Are Electric Guitars Easier to Play?

Electric guitars produce a wide range of tones that are used in different genres. Acousabsorbsitars emit a warm sound preferred by most people. When choosing between the two, are electric guitars easier to play?

Electric guitars are easier to play than acoustic. Due to its light strings and narrow fretboards, beginners will enjoy playing it.  Although, it has some drawbacks such as the expensive cost, required accessories, and extensive learning.

Before choosing an electric guitar, here are some key points we will discuss to help you decide:

• Are electric guitars easier to play?
• Differences between acoustic and electric guitars
• Acoustic Guitar Pros and Cons
• Electric Guitar Pros and Cons
• Tips in Choosing a Guitar That’s Easier to Play

Are Electric Guitars Easier to Play?

Compared to acoustic guitars, electric guitars are easier to play. Crucial factors such as the body, strings, and neck are thinner and smaller. They also use amplifiers to produce a sound that does not require much force in fretting the strings.

Electric guitars are diverse in terms of sound. The downside of playing this is the need to use cables and amps. Without them, you can’t hear it and it is a contrast to the acoustic guitars which produce a big sound.

Differences Between Acoustic and Electric Guitars

Acoustic and electric guitars differ in several aspects. From the body, neck, strings, string action,  tone, music, size, and weight.

	Acoustic Guitar	Electric Guitar
Neck	bigger widestrings are far from each otherthick neck	thin small firm strings are closer
Body	bulky the strings’ vibration is captivated in its bodynaturally amplifies the sound produced from its hole hollow	sturdy has electric parts to absorb vibration emit sound through pickups
Strings	incorporated with thick gauge strings require more strength to fret using techniques is difficult Heavy steel stringsHarder to fretLead is challenging to play	light thin stringsmakes the guitar techniques easierPreferably used to play for lead guitarDon’t need heavy strings
String Action	strings are a bit higherthicker challenging to fretRequires room to vibrate	light strings easy to fret string placement is also adjacent to the fretboard more comfortable to hold Lower string actionDon’t need more room to resonate
Music	limited amplificationclean and “acoustic” sounding  use effects when playing a few genresUsed in genres like country, classical, folk, and pop	versatile in any genre equipped with pickups, amplifiers, and effects
Tone	tones are limitedsound is influenced by the materials built.	associated with knobs you can adjust the tone when playing them allow you to experiment with sounds in several genres
Size and weight	bigger guitar bodyweighs lighter	small size thin body weighs heavier than acoustic guitars.

Acoustic Guitar Pros and Cons

There are pros and cons that you may experience in learning acoustic guitar. Before you proceed to choose this, make sure to know the drawbacks.

Pros of Acoustic Guitar

• Best practice ground to understand the fundamentals of guitar. Beginners might find it challenging to understand electric guitars at first.
• It does not require electricity, cables, and amplifiers to play it.
• Produces an easy-listening tone that fits most people’s hearing.

Cons of Acoustic Guitar

• The thick strings are hard to fret, which is a common problem for beginners.
• Playing barre chords are complex and add up to the difficulty of fretting hard strings.
• Fragile compared to guitars.
• If the strings aren’t fretted properly, it will create a buzzing sound.
• Broad fretboards and hard to fret for beginners.

Electric Guitar Pros and Cons

Learning electric guitars has advantages and disadvantages similar to acoustic guitar. This instrument is sturdy but requires more skills to play.

Pros of Electric Guitar

• The strings are lighter and the fretboard is smaller than acoustic guitars.
• You can use headphones with your amplifier to prevent disturbance in the household and neighbors.
• Fretting barre chords is easier due to their soft strings.

Cons of Electric Guitar

• More expensive than acoustic since it requires amplifiers and cables.
• You should learn how to adjust the tone before playing it.
• Learning electric does not mean you also understand or play acoustic guitars properly.

Tips in Choosing a Guitar That’s Easier to Play

It requires research, desire, and passion to choose a guitar to learn. There are no shortcuts or hacks in playing it. You should determine what suits your preference and learn it will go along.

Choose the type of guitar you are interested in playing

Choosing a guitar to learn is crucial in building your skills. The most important thing is to identify which sound, tone, and types of music you love to learn. This is where inspiration and passion come in.

Most people are encouraged to learn a guitar due to what they heard. For example, you love the guitar riffs from a rock song. In this scenario, you will know what type of guitar you want to learn.

Work within your budget

Electric guitars are more expensive than acoustic guitars. Apart from its price, you need to buy a cable and amplifier. Usually, it comes together when you buy it but the price is costly.

Choosing an acoustic guitar is cheaper. You don’t need accessories to play it. If you prefer electric guitars more, saving up is needed.

Your desire to play another type of guitar will occur later on

Choosing a guitar doesn’t limit you to expanding your learning. Numerous guitarists started with acoustics and then transitioned to electric guitars. While training your skills, the desire to play another instrument will develop.

You can always start with what you have right now. You can proceed to learn more intricate techniques after the basics. The learning is endless and it expands which allows you to learn to play both acoustic and electric guitars.

Conclusion

Both electric and acoustic guitars are hard to play when you’re a beginner. Choosing what suits your music taste can help in making the learning smooth. Electric guitars have several advantages but it will depend on which instrument you desire.