I can play piano and recorder.
I want to know:
1. how hard it will be for me to learn guitar and keyboard without a teacher? i can practice each an hour a day
2. how long would it take me to be able to play songs
i asked my mom and she said i can only take lessons for one. which one would be more useful, like well knowing keyboard will help you play guitar or w/e?
1. how hard it will be for me to learn guitar and keyboard without a teacher? i can practice each an hour a day
This really depends on the person and on the following things:
- your in-born musical talent (some are naturally good at this, and some aren’t even if they try)
- are you a fast learner?
- how determined are you to learn ie. your passion
- how good your ‘mentor’ is in teaching
I learned how to play guitar and keyboard without a ‘teacher’ too, teacher in the sense that the lessons aren’t paid nor is it formal. I did start however by observing and asking from people who knew how to play, and they sort of taught me the basics. Once you know the basics, you can use the Internet to your advantage and start searching for tutorials.
I have to say that the difference between the two is:
- Guitar starts hard, but once you know the basics, it gets easier
- Keyboard starts easy, but gets harder as you progress
At first, knowing one (of keyboard or guitar) won’t really help you play the other instrument any better. They’re kinda separate and different. This would only apply once you’re in the intermediate level. If you’re better and more comfortable at playing the guitar, then it will help you play the keyboard better (in terms of remembering stuff like families of chords, etc). If you’re more comfortable with the keyboard, it’ll help you play guitar better (eg. understanding how it is to transpose or change the keys of the songs you play). Basically, you’re not really inter-changing your technical “skills” in playing, but your technical “knowledge” for music by learning either one does come in handy.
2. how long would it take me to be able to play songs
Again, this depends on the difficulty of the song. For guitar, a fairly easy song, you could probably play in about 3-4 hours of practice. For keyboard, if you’re playing by chords (and not notes), it’s pretty much the same time. But of course, that’s only the initial. Once you start getting the basics for both, it’ll get easier.
Some popular contemporary songs are easy to learn, but some are not. So try to be realistic in setting your goals.
