What's Easier- Electric Or Acoustic Guitar?

There seems to be a misconception floating around that starting your first lessons with an electric guitar is somehow more difficult than starting with an acoustic guitar. The opposite is actually more true.

The neck of an electric guitar is longer and thinner than an acoustic guitar. The action (space between string and top of fretboard) is generally lower on an electric guitar also. As a result, less strength is required to push the strings down onto the fretboard, thus making it easier to play.

The classical guitar would be next in line as far as ease of playing is concerned. This is because it has nylon strings which are more flexible than the wound steel strings of a dreadnaught acoustic guitar. The challenge with classical guitar, especially for those who have small hands, is playing a wider neck.

So, when rating guitars from 1. being the easiest to play, and 3. being the most difficult, my opinion is:

1. electric

2. classical

3. acoustic steel string (dreadnaught)

Now, when it comes to style, that's another matter...

Each of the instruments I mentioned above are generally associated with a particular style of music. Electric guitars have a long history of association with rock and roll music. Likewise, classical guitars were developed to play classical music and acoustic steel string guitars are most often associated with country-western music. However, that does not mean they are restricted to these areas only.

Each style of guitar music has it's own merit and unique level of difficulty. I doubt if it's even possible to really compare such a thing as which style is the most difficult to play. We can all think of great musicians in each field... Eddie Van Halen, Segovia, Chet Atkins- all of whom were supurb guitarists in their particular style of choice.

The important thing to understand is that all the notes and all the chords are the same, regardless of the type of guitar you use. So when choosing a guitar for yourself, or your child, consider the style of music you (or they) want to learn and take it from there.

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