cheap

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My Guitar Is Not Making Me Want To Play

Though I don’t want to buy a guitar, after playing my son’s, I think I do need a new one. 

my guitar is not making me want to play
Handsome man playing guitar. Close-up of young man playing acoustic guitar while sitting in front of the window

In my last post (read it here) I wrote about how things like an inexpensive guitar can be harder to play than a more expensive one.

It’s not right if you ask me. I should learn the skills on a guitar that is easy to play and then graduate to something that is more difficult. 

Well, just recently my son got a new “axe” and he paid a good chunk of change for it. When I got to try it, I couldn’t believe how easy on the fingers it was to play. 

The space between the strings and the fret board of a guitar makes a big difference in how easy it is to press the strings down. The closer the strings are to the frets the less force you have to exert to form those chords. 

Basically, on my cheap guitar I’m breaking my fingers trying to play, while on my son’s it’s easy.

Why wouldn’t guitar makers encourage guitar students to keep playing rather than giving up in frustration? 

My son’s guitar is really nice; it’s also electric. He has an acoustic but he wanted to work on other aspects of playing. 

Recently, he brought his new guitar to our house so he could wail on it … and it can be deafening when the volume is turned it up and you are close by. 

My son lives in an apartment so I’m just waiting to get a call from him that he’s getting the boot. I’m sure his neighbours in the units around him aren’t thrilled with his new purchase. Fortunately, his apartment is all concrete and he keeps the volume down. 

He can play all day long. I can’t play much more than a half hour without my fingers hurting … and that’s with calluses. 

On the guitar I have now, the strings are closer to the frets than on my first guitar but they are not near as close as on my son’s guitar. 

If I had a guitar like his, I would want to play more. But I don’t want to spend all that money on a guitar when I’m not that good. 

Why couldn’t they make a cheap guitar that would be easy on the fingers? I think the issue is that they don’t care if you get good or not. They want you to get so frustrated with your instrument that you will spend any amount of money to get one that is easier to play. 

Playing my son’s guitar has inspired me to pick mine up a little more now that his is not around. I fiddle a bit with mine but still get to the place where my fingers need a break.

It’s like playing outside as a kid when it’s really cold. You play way too long and want to keep playing, but your toes and fingers are so frozen that you just can’t stay outside any longer. 

Here’s the thing: Putting your faith in Christ costs a lot. Jesus said you have to take up your cross and follow Him. Anything else you put your faith in will cost less, but in the end it will not last as long. Faith in Christ takes you to eternity. Faith in anything else leaves you suffering at some point. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What are you willing to pay for long-term ease? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Cheap Doesn’t Always Mean It’s Easy

I think cheap things should be easy and simple, while more expensive things harder and more complicated. 

cheap doesn't always mean it's easy

For instance, take two drones that look the same. You might think the cheap one would be easier to fly than the more expensive one. You might think the more expensive one would take more skill to fly it. 

But that’s not the way it is. 

The first drone I had was very inexpensive. I constantly had to work both control sticks to keep the drone in the air so it didn’t drop to the ground and crash.

It was hard, constant work. 

My next drone cost me more. But I could put the drone in the air, take my hands completely off the controller and it would just stay there, hovering in place. 

The more expensive drone was much easier to fly. It took less skill to use the more expensive one than the cheaper one. 

Things shouldn’t be that way.

If I’m new at something and buy an inexpensive product to learn on, it should be easier to use. I want to gradually get more proficient at it and then upgrade to something that requires more skill. 

Drones are not the only things like that. Guitars work that way, too. 

Every guitar has the same components. Someone should be able to pick up any guitar and play it. You place your fingers on the frets the same way. You strum the same way. The sound comes out of it at the same place. 

No matter what guitar I pick up, I should be able to play it. 

… Well, that’s only partly correct.

I remember when I got my first guitar. A guy I knew said he had an old one I could have, which was great since I was just learning to play. 

The first thing I did was change the strings that were probably twenty years old. I took off all the strings, put the new stings on and then started tuning it. … I didn’t know you should always keep some tension on the neck.

As I got the guitar closer to being in tune, I snapped the neck right off the back of the guitar. 

I was back to having no guitar, so I went out and purchased one. It was cheap – only $85 – but it had a nice sound to it.

I learned how to play on that guitar and had it for many years. 

There was just one problem with it. The strings seemed like they were about an inch off the neck so I had to press really hard when forming a chord. As much as I played, my fingers never seemed to get past the hurting stage. It didn’t matter how thick the calluses were on my fingertips, after twenty minutes I needed to put the guitar down. 

But a cheap guitar should be easy to play. 

Unfortunately that is not the case. … In my next post (read here) I will expose this problem more.

Here’s the thing: Because two things work on the same principles doesn’t mean they are equal. Some people believe that all religions are based on faith and, therefore, are the same. Not true. Christianity is the only religion that believes you can’t earn your way into heaven. It is the only religion that requires 100% faith in God to provide it. There’s nothing you can do. Not all religions are the same and not all faith is equal. God has provided through Jesus what we could never do – a relationship and eternity with God. Take God up on His offer; put your faith in Him.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How much faith do you place in your future? Leave your comments and questions below.

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