Electric guitars vs. acoustic guitars – which is right for you?

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If you’re a beginner guitar player, you’re probably wondering whether an electric or acoustic guitar is right for you. 

Guitarists’ instrument preferences are as unique to them as their playing styles. What’s right for one person might not be the best pick for another. 

Here are some things to consider when you’re choosing your first instrument: 

 

Building hand strength

Acoustic guitars are harder to get sound out of than electric guitars. They have thicker strings which require more pressure to hold down, especially while playing barre chords. They also rely purely on acoustics to produce sound, so it’s not tempting to simply crank the volume up as you could on an electric guitar. However, this makes acoustic guitars a good pick for first time learners, as you will build up strength (and calluses) in your fingers faster than on an electric guitar. They’re also good for learning strumming and picking patterns, since you have to get a feel for the strings’ vibrations when strummed. 

 

Equipment 

An acoustic guitar needs no amplification for regular playing – although you can purchase an electric/acoustic version if you want the ability to easily plug in. If you plan on performing with it live, consider that you’ll need to mic it separately. 

An electric guitar requires an amplifier and a cable at minimum. If you want to play it in spaces that don’t allow loud noise, you can get a set of headphones to go into the amplifier. 

 

Size/weight 

Electric guitars usually have flatter bodies and thinner necks than their acoustic counterparts, making them easier to hold close to your body and move your hand around the fretboard. However, they weigh more than acoustic guitars (since acoustics have hollow bodies). 

The average acoustic guitar weighs about 2.5 to 5 lbs, while the average electric guitar weighs about 8 lbs. 

 

Genre 

Another factor to consider in your first guitar purchase is what genre you’re most interested in playing. Electric guitars are versatile for a range of genres including rock, metal, punk, funk, and more. 

Acoustic guitars are a good pick if you’re primarily interested in being a singer-songwriter and performing solo, as well as if you’re interested in playing country, bluegrass, or folk music. 

 

Sound customization 

 

With pedals, you can get a large range of sounds and tones out of an electric guitar, whereas an acoustic guitar might not have the same range of expression. However, an electric-acoustic guitar can still be used with pedals. 

Fret Zealot course of the month – September 2024

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Each month, we’re putting the spotlight on one of our favorite Fret Zealot courses! 

 

Ultimate Guitar Tone School

 

Instructor: David Wills

How much do you really know about guitar tone? All of the guitar techniques in the world can’t help you produce a good guitar tone – but this course can. David Wills will teach you about tone from the ground up – from understanding how sound waves are produced, to how to optimize your rig for the best possible sound. In this course, Wills provides demonstrations of the pickup selections for all of the main types of electric guitars, so you can get the best sound possible out of your instrument. He even walks you through some of the most iconic tones of all time, pioneered by guitar greats like Jimmy Page, Billy Gibbons, and Chuck Berry. 

 

What We Like

This course is a one-stop shop for learning all things tone – from understanding effects pedals to making sure your stage setup has the best sound possible. It’s perfect for the guitarist who is ready to play out, but needs the finishing touch. 

 

Once you’ve complete this course, try it with the following lessons: 

November Rain

 

Walk This Way 

 

Babe – I’m Gonna Leave You

 

Learn these songs for the end of summer

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Labor Day is almost here. Say goodbye to summer with these wistful songs about the last few warm days of the year! You can find tabs for all of these songs in the Fret Zealot app. 

 

“Cruel Summer” – Taylor Swift 

Lyrics: “I snuck in through the garden gate every night that summer just to seal my fate” 

 

“Stolen” –  Dashboard Confessional 

Lyrics: “We watch the season pull up its own stakes/And catch the last weekend of the last week/Before the gold and the glimmer have been replaced/Another sun soaked season fades away”

 

“Boys of Summer” – Don Henley (also The Ataris) 

Lyrics: “Nobody on the road/Nobody on the beach/I feel it in the air/The summer’s out of reach”

 

“Summer of 69” – Bryan Adams 

Lyrics: “Oh, when I look back now/That summer seemed to last forever” 


“The Last Day of Summer” – The Cure 

Lyrics: “But the last day of summer/Never felt so cold/The last day of summer/Never felt so old”

 

Learn these Adele songs on guitar with Fret Zealot

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British singer-songwriter Adele started playing guitar as a teenager, citing Amy Winehouse as her inspiration for picking up the instrument. 

Many of her songs are fairly simple to play on guitar, making it easy to accompany yourself singing. You can learn these Adele songs with Fret Zealot. 


Rolling in the Deep

This 2011 smash hit was written in a single afternoon by Adele and co-writer Paul Epworth. Adele had just broken up with her boyfriend, and the song was written as a reaction to “being told that my life was going to be boring and lonely and rubbish, and that I was a weak person if I didn’t stay in the relationship”, she told The Independent. 


Chasing Pavements

Adele said that a fight with a former boyfriend inspired “Chasing Pavements”. She told ELLE that she had slapped him during the fight at a club and ran away, only to look back and see that no one was chasing her.


Someone Like YouAdele Someone Like You Guitar Lesson Fret ZealotAdele started writing “Someone Like You” on her acoustic guitar after finding out that her former boyfriend was engaged to someone else just months after their breakup. 


Daydreamer

“Daydreamer” is the first track off of Adele’s first album, 19. She played guitar on the studio version of the track. 


Skyfall

Adele Skyfall Guitar Lesson Fret Zealot

Adele wrote “Skyfall” with co-writer Paul Epworth for the James Bond film of the same name. The pair worked to capture the “James Bond feeling” of previous movies’ theme songs in the original composition. 


Make You Feel My Love

Adele recorded a version of this song for 19, but the Bob Dylan-penned tune has been recorded by hundreds of artists, including Billy Joel, Michael Bolton, Boy George, Joan Osborne, Kelly Clarkson, and Pink. Adele wrote or co-wrote every other song on the album. 


Hello

Adele played drums on this chart-topping song from 25. 

 

Music recording terms you should know

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Are you looking to record your own music? 

There’s a whole terminology of words relating to music recording that you should know before booking studio time, or learning how to record yourself on a Digital Audio Workstation. 

Here are some terms you should know: 



DAW: A Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) is an audio production software or platform designed for the recording, editing, mixing, and mastering of digital audio files. Some examples of popular DAWs are: Ableton, Logic Pro, Reason, Cubase, Studio One, Cakewalk. 

Track (noun) – a single stream of recorded sound (usually of one instrument) in a song.

Track (verb) – The process of recording an audio track. 

Arm – Preparing a track to record audio

Solo – Isolating a track so that you can listen to only the audio on the track

Mute – Silencing a track so you can hear how other tracks sound. 

Gain – The amount of amplification for your mic’s signal 

Monitor (verb) – Listening to an audio track as it’s being recorded 

Phantom Power – Voltage that is sent to specific microphones to power the microphone

Mixing – Editing and putting together multiple tracks of audio into one final master track

Mastering – TPolishing and editing a master track with the intent of making it radio ready quality

Levels – How loud audio in a specific track is

EQ – Equalizer. EQs allow you to turn up or down portions of the audio spectrum higher or lower 

Audio effects plugins – Audio effects allow you to alter the sounds of your tracks. You can apply audio effects to just one track or a group of tracks. There are an infinite number plug-ins available, but here are some of the most commonly used ones. 

Equalizer Plugins –  eliminate digital harshness, removes unwanted resonances, balance sounds

Compressor Plugins – used to “squash” your audio signal. Compressors reduce the dynamics of an audio signal so that loud parts get quieter and quiet sounds get louder. 

Reverb Plugins – Reverb is an ambient effect that creates a series of audible reflections (think of the echo effect in an empty auditorium. 

Vocal tuning – can slightly shift the pitch of a voice or instrument so that it’s correct. 

MIDI Sequencing: MIDI or Music Instrument Digital Interfaces look like keyboards, but they send musical signals to your DAW, to be transmuted into whatever sound you’d like from the DAW library. This allows you to compose melodies, harmonies, and musical arrangements with virtual instruments within the DAW’s library. 

Reverb – The audio that lingers around in a space after the source audio has finished. To get a sense of reverb, imagine singing in an empty concert hall vs. a closet. 

Automation – Automation is used to create changes in dynamic in your project, like fading out a song at the end. 

Audio exporting – when your project files are ready to be heard by others, you can export it – as a .WAV file for mastering or as stem files through .mp3s. 

 

If you’re setting up your home studio, check out this course! 

 

Home Guitar Studio Guide 

Guitar techniques that look harder than they are

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If you’re starting out on guitar, watching seasoned guitar players shred away can be a little intimidating. However, some guitar techniques that look and sound cool aren’t that difficult to play.

Here are some guitar skills that look more difficult to master than they actually are. 

 

Power chords 

If you’re memorizing the basic open chords like C, D, and E, something like a G5 might look funny to you. 

Power chords are the building blocks for many punk, grunge, and alternative songs. Power chords are made up of just the root note and the fifth note, sometimes with the octave of the root note included. They’re different from major and minor scales because they’re neither major nor minor, and don’t include any other notes. 

The tough part about mastering power chords is to strum only the strings inside the chord. Once you master that, you’ll be able to play many songs – like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” with ease. 

Check out this Power Chord Workout for Guitar course to get started.

 

Fingerpicking 

Fingerpicking gives songs like “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas and “Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers their distinct textures. When you fingerpick a song, you use your fingers to pluck the strings rather than strumming with your hand or a pick. It can take a little bit of time to get used to the different movement, but often you’ll be playing simple chord progressions, so it takes less brain power than it seems to. 

Check out our Acoustic Fingerstyle – Level 1 course to get started! 

 

Bending notes 

“Bending” is when you play a guitar note and then push the string horizontally across the fretboard, changing the pitch. Eric Clapton uses this often in his playing, and it can be heard prominently in “Sunshine of My Love” by Cream. 

Bending sounds high-level, but it’s fairly simple to learn. Check out Ultimate Lead Guitar Techniques to learn bending, and other impressive-sounding solo techniques. 

 

Pinch harmonics 

Pinch harmonics, aka pick or pitch harmonics, or “squealies”, creates a high pitched tone by silencing the main frequency of a note, allowing the overtones to come through. ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons uses this technique frequently to make his solos more memorable – you can hear it used in “La Grange”. 

It may take some work to learn how to incorporate pinch harmonics into your work, but to actually learn how to make that sound is not difficult. Check out Metal Essentials Level 1 to learn how to make this technique work. 

Fret Zealot course of the month – August 2024

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Each month, we’re putting the spotlight on one of our favorite Fret Zealot courses! 

 

Ultimate Lead Guitar Techniques

Instructor: Julian Cooper

Do you want to learn your favorite guitar solos for bands like AC/DC, Metallica, Led Zeppelin, but get tripped up on imitating their specific techniques? This course will take you step-by-step through the techniques you need to know for playing blues, rock and metal. Learn hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides – and how to put them all together to emulate a certain sound. 

This course also delves into using the chromatic scale, arpeggios and sweep picking, and tapping, and includes a play-though to practice what you’ve learned. Ultimate Lead Guitar Techniques will help mold you into an excellent soloist. 

 

What We Like

Julian has a remarkable ability to simplify his incredible guitar skill into the basics that every aspiring guitarist is striving to conquer. He also makes heavy use of examples for each technique, so if you are a “learn-by-doing” kind of person, his courses will resonate with you! He also has a selection of atypical learning courses that focus on learning through examples in certain styles, even meditative, that aren’t your standard traditional basics.

 

Once you’ve complete this course, try it with the following lessons: 

Am I Evil 

 

Be Yourself 


You Give Love A Bad Name

What you need for your first solo gig

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So you’ve gotten comfortable playing guitar in public, maybe even played some open mics – what’s next? It’s time to play your first solo gig. 

Here’s what you will need to play a solo gig: 

 

A setlist 

Whether you’re playing original songs or covers, a good rule of thumb is to have about 20 songs prepared per hour of performance time. Having enough songs ready gives you some flexibility to play songs that you think your audience will prefer, as well as give you options for encore songs if they want to hear more! 

Print your setlist out ahead of time so you can glance at it as needed. 

 

An iPad or lyrics binder (if you need it) 

In a perfect world, you’d be able to memorize all the songs you’ll be performing. However, having a binder or iPad with your lyrics and chords is a good backup plan – especially if you’re performing songs you need a little bit of help remembering. 

 

Your instrument and a cable 

Self-explanatory! Make sure your guitar is in good condition and doesn’t need a change of strings. Also, it’s a good idea to pack picks, capos, and backup strings just in case. If your guitar requires batteries, pack extra. 

 

Sound equipment 

Make sure you communicate with the venue ahead of your gig. Some venues provide sound equipment, and some require you to bring your own. 

Here’s a list of what you’ll need if the venue doesn’t provide a sound system: 

  • A microphone (Shure SM-58 is the standard) 
  • Microphone stand 
  • An active PA speaker with at least two inputs 
  • An XLR cable 

This is the bare minimum equipment list. It will allow you to plug your instrument directly into the PA speaker as well as your vocal mic, and adjust the levels as you see fit. You may prefer to bring a separate amplifier for your instrument, or get a PA system with a mixing board to plug into to get better control over your sound. It’s also a good idea to get a small monitor so that you can hear yourself.

 

Extra cables

It never hurts to carry a couple of extra XLR or quarter-inch cables with you, even if your venue provides sound. 

 

Set-up time 

Try to arrive at least an hour before your gig to give yourself plenty of time to set-up, warm up your vocals and fingers, and tune your instrument. Not rushing to get ready will ensure that you can be relaxed and give your best performance! 

 

Check out these other tips to make sure your gig is a success! 

Obscure music genres to check out

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Are you getting tired of listening to the same thing? Check out these obscure music genres that are sure to give your playlist the refresh it needs. 

 

Pirate Metal

Pirate metal is a genre of heavy metal that incorporates pirate-speak, nautical themes, and traditional sea shanties infused with metal. 

Examples: Alestorm, Swashbuckle, Running Wild. 

 

Kawaii metal

Kawaii metal, which was created in Japan in the mid-2010s, combines heavy metal and J-pop. Typical kawaii metal music combines traditional heavy metal instrumentation with J-pop style vocals and J-pop idol aesthetics. 

Examples: Babymetal, Ladybaby, Passcode. 

 

Nintendo core 

If you love video games, you might love Nintendocore. This genre blends punk or heavy metal music with the electronic chiptune music associated with electronic chiptune music found in classic videogames. 

Examples: An Albatross, I See Stars, The Octopus Project. 

 

Lowercase

If you’re looking for something completely different, check out the lowercase music genre. Lowercase is a form of ambient minimalist music that is created by amplifying very quiet sounds, like handling paper. 

Examples: Steve Roden, Bug Bus Piano, Roel Meelkop. 

 

Glitchhop 

Glitchhop is an EDM subgenre that combines EDM with hip-hop and “glitch” music – using digital artifacts and manipulated sounds and samples to create complex rhythms. 

Examples: The Glitch Mob, Tipper, CloZee. 

 

Find tabs for some of these obscure genres in the Fret Zealot app! 

 

Bands that started off in a garage

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Many successful bands had humble beginnings – so if you’re currently playing in a garage or basement band, you’re in good company! 

Here are some bands that started as garage bands: 

 

Nirvana 

P.B. Rage from USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

One of the most iconic grunge bands of all time, Nirvana got their start in the burgeoning grunge scene in Washington State. They held practice in many unassuming spots, including Cobain’s home and a friend’s barn in Tacoma. 

 

The Ramones 

UNSPECIFIED – CIRCA 1970: Photo of Ramones Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Considered to be one of the first true punk rock bands, the original members of The Ramones met in the middle-class neighborhood of Forest Hills in Queens. John Cummings and Thomas Erdelyi had been members of a garage band in high school called Tangerine Puppets. 

 

The Who 

In the 1960s, Pete Townshend, Roger Daltrey, and John Entwistle created a band in a West London garage called “The Detours”. The band would later gain drummer Keith Moon and rechristen themselves as The Who – one of the biggest stadium rock bands of all time. 

 

Weezer

David Lee from Redmond, WA, USA, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Weezer’s early days took place in the “Amherst House”, a small rented house in LA. The band rehearsed and even recorded early demos there. They paid tribute to their origins with the song “In the Garage” off of their debut album. 

 

Creedence Clearwater Revival 

The “Proud Mary” songsters started off as a high school garage band called The Blue Velvets, playing school dances and sock hops in the 1950s in the suburbs of San Francisco.