pattern across all the keys. It is also easier for beginners to understand musical patterns on a piano. On guitar, the note patterns are a little more complex because each string has a different arrangement of notes. For a beginner it may be difficult to know which string to use when the pitch goes higher or lower, however, having the right teacher, the guitar can be learned with ease and little time.
Piano lessons provide for more instant gratification because it is easier to play a note. However, who wants easy? With the guitar, there is much more coordination involved in the beginning but once you get through the hard stuff, playing becomes smoother and easier. The piano gets harder the more you practice. Guitar playing tends to get easier over time as students often grasp chords and learn several songs faster than a piano student might. As each student has different learning abilities, enthusiasm is also a determining factor in how quickly and easily the student can learn.
While both guitar lessons and piano lessons provide a better opportunity for learning to read and understand music, it is important that whatever instrument you choose, that learning music theory and how to read music is imperative no matter what instrument you choose. One feature that the guitar has over the piano is that the guitar is mobile. If you don’t have a piano and are taking lessons, you are limited to how and where you can practice.
When deciding piano versus guitar lessons, it just comes down to preference. Both piano and guitar are equally good at providing the essential fundamentals of music than other instruments don’t offer. They are both excellent beginner instruments that offer different paths to the same goal: to enjoy playing music and perhaps even become a professional musician someday.