wrecker_vs_dracula

Yo this is the party of Lenin we’re talking about here. It’s also the most powerful communist party in today’s Europe, holding a double digit percentage of seats in the duma of Europe’s most populous country. I wish them well in the upcoming elections.

From the very little I’ve heard about this guy, I’m already liking him a lot more then Gennady Andreevich.

Hey no problem. I saw your post with a guitar in my lap, so I was primed to gush a little. Regarding classical guitar, that's kind of a tough one. Classical guitar is a weird world. There's a lot about it that turns me off. The instrument has relatively low prestige in the larger classical world because it's almost never included in orchestras. And that's mostly because it isn't loud enough. There are two famous concerti that call for guitar soloists, but that's about it. So classical guitarists have their own separate little world inside the classical tradition, and they collectively kind of have a chip on their shoulder. There's a lot of dogma and politics. The technique is generally effective, but I think it's needlessly dogmatic. And they are very reluctant to view modern innovations like steel strings and electric pickups as valid within their tradition.

The body of music written or arranged for the classical guitar contains a lot of great stuff though. Classical guitar is really inspiring to listen to. Playing it is even better if you can stand to put in the work to build up a repertoire. For people that get really good at reading, they can put a new piece on the stand and let it take them on a little journey. It's like reading poetry or a short story. I never got there, but I can see the appeal. When all the notes are already picked out for you ahead of time, then everything becomes a matter of technique. So classical players are way more in-depth in the way they examine their execution. They get to be very skilled in finding the most efficient way to use their bodies to produce the correct response from their instruments.

To answer your question, I think it's worth trying if you really want to get super nerdy about technique. Or if there's some classical piece that you want to play. It's kind of a big time investment if you're just looking to build skills to transfer to other styles though. I'd say probably not if you're just trying to get into playing pop tunes with friends or whatever. It's not necessary to have some classical background to be an effective musician. But if you want to get into it, don't think that using a steel stringed instrument or playing without nails makes your interpretation any less valid. Musicians can be snobs. If you want to play a cello suite on the guitar using a pick, go right ahead. They can't stop you.

You didn't mention wrist problems in your OP, so I'm going to jump in here. There's basically two principles to guitar technique when avoiding wrist injury is a goal:

• Keep your wrists straight as much as you can. It's okay to bend your wrists sometimes, but your default playing position for both hands should keep the tendons running through your carpal tunnel straight. This is also considered good technique for typing, so you are likely familiar with it already.

• Always use big muscles instead of little muscles when you can. The muscles in your hand are smaller than the muscles in your forearm, and the muscles in your upper arm and shoulder are even bigger than your forearm muscles. Try to mainly flex your fingers with the larger flexors in your forearm. Also use your body as a pivot point so that you can pull your fretting fingers into the neck with your upper arm muscles. This will reduce the amount of work done by the smaller muscles.

Well, you can also get a lot more acoustic volume out of heavier strings and high action. It doesn't matter how well you play if nobody can hear you ;)

But yeah, play whatever strings feel good to you. I'm not going to tell you you're wrong for liking the light ones.

Yo I've worked part-time as a guitarist for longer than any other career I've had. I was full-time for a couple of years, but I didn't really like managing lesson schedules, participating in the gear review content mill, or even hustling gigs really. Anyway, I just want to tell you how amazing music is, and encourage you to keep participating. It's a really important facet of any culture. The more immersed you get into it, the more you will get out of it. The guitar offers a nearly unparalleled balance of versatility and portability. It's also cheap and durable. It generally can't keep up with the acoustic volume of horns or even most accordions, but it offers a nice volume level for accompanying singers without making them strain.

The fact that you played a little in high school will really help you out now. One thing I noticed when teaching adult students was that there was a big difference between those who had never played an instrument before and those who had even some piano lessons when they were kids. Something about their relationship to their hands seemed different. That isn't to say that adults shouldn't play music if they didn't start as kids. I think everybody should do it.

If you're playing for around an hour every day, then you're going to get a lot figured out quickly. My main advice would be to enjoy the process as much as possible, and to avoid worrying about the level of your abilities. I know plenty of professional musicians who have experienced depression because they judged themselves harshly, despite being capable players. There really isn't a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

In my experience, basically all free sheet music is garbage. Also most professionally prepared sheet music doesn't meet my needs. If I want a chart for a tune, the only way to get a good one is to make it myself. Your ears are always going to help you more than a chart. That is, unless you're playing classical guitar. There's a lot of great sheet music available for the classical guitar that needs little or no editing. It's been a while since I engaged with that, but I remember https://www.delcamp.net/ being a good resource for free guitar sheet music.

If I were in your position, I'd probably not get a teacher. A teacher can help you stay motivated for a while, but you will need occasions to play the guitar for yourself or with friends to keep you going in the long run. If you want to see what fingerings or techniques other players are using, there's tons of video recordings online now. Only a couple of decades ago video recordings were not easy to find, so you had to either go to shows or pay for lessons to see how people play. That's changed in a major way.

Most of the time technique will improve when it has to. If the reason you can't play something is because of the limitations of your technique, that's a pretty easy problem to identify. Finding better techniques is usually much easier than actually getting them under your fingers too. Playing exercises is great for this. Musicianship does has an element of athletics to it. Just make sure that you're actually making music most of the time, and not just running mindless drills. If the reason you can't play something is because you're hearing or reading it wrong, then you should be working on your ears instead of your fingers. If you are finding something challenging, it is important to correctly identify the nature of the challenge.

Music is really one of the greatest things about being human. It provides the occasion for us to remember our greatest poetry. It allows us to connect with our culture and our history across many generations. It accompanies our dances. It can be an endlessly complex puzzle if you want it to be. It can be a powerful form of meditation. It's also a pastime that you can keep with you into your old age. I'm really happy to hear that you're getting back into the guitar.

Wait they’re not running Zyuganov again?

I love this song. It still gets played by dance bands. It sounds like it has a verse a as well, which I’ve never heard before. They put it right in the middle of this arrangement.

Thank You! I will read this book.

Well said. But I'm skeptical about the comparison to Milosevic. Idk much about that guy except that the American media hated him during the Yugoslav war. I'd be happy to receive education on this subject.

All the more reason to investigate. Nothing but s over here, sadly.