I always wanted to play an instrument. Two months ago, at 40, I started learning the guitar.:rock:

I bought an acoustic, and i borrowed a 1988 fender Strat from my brother. I have had some lessons, and I am trying to practice daily (very hard to find the time).
My goal was to learn enough to play every Beatles tune, and play basically everything I have heard on the radio for the past 25 years. Advanced music theory is beyond me.

I am having trouble. My fingers are too big. I can't hit many strings properly. My fingers hurt - not the tips, they are callused - but the joints ache after playing a while.

I broke my left middle finger years ago. It has three pins in it, and I can't bend it enough. I alter the fingering on a few chords to make it easier to play with my bad finger.

While in Guitar Center yesterday, I was playing around with a keyboard. It seems easier (I have no doubt that mastering either instrument is a life-long pursuit). At least making simple notes is easier - you just hit one key!

What do I do? I want to play rock music. The guitar is cool, but I fear I will never get it. My friends have a band, with 3 guitars. They need a keyboard. keyboards can be cool - yes? I love the Doors. Maybe I should switch.

Any advice???

Sounds like you should be playing keyboard. Its definately easier on the fingers and as you know guitar players are a dime a dozen...

Anything you can play on guitar you can play on keyboard. Although My personal Bias is toward screaming metal guitars :rock:

I wouldn't give up on the guitar though its actually really easy to learn and we all know no instrument can rock harder.

I tought myself through tabulature on the internet and it helps you learn chords and scales really quickly.

Having played both (sometimes simultaneously) for a living over the last 22 years or so, let me list the pros and cons:

Guitar

+ Chicks dig guitar players
+ easier to gig because the equipment is more portable
+ more versatile in a beach party/camp fire/beer fest kind of way
- pretty much one texture for the next 10 or 15 years
- easier to pull muscles in weird places (back, neck, wrists, elbows, etc.)

Keyboard

+ most pros will agree that it is the gateway to the other instruments
+ lots of tonal possibilites and textures at your fingertips
+ quicker access to actual music rather than just learning a chord or two
- more gear
- more money
- repetative motion injury is a real possibility if you over do it

Since you are a Beatles fan, it isn't insignificant to note that nearly all of their greatest hits were written at the keyboard.

Having played both (sometimes simultaneously) for a living over the last 22 years or so, let me list the pros and cons:

Guitar

+ Chicks dig guitar players
+ easier to gig because the equipment is more portable
+ more versatile in a beach party/camp fire/beer fest kind of way
- pretty much one texture for the next 10 or 15 years
- easier to pull muscles in weird places (back, neck, wrists, elbows, etc.)

Keyboard

+ most pros will agree that it is the gateway to the other instruments
+ lots of tonal possibilites and textures at your fingertips
+ quicker access to actual music rather than just learning a chord or two
- more gear
- more money
- repetative motion injury is a real possibility if you over do it

Since you are a Beatles fan, it isn't insignificant to note that nearly all of their greatest hits were written at the keyboard.

Thanks for the advice. Here's my situation:
As for the guitar:
- I'm married, 4 kids. The only chicks that might dig it are my friends wives.

- I have to carry the amp and the guitar - just as heavy as a portable keyboard and an amp (maybe not, but still its portable).

- Yes, the beach party thing would be out for a keyboard. I guess I'll just drink instead.

- Texture? I'm not sure I understand..

- I've already pulled my wrist trying to keep it properly bent for an hour at a time. And im starting with a bum broken finger.

Piano:

- I can be "sensitive man" - like Richard Gere in Pretty Woman.
- I can be cool with Doors tunes or Elvis Costello, or Bruce (Thunder Road!!!).
- More Gear, more money!?? - I own an RX and 'm on this board everyday - gear and money? That's it? where do I sign up?? :mdrmed:

And as for injuries, I'm going snowboarding in Beaver Creek tomorrow. If I don't kill myself, I think I can handle the keyboard...


I just don't want my wife to think I'm so nuts that i take up a new instrument two months after starting guitar. But doing these sort of nutty things is just how my life goes....

Good choice. You can always go back to the guitar after you have some understanding of the structure of chords and stuff.
Ray Manzarek would be proud.

If you ever get into church related stuff, musicians who can play keyboard and/or organ are in high demand around here. How's $250 / week sound, just to keep up with the choirs and do the usual Sunday stuff. That price can go much higher too.

I'm a Jew and a Kohen, I don't think I could get my feet inside a Church.

I'll have to resort to playing Barmitzvahs on Saturday nights.. :angel:

$250 a week? I make that per hour working only 4 to 8 hours a week.
There is a lot of money to be made in music.

I haven't had a church gig in a while, but I used to pull about $125 for two hours on Sunday morning just playing the organ.

I'm a Jew and a Kohen, I don't think I could get my feet inside a Church.

I'll have to resort to playing Barmitzvahs on Saturday nights.. :angel:I'm just a plain, old Levite, but they never gave me a hard time in the Catholic or Lutheran churches.
Bar Mitzvahs (and weddings) are exactly what I've been doing for the last 2 decades.

My wife just threw me a 40th birthday.
BIG SURPRISE. I love her.

It was in club in the city. My friends and my brother took the stage.
It was a fantastic guitar-rock dance party.

I was blitzed, but managed to clear my head enough to belt out "Roadhouse Blues". It was great. I love the singing, I want to play. Like I said, they have 3 or 4 guys on guitar, bass, and drums. No keyboard. In a year, I think I could join them.

I know all of the music in my head, the melodies, the choruses, the breaks, the timing, I have sat in on many sessions- I just have to make it come out of my fingers into the keys...

Thanks for the push. I'm going to do it.

As soon as I get back from the Back Bowls....

Stay guitar if you don't mind the demanding learning curve, techniquelly, musically, etc. Your hands being too big is actually ok, u just have to learn alternative ways of holding a chord, plucking wise its actually better since you'll be able to mute easier. If you feel pain, it either means wrong way of holding guitar, overwork your hands or just plain injury like you have. Since you are into rock, the guitar is really the better way to go.

If you ever get into church related stuff, musicians who can play keyboard and/or organ are in high demand around here. How's $250 / week sound, just to keep up with the choirs and do the usual Sunday stuff. That price can go much higher too.

Wow, I don't know what church you go to but ours has never paid more than about $50 a week to the organist. And that position usually entails all services and choir practices, etc., etc.

I guess if it was a BIG church, that might account for the money- but I'd think those would be taken up by professional musicians, since they rarely make much and are always looking for jobs on the side...

stick with guitar...its what you really want based on some of your posts i think.
I've been playing for about 15 years now, and must say, that you are at that point where if you stick with it, youll get it, or you can learn piano...

a lot of people say guitar is easy to learn, and in some ways it is, but its easy to learn basic stuff. you get to a point where you do have to stick with it and you'll get it.....

i remember thinking i had too small fingers, but you always find a way if you want to rock out....

just keep at it and good luck!

Guitars are just damn cool, you usually can impress a few chics at a campfire with a guitar... can't imagine ever bringing a keyboard to a campfire with beethoven's fur elise.

I went through that path of trying both guitar and piano, guitar suited me more because I had a lot of energy and it was such a great way to express yourself through a clean sounding accoustic or metal/distortion pedal.

another plus about guitars is you can buy cool things like amps and pedals and really customize your new talent...

if you stick with it, im sure your 'big' fingers will start to fit magically. Strats also have (depending on year) smaller necks than say, a late 50's les Paul. So your hands might fit better on those. Ibanez guitars also have really wide, but not as 'rounded' necks. They are flatter and wider...those are fun too.

I want to learn to play the damn thing...

I have to resist the attempt to customize and buy new gear.

Understood that the learning curve on ANYTHING - at 40 years old - will be steep.

Thanks for all the advice.

I think I'll just learn both....

I'm a huge Kramer fan. Kramers have nice, narrow, easily handled flat necks. Fit them with lighter-gauge strings if you're having trouble with getting your fingers strong enough.

I also cannot recommend having a good preamp/amp modeller for that "Feel Good" factor when you're playing guitar and want to be a rock hero. I have a Yamaha DG1000 and it made me very confident.

You can pick up cheap synths for learning piano (I strongly recommend a Korg M1 - nice samples). It does all work off itself, the music. I've also found violin helps me with guitar, which is downright weird.

I thought you talking about Kramer from seinfeld. hehe

OK, i'm listening to Layla on Itunes radio.

I would be very happy to play the piano part on this song.

I'ts a very cool song, and I would be thrilled to be onstage wth the ability to play in Eric's band. :smoker:

After I got the Fender Strat, I bought a VOX amp. Nice sounding amp.

Guitar is easier to learn without having to learn how to read notes. The gift of Tablature.

Wow, I don't know what church you go to but ours has never paid more than about $50 a week to the organist. And that position usually entails all services and choir practices, etc., etc.

I guess if it was a BIG church, that might account for the money- but I'd think those would be taken up by professional musicians, since they rarely make much and are always looking for jobs on the side...Nope, not a big church, about 250 members. It depends a lot who it is, if the musician was "home grown" and such. Our musician is a little over a year with us now @ the above price. Even at that price, it's hard to keep the moonlighting jobs (other churches contracting him for, like, a wedding or a choir anniversary...) from interfering with our church stuff, and we're the church giving him that steady pay! We've been a bit unsuccessful in getting and keeping a good musician lately and the current one is questionable too. I play percussion and have offered to the church to play for free if equipment (drum set & related stuff) is supplied by the church. The musician is fighting it. He wants to bring in his past drummers so they could get a $100 / week piece of the action. Of course, it ain't workin for him too good (and I'm chairman of the trustee committee, hehe), and it's put some considerable friction between him and I, so, I'm not doing it for free anymore with him at the organ. A bit of a stalemate going on over that right now. I just can't bring myself to play with someone that, for more than one bad reason (the second reason being racial), doesn't want me to play with him.

Sorry, didn't want to steal the thread or anything, just hit a raw nerve of mine.

So, yeah, $250 / week is about the average going rate for an average size church around here. Any less, you're getting a bargain.

Wow, I don't know what church you go to but ours has never paid more than about $50 a week to the organist. And that position usually entails all services and choir practices, etc., etc.

I guess if it was a BIG church, that might account for the money- but I'd think those would be taken up by professional musicians, since they rarely make much and are always looking for jobs on the side...Nah, your mileage will vary. I attended a very small Episcopal church for a while in New York. Seldom see 100 people in the service. I have no idea how they meet budget every year. Anyway, they pay $30k/year to their organist who also leads the choir practice. Best I can tell she averages less than 10 hours/week. I guess that pay makes her a professional, but I never heard of her having any other credentials - she's not even Episcopalian.

I would be very happy to play the piano part on this song.

I'ts a very cool song, and I would be thrilled to be onstage wth the ability to play in Eric's band. :smoker:I have some slight piano talent left over from 8 years of childhood lessons (~ages 8 to 16). One thing I will say in favor of piano practice - it gives you wicked manual dexterity. I type really, really fast. It took a while for me to figure out why my high school and college buddies could not type nearly as fast - no piano lessons. Poor trumpet players - I hope they found a way to make a living with their over-developed mouths. Me, I work with computers (at least, I do when I'm not reading this forum). ;)

Sounds like it is better for your situation anyway. Your buddies likely don't need another guitar player.

I don't have any experience playing accompaniement (I type fast, I don't spell well) in a band. Would you expect to play mostly the melody or mostly chords to complement the melody played by the guitar? If it's just whole-note chords you could be doing that by Friday (or at least next Friday).
:ylsuper: