
Guitars for the rest of us - andyjsong
http://www.wired.com/2016/04/even-n00bs-can-rock-magic-instruments-new-guitar/
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shostack
The intro to this piece struck a chord with me (pun intended).

My mother recently gifted me her old Martin classical guitar that my
grandfather handed down to her. I've been having a musical itch I needed to
scratch after going over a decade without really playing an instrument after I
had been section leader of the clarinets in HS band class and taken piano for
a year or so.

I'm now learning guitar with the help of JustinGuitar.com (seriously amazing
totally free site) and a guitar-obsessed co-worker who has been super helpful.

The most jarring experience to me about learning this has been the fact that I
physically cannot play certain notes yet, and changing notes is extremely
physically challenging. Not just in a muscle memory sense--but literally the
process of getting my fingers to move in these incredibly unnatural ways and
distances.

I remember back in the day what it felt like to be proficient with the
clarinet and not have to think about how to play a note or change keys.
Building that muscle memory up again is incredibly humbling, and frustrating
as hell.

That said, there's something immensely satisfying the first time you struggle
your way through a basic song (in this case Bob Marley's "Three Little Birds"
with three chords) and all of a sudden, you can gradually make out the actual
song in the midst of all the incorrect fingering and delays in chord changes.

I hope I have the mental fortitude to persevere as I love the sound of guitar
and the idea of playing one. I expected a learning curve with memorizing notes
and finger positions and such, but christ did I not envision it being anywhere
near this difficult to physically play. When I see a talented musician playing
I now have massive newfound respect when I see them whipping through chord
changes during 16th notes for example.

Not much more to add here, but seeing things like this that dumb down the
experience are disappointing. Sure it might be a way to help people have early
success, but I'd guess those people are a lot less likely to jump to the real
thing if they seek out the easy road like that.

