Fat guitar fingerboard?!
Question: Hey guys.
I recently went to Hong Kong, and on the final day I bought myself a cheap guitar (I think its a classical?) and tried to play some tunes on it. I can't say I'm very experienced (actually I can barely play a thing) but to me the fingerboard seems unnaturally thick... Are there any ways of confirming or checking this? I'm having trouble hitting some of the simple chords simply because I can't reach them comfortably (I have medium/largish hands and I also have played the violin and piano for about 10 years, so "small hands" or "not used to it" isn't the problem I think).
Thanks in advance!
Answers: Hey guys.
I recently went to Hong Kong, and on the final day I bought myself a cheap guitar (I think its a classical?) and tried to play some tunes on it. I can't say I'm very experienced (actually I can barely play a thing) but to me the fingerboard seems unnaturally thick... Are there any ways of confirming or checking this? I'm having trouble hitting some of the simple chords simply because I can't reach them comfortably (I have medium/largish hands and I also have played the violin and piano for about 10 years, so "small hands" or "not used to it" isn't the problem I think).
Thanks in advance!
Classical guitars have notoriously big necks. Both in width and thickness I have found. I first tried learning on my brother's old classical guitar and it was murder. I got a steel string acoustic Yamaha that had a smaller neck and all of the sudden I could make chords and even learn the F and B barre chords.
Those were next to impossible for me with the classical.
As far as the acoustic/electric which one first question goes it is easier to learn acoustic and switch to electric than the other way around. The neck in an electric will be a lot smaller than the classical acoustic and may feel better.
Since you have some musical knowledge you shouldn't have too much problem learning once you get a decent instrument. My advice is to save up some money. (At least $250 for a decent beginner acoustic guitar) Go to the music store and play as many guitars that you can. Once you get an idea for the different feels and sounds pick a couple in your price range and pick the one that feels and sounds the best. Feel is more important as a beginner since that will help you keep motivated.
Hope that helps out. Good luck.
Classical guitars tend to have a wider finger board than the usual acoustic or electric guitar, it makes it easier to finger pick, but harder to play a chord cleanly. If it is indeed a classical guitar that is the reason you are having trouble with the chords. I have a similar issue with them. Try playing other guitars to find one you are comfortable with or stick it out with the one you've got.
As for your second question goes........there's no reason for not practicing them both. They would complement each other. Consider this...an electric guitars fingerboard is narrower than a classicals, you could practice chords, scales, appegios and such until you build up some muscle memory or until you feel comfortable with what you've learned. Then practice it on the classical. It can work the other way around as well. What you learn on the classical guitar could be incorporated into what you play on the electric. I know of several rock musicians that use fingerpicking. There are many techniques that one can use when playing a stringed instrument. You shouldn't be confined to just one.
I think you bought a classical guitar, which is quite different from either an acoustic or an electric. Classical guitars are played differently than other guitars, so my advice would be to go on and get an electric guitar (if that's what you ultimately want to play) and learn with it. If you've played violin and piano, you shouldn't have a problem learning the guitar. Basically, to learn to play, the guitar must feel right to you and it needs to make you want to pick it up and play. If it doesn't feel right (like the one you're describing), then you should find one that does.