The Benefits of Playing Acoustic Guitar

Right now, I’m sitting at my computer with an acoustic guitar on a stand next to me. It’s there because I love to just pick it up and Jam right away- as there is no amp to plug into, and I don’t have to mess around with floating bridges etc,.

Here is a video of me, sitting here, doing just that- jamming totally randomly:

click here if you can’t see the video

Direct from the Soul

There are, however, alot more benefits to playing acoustic guitar- for one, with no distortion or effects getting in the way of the sound, it gives you the opportunity to really focus on how your fingers are interacting with the strings. The sound of an acoustic comes directly from your fingers, to the strings, to the air (and to whoever is listening/rocking out at the time), but the sound from an electric guitar has to travel through the jack lead, through an amp, and then through a speaker (all of which slightly alter the sound). The sound of an acoustic comes directly from your fingers (and therefore directly from your thoughts and soul), with no effects covering the mistakes!

Finger Strength

The other advantage of being able to play acoustic comes, of course, in the form of increased finger strength. I’ve probably gone on several times before about how your the movement should come from the fingers? Well, playing an acoustic (which, by nature will have thicker strings that take more force to hold down), can really work out the correct muscles that you should be using to play guitar- provided, of course, that you use the correct technique.

So many technique issues can be boiled down to not using the correct muscles, or not having muscles that are strong enough. I’m not saying that playing an acoustic is easier, it’s not-it’s alot harder than electric- and I’m not saying that you won’t try and “cheat” (i.e. use the wrong muscles) like you might do on electric. What I am saying is: playing with thicker, heavier strings will build up your hand strength- and you will really notice if you’re using the wrong muscles because, to be honest, it will start to hurt far sooner than it would on electric! This is what I have found from playing acoustic, and how it has improved my overall technique.

My Own Story

When I first started wanting to play guitar, I picked up an old, battered, classical guitar (and when I say “battered” I mean I had to superglue the neck back on the body). This guitar, which originally belonged to my mother, was not in a great condition all over (as you’ve probably guessed!)- all of the strings buzzed and the action (distance between strings and fretboard) at the 12th fret was at least an inch, if not more!

Needless to say, this instrument was almost impossible to play (not that it bothered me at the time, I just wanted to rock!). However, I my first year- or so- of struggling with this wildly deformed instrument forced me to concentrate alot more on my technique- to the point where, when I finally bought a “real” guitar, I found it so easy to play my ability skyrocketed. The little muscles that control my fingers had become stronger and I could focus more on the music I wanted to create- rather than the technique I would be creating it with!

So, basically, if you want a cheap and easy way to combat excess tension in your technique, I suggest you go and buy yourself a cheap, acoustic guitar. It really is true that the harder we have to work for what we want, the better the reward turns out to be.

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November 5, 2009 at 5:08 pm | Guitar Technique and Exercises | No comments

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