How long would it take me to learn how to play guitar?
I’ve been playing bass guitar for over 5 years now and I’m thinking about learning guitar. I have an instructor and I still want to be mainly a bassist. But I want to start my own acoustic side project. So what do you guitarists out there think?
November 17th, 2010 at 2:47 am
Well, since you already play bass, it shouldnt be 2 hard….but dont expect it to be easy either.
November 17th, 2010 at 3:17 am
It really depends on your definition of “playing.” Are we talking Neil Young playing or Steve Howe playing? The transition from bass to guitar shouldnt be that difficult. If you have been playing five years, you probably know some chord structure and scales.
Since you are talking about a “side project” I assume you are in a band. I’d say with all that going on, you could probably play acoustically with some proficiency in about six months. Maybe less if you really put the time in. Now I’m not talking about being a virtuoso, but better than the average beginner.
November 17th, 2010 at 4:00 am
Well, you’ll probably have a much easier time with lead guitar than rythym, seeing as how you’re already a bassist, which is sorta backwards for most people… rock guitar in general will be easier, as you’ll be using mostly power chords, but jazz might be a bit tougher. If you have good theory knowledge it shouldn’t be too hard. On the plus side you can go ahead and start with 10 or even 11 gauge strings.
November 17th, 2010 at 4:39 am
It depends. If you know what style you want to play (classical, country, etc.), just focus all your practice into one style and you should get it pretty quickly. Especially with 5 years of bass. Looks like you already know how to utilize the internet to get the answers that you want. That’s a good place to start. There are millions of websites that can teach you guitar stuff. cyberfret.com is a good one for beginning techniques. or just ask your instructor if he plays guitar. and then there’s the age old teaching: “practice, practice, practice”.
November 17th, 2010 at 5:27 am
All I can say is to practice practice practice. It shouldn’t be to hard since you play bass. Good luck.