Acoustic or electrical guitar? What to learn first

It's up to the music you're trying to play. If you dream about accompanying songs, singing while you're playing or playing bolero, acoustic pop or Colombian music, start with the acoustic. If what moves you is rock, blues, funk or metal, start with the electrical: it's no more difficult and it's what's gonna make you feel bad to practice every day.

The idea that "first we have to learn in acoustic" does not hold up. The foundations are the same at both: chords, rhythm, listening and reading. What changes is the touch of the strings, the equipment you need and the sound that accompanies you in every practice.

To sum up

Choose from the music that you listen to: chords, rhythm, listening and reading are taught as well in both guitars.
The metal string acoustics are most demanding for the yolks and the nylon's is soft but with the most extensive mast and the electrical with thin and low strings that are easy to step on.
The acoustic sounds by itself and the electrical system needs an amplifier and a cable but can be used with hearing aids.
For children 6 or 7 years old, a small nylon guitar is usually an electrical guitar with an instrument with a short scale.
Switching from one to another later is simple: most of what you learn will be transferred.

Acustics vs. Electrical: The complete comparison

Differences between acoustic and electrical guitar for those who start
Aspecto	Acoustic guitar	Electric guitar
Retirement of the ropes	Nylon: low tension, friendly with yolks. Metal: the most pressure demand and more finger tipped at first.	Stretch metal and very close to the diapason: they step with little force.
Mast	The classic one's width and flat, forcing his hand to open. The metal one's thinner.	Delgado and comfortable with easy access to the most acute and most powerful products.
Sound without equipment	Sounds complete by itself, anywhere.	It barely sounds unamplified, and the sound depends on the amplifier and the effects.
Required equipment	The guitar, a tuner and a cover.	Guitar, amplifier, cable and tuning. The effect pedals are optional.
relative cost of initial kit	The most accessible: guitar and little more.	That's bigger, because an instrument adds amplifier and cable.
Typical genres	Author's song, bolero, bamboo and corridor, Bossa nova, acoustic pop, classical and flamenco (with nylon).	Rock, blues, funk, metal, jazz, pop with band and modern tropical music.
Noise at home	A moderate volume that cannot be lowered.	with hearing aids can be almost quiet.
For children	Nailon in size 1 / 2 or 3 / 4, from 6 or 7 years old.	A short scale or 3 / 4 size, about 7 or 8 years old and weighs more than it looks.
The first thing you develop	Stretching and clawing with his fingers and his passing hand.	Use of the pow, strap off, bends and volume control.

What feels different about his hands

The yolks and the force

In an acoustic metal string, the first two or three weeks the yolks resist until they form quiet. In an electrical string are so thin that they are barely to be tightened and the challenge is to get them out of place, as the note gets out of line up. The classic nylon guitar remains amidst them: it doesn't hurt but the broad mast tireses his hand at first.

The right hand: fingers or pounding

The classical guitar usually plays with his fingers and that opens the door to the arpegtios and to the classical and Latin American repertoire. The cua and metal acoustics are dominated by an attack and precision at the rag and Riffs.

The electrical doesn't forgive the noise

The amplifier, and especially the distortion, make audible any string that remains unintended. That's why from the start you learn how to turn off the strings with the palm of the right and with the fingers that aren't standing. It's an ability that's neglected and felt at every bar in the acoustic.

If you choose acoustic: nylon or metal?

Two different guitars are found within the acoustics. Nailon's or classical guitar's are the natural door for children, for classical music and for a great part of Latin American and Colombian music, where they play with their fingers. Metal cords, sometimes called folk, have a more brilliant and powerful sound to scrape with pop, acoustic rock or ballast.

If you still don't know what, think about how you figure out how to play: with your fingers, sitting and with a hot sound, or with a stick with friends. To choose the concrete instrument, check how to choose your first acoustic guitar.

Do you choose acoustic if... / choose electrical if...

Choose the acoustic if...

Do you want to sing and join us or play at meetings and walks with nothing to do with them?
That's how you care about bolero, trova, acoustic pop, nova Bossa or Andean music.
You're looking for the easiest kit: a guitar, a tuner and ready.
It's for a little boy who's gonna start with a nylon guitar to suit his suit.

Choose the power if...

Your favorite songs have raffs and distorted guitars and solos.
You wanna play at a high school band or with friends.
You live in an apartment and you have to practice with hearing aids at any hour.
The hard ropes discourage you and you prefer a thin mast.

See what's been worked on every case at [acoustic guitar classes]](/clases/guitarra-acustica) and at [electrical guitar classes]](/clases/guitarra-electrica)and in both his and his teacher his repertoire to the music that you have been loving from the first month.

Common mistakes while making decision

To buy an electrical without amplifier, thinking that you can practice "dry": you can have a while but you can't learn how to control the sound.
To give a child an adult-sized metal acoustics with very high strings: it's a recipe for his or her to leave.
To choose acoustic "because it plays first" when what the student hears is rock: motivation goes out in a few weeks.
To think that an electroacoustic resolves everything: an acoustic with its same strings and touch.

If you're gonna buy an electrical, guide about how to choose your first electrical guitar It helps you put together a basic kit with meaning.

How to move from one to another later

Many guitarist end with both, and the step is short because tuning, chords and scales are identical. What we have to adjust is the touch.

From acoustic to electrical: lightens the pressure of the left hand, learns how to turn off strings, practice bends and vibrates, and figure out how your sound changes with the volume and effects.
From electrical to acoustic: the first few days play short sessions, because the strings are thicker and the yolks feel them, and cebilla chords demand more strength.
From metal to nylon: The wide mast forces the thumb to be rearranged after his arm and his hand to be more open.

No matter what guitar, fine tuning every day accelerates his ear. [guitar tuning]](/herramientas/afinador/guitarra) free of charge from the site.

Frequently asked questions

Is it more difficult to learn an electrical guitar than an acoustic?

No. In several respects it's easier, because the strings are thin and low. What it requires is to learn how to control the noise of the strings and how to manage the amplifier, something that the teacher includes from the first classes.

Do an electroacoustic guitar serve as an electrical guitar?

No. It's an acoustic with a system to connect it to an amplifier or a console. It's touched and felt as an acoustic with its strings and its mast and does not serve the sound and technique of an electrical.

What guitar did I buy from a 7-year-old?

In most cases, a nylon guitar with size 1 / 2 or 3 / 4, that's soft with his or her fingers. If his or her child's very rock-motivated, a short-scale electric also works with an adult with an outstanding volume.

Can I get an electrical and then play acoustic without a problem?

That's right. The chords and scales are the same. It'll only take a few weeks for your fingers to get used to thicker and more pressure.