Classical Vs. Electric


Blues_Man
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Blues_Man
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09/06/2007 12:53 am
I have gotten into an argument with one of my friends...He INSISTS (Polite word) That Classical guitar is harder than electric. Now, I think they are the same difficulty level but just different styles. I play both styles, classical and electric ,and i don't see much difference in the difficulty between Tarrega, Sor, Bach, etc. and Satch, Vai, Malmsteen, becker, Paul Gilbert etc. All I see is a difference in technique. My analogy for it (and it may be somewhat of an oversimplification but..) is that the Classical style guitar is played more like a piano, 2 or more notes at the same time. And the Electric is played more like a violin would, single note runs and arps etc. And you wouldn't necessarily say the piano is harder than the violin would you?...Anyway, what are you alls' opinions?
I am Comfortably Numb... :D

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# 1
Weslaba
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Weslaba
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09/06/2007 2:21 am
Me thinks you said it perfectly. :rolleyes:
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damaged
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damaged
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09/06/2007 5:31 am
You summed it up pretty well. They're different and have different purposes
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hunter1801
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hunter1801
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09/06/2007 7:51 am
Originally Posted by: Blues_ManI have gotten into an argument with one of my friends...He INSISTS (Polite word) That Classical guitar is harder than electric.


Theres an easy way to settle this argument. Clear a big area in your room, give your friend a "Classical"/acoustic guitar, you take the electric guitar. Beat each other with the guitars and see who is hurt worse. I guarantee the electric is harder :D
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Fret spider
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Fret spider
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09/06/2007 10:41 am
Originally Posted by: hunter1801Theres an easy way to settle this argument. Clear a big area in your room, give your friend a "Classical"/acoustic guitar, you take the electric guitar. Beat each other with the guitars and see who is hurt worse. I guarantee the electric is harder :D



lol........
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Blues_Man
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Blues_Man
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09/06/2007 11:16 am
Originally Posted by: hunter1801Theres an easy way to settle this argument. Clear a big area in your room, give your friend a "Classical"/acoustic guitar, you take the electric guitar. Beat each other with the guitars and see who is hurt worse. I guarantee the electric is harder :D



That's perfect.... :D
I am Comfortably Numb... :D

Oh yeah...STICK IT TO THE MAN!
# 6
ren
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ren
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09/06/2007 11:26 am
Both are harder than the other in some respects, and easier in others.

Maybe your friend thinks classical is harder because there are more 'rules'? I started on classical, and got whacked by my tutor with a conductor''s baton every time one of my hands wasn't exactly in the right place / shape / whatever. I had to read music rather than tab by sight - all from the start. Loads of theory as well. It helped massively, but I didn't enjoy the lessons. My tutor might have been unusually strict though.

Electric? Is generallly a little free-er (if that's a word), in so far as mosst people just 'do what works'. I like the idea of a proper guitar duel.... as long as I can use a Les Paul... :eek:

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Fret spider
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09/06/2007 12:34 pm
also i think certain people will find one harder than the other. eg if u have a hard time finger picking classical is hard. if you find it hard to synch your two hands at high speeds elecrtic is hard.

saying that there is a lot of very easy electric guitar music, which might have biased your friends ability.
# 8
quickfingers
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quickfingers
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09/06/2007 5:45 pm
most popular classical guitar music is fairly easy to play. virtuoso pieces made for the fingers, as well as traditional flamenco music, would be extremely diffucult to play without perfect finger coordination as well as speed and accuracy. playing a racer x solo can have the same ammount of difficulty as learning a bach duet; it really just depends on your skills as a guitarist.

i don't know what kind of flamenco you guys have been exposed to, but due to the fact that we're mostly white dudes that like metal, we usually listen to white dudes that play very....well, white. i've dubbed this kind of flamenco "euro-trash" simply because its really just a dude with a ponytail named 'batista' playing harmonic minor scale runs over some pretty classical background music. try getting your ears on some authentic flamenco and it will blow you away at the difference of popular styles of music. hell, you can't even play spanish guitar if you don't know techniques that 99% of us guitarists don't practice (regaldos, etc).
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09/07/2007 3:56 am
Play him some Yngwie, best of both worlds. Actually, some Gilbert might be more appealing. Play him Racer X's B.R.O. (Back Rip Off.)
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dvenetian
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09/07/2007 2:49 pm
I think your friend may be referring to the effort required playing both instruments. I notice a difference in the pressure applied to the fretboard and picking hand, including muting techniques, when I play acoustic.
I barely need to apply pressure with my LP for most things and even when doing bends, vibrato, etc........... requires a lot less exertion in comparison.
Then there is the effects portion. Delay, chorus, reverb, etc....... Help to emphasize by fattening things up and getting some intense sustain when desired.
This by no way means to state that playing electric is easier. Mastering an electric guitar takes a lot of talent and painstaking discipline in order to play it with clarity.
To me, they are two different instruments and the talent necessary differs in the order by how they are desired.
I know a couple of great acoustic players who can't play an electric even close to the talent they possess.
I have the opposite situation. Although my results playing an acoustic are satisfying, it is nowhere near what they can express.
I believe that this is apparent with a lot of players, depending on which instrument you're most passionate with.
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09/07/2007 7:38 pm
I think there may be some misunderstanding regarding "classical guitar" vs "acoustic guitar". They are different. The strings on a classical guitar are spaced differently than a regular guitar and classical guitars usually have nylon strings. Also, the fretboard of a classical guitar is quite different, usually flat.

Also, your friend may be referring to classical guitarist being more disciplined in their playing and applied theory.

Best,
Brian
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dvenetian
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dvenetian
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09/07/2007 8:52 pm
Originally Posted by: bpasternakI think there may be some misunderstanding regarding "classical guitar" vs "acoustic guitar". They are different. The strings on a classical guitar are spaced differently than a regular guitar and classical guitars usually have nylon strings. Also, the fretboard of a classical guitar is quite different, usually flat.

Also, your friend may be referring to classical guitarist being more disciplined in their playing and applied theory.

Best,
Brian

Very good point. They are different. Personally, I find a Classical guitar (when in true form) easier to play than a steel stringed Acoustic. The neck is wider and the flat neck doesn't hinder my ability with barre chords. I like the added distance between strings as well (less cramped in certain occasions).
However, I'm basing this on the one and only Classical that I've played numerous times, which belongs to a friend who won't part with it (He's better on it anyway, Geezzz, that's an understatement).
Thanks Brian for the enlightening; I'm going shopping....................
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light487
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09/08/2007 7:06 am
Originally Posted by: dvenetianVery good point. They are different. Personally, I find a Classical guitar (when in true form) easier to play than a steel stringed Acoustic. The neck is wider and the flat neck doesn't hinder my ability with barre chords. I like the added distance between strings as well (less cramped in certain occasions).
However, I'm basing this on the one and only Classical that I've played numerous times, which belongs to a friend who won't part with it (He's better on it anyway, Geezzz, that's an understatement).
Thanks Brian for the enlightening; I'm going shopping....................



That's why my dad only plays Classical guitars: he has big, fat fingers and it gets too cramped when he is playing anything else. He has not really played that much for years but now is on the brink of picking it all up again.

I brought home an Ashton catalogue so he could see some of the more recent technology but he is still going to get a classical.. haha.. :D Couldn't bring him over to the dark-side (electric).. haha.. If he hasn't got anything by Christmas, that is what I am going to buy him.. he needs to get back into it now that he has retired.
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jacmaister
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09/08/2007 8:41 pm
Originally Posted by: Blues_ManThat's perfect.... :D


I have found that Electric guitar is much easier for me, mainly because I did not need to learn to read music, and you can create so many different sounds with it.

but having taken several classical guitar courses, learning the classical guitar is so much more structured, that one has to learn to read music to be able to get ahead. but once you do read music, its fairly easier to learn both.

even learing the piano. Now that instrument is the easiest.
while hitting someone in the head to prove a point, well, don't drop a piano on someone, that could end all arguments.
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light487
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09/08/2007 8:53 pm
Well I started out on a classical because it was the only thing I had to start on... once it was obvious to my parents that I was going to keep on playing (somewhere between the 3 and 6 month mark) they bought me a cheap electric and cheap practise amp... I can still remember how much of a difference it was.. I could play all these little tunes on the classical but none of them really worked the same on the electric.. I had to learn how to play a completely different type of beast...

I guess it is the same as automatic cars and manual cars.. it's still a car with the basics of driving the car being fairly similar... but unless you know how to use the clutch, you're not going anywhere... may be not the best analogy.. but yeh.. it's different enough that re-learning is required, is my point. The same notes, chord shapes etc are on the fret-board.. just that you have to re-learn how to make it sound right..
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jeffhx
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jeffhx
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09/09/2007 3:35 am
pfft but shredding sucks :rolleyes:

indeed it is highly subjective
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