Teaching Guitar To Beginners On Electric Versus Acoustic

For any beginner starting to play guitar the question is often raised whether you should start on acoustic guitar or electric guitar. For some, this will be a simple choice as they will be drawn to one or the other based on the type of music they like.

But the question still stands about which provides a foundation in technique that will form a basis for improving guitar skills? If you are going to teach yourself guitar then which guitar type does not hide your faults?

There are advantages and disadvantages to both at different stages of a guitarist learning so any assessment needs to take into account the short and long term benefits of each. Over the years I have taught other guitarists using whatever guitar they had to hand. I noticed that you can nearly tell from a guitarist's technique whether they started on electric or acoustic just by watching them play.

So here are the pros and cons we saw of each approach.

Learning On Electric Guitar

Pros

* Easier to play using the narrower gauge strings and narrower guitar neck.

* Develop a subtlety of playing. Amplification of what you play highlights various effects and nuances in your play (for hammer ons, vibrato, etc.).

* Practicing using earphones is possible (neighbors will appreciate this).

Cons

* Muscle strength in the fingers does not build up as strongly as when playing acoustic.

* The use of effects/distortion hides a multitude of faults (string buzz, poor left hand placement).

* Tendency for resting the left thumb on the guitar neck.

Learning On Acoustic Guitar

Pros

* Cheaper to get started.

* An amp is not required, which allows you to play and practice anywhere.

* Finger muscle strength is building up from day one.

Cons

* Strong temptation to only strum through songs, so beginners should also learn finger picking styles.

* Guitar solos can get lost if playing in a group which may put off some beginners.

* Using earphones with an acoustic guitar is not an option.

From my perspective, guitarists who start out on electric build up a speed of playing (solos, chord changes, etc.) which is admirable, but it is often at the cost of good playing technique. Playing the electric guitar hides a number of faults such as incorrect placement of the thumb and not holding down strings solidly that results in strings buzzing or being muted during play (this is highly noticeable when recording an electric).

By comparison, starting out on acoustic builds up finger strength, nurtures better hand placement on the frets and fosters clear sounding play.

That said, if you can handle the bill for buying both electric and acoustic guitars then you could split out the beginners training on both instruments and they will benefit from both approaches.