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I disagree. The reason people abandon guitar at such rates is that it is far more complex than, say, the piano. I don't have data to back this up other than the

I disagree. The reason people abandon guitar at such rates is that it is far more complex than, say, the piano. I don't have data to back this up other than the fact that I play both instruments, my wife plays the piano and we have taught all three of our kids. At some stage on the guitar your left hand (assuming right-handed player) has to start doing some really unnatural and difficult things for you to be able to play anything interesting. Then there's the fact that notes are found in multiple places on the fret board and certain sets of notes cannot be played effectively unless you switch your left hand to those other "magical" positions. Then there's the need for precise placement of the left hand fingers as they land on the string/fret in order to avoid making weird noises. If you are learning classical guitar, there's keeping your fingernails to the right length and shape and constantly having to fiddle with them. If you don't have good nail genetics (my case) you have to resort to nail strengthening magic cures and even such extreme solutions as painting on a couple of layers or epoxy onto your nails to thicken them up and allow you to play without them breaking. For example, my right hand's thumb fingernail is weak and quickly develops this little notch where it contacts the string. I have been suffering with this since I was a kid. It's a pain in the ass. I've done some crazy things at times to deal with it, like bonding a thin piece of carbon fiber sting to the very edge of my nail. Being creative and improvisational with the guitar is hard and takes a lot of work and study. You need to get past all of the above and that means at least a year, if not two, of daily (and correct) practice. Piano is easier. You remove a lot of the instrument and musician "organic" factors the guitar introduces. With proper hand position and fingering progression can be steady. It is a one-to-one relationship between note and key, which makes it magical when compared to the guitar. Chords and arpeggios written for piano are generally within the domain on a single hand. Even if it takes two, it's no big deal. I truly think that someone can achieve much more satisfying results by practicing piano one-half to one-quarter of the time of someone achieving equivalent results with guitar. And, ultimately, I think this is the reason so many people quit guitar early, it can be very frustrating when compared to the piano.

pcsanwald 10y ago
I agree with everything you said, although I do think it applies much more towards jazz and classical rather than pop music. Making satisfying music by yourself on the guitar is definitely difficult, especially if you don't sing. However, playing johnny ramone style 3 chord punk in a band is, as you know, just not that difficult. So, I think it's not just the inherent complexity of the instrument, but also the context you are trying to make music in.
- rebootthesystem 10y ago
  Agreed
tarsinge 10y ago
I disagree for composition and improvisation : guitar is way easier for that from my point of view. Having always the same interval is the killer feature compared to the piano, where it's easy to play on white keys (C major/A minor scale) but then good luck changing scale, you have to know which notes are sharpened/flattened. Whereas with guitar any novice can learn the pentatonic scale and then play on anything on the radio, by just starting playing that scale from a random fret and changing until it's in key with the song. All scales are the same on guitar, just starting from a different fret. You can go really far in composition in guitar without knowing which note you're playing, but just scales and chords positions.
- rebootthesystem 10y ago
  I was also looping in the issue of being able to glide across the fret board with ease. This takes time and lots of practice. There's a reason why books like Pumping Nylon exist. It takes a lot of work to stop thinking about "where and how the f&%$ am I going to do that!" to having your mind free enough to improvise. In other words, to think about music rather than mechanics.
clentaminator 10y ago
> Piano is easier In terms of barrier-to-entry, I'd agree. There's a greater requirement for dexterity in the left hand (assuming traditional layout) to get a good, consistent tone from the instrument, and much more "up front" difficulty in learning. As experience grows, however, piano opens up a wealth of incredibly challenging literature, for example Bach's Overture in the French Style, Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit, and Balakirev's Islamey. So the "progression curves" of the two instruments, for want of a better phrase, are very different, and certainly look like they favour piano for ease-of-entry.
weinzierl 10y ago
> At some stage on the guitar your left hand (assuming right-handed player) has to start doing some really unnatural and difficult things for you to be able to play anything interesting. I always wondered why the guitar is hold in a way so that the left hand is the one that does the complicated movements.
- rebootthesystem 10y ago
  The right hand is also doing complex coordinated movement. If you think about it, unlike the piano, the guitar, for the most part, requires both hands to play a note. That the human brain can do this at the speeds seen in experienced guitarists is pretty amazing.
  - weinzierl 10y ago
    Makes sense. Thinking about it maybe the movements of the right hand also require more strength.
    - rebootthesystem 10y ago
      No, not really. Some stiles, maybe. Once you get past the newbie stage and develop some technique and related musculature it isn't all that strenuous for normal hobbyist playing. A professional who has to play for many hours, well, that's a different matter. The instrument almost doesn't matter at that level. I know both pianists and guitarists battling carpal tunnel and other repetitive motion issues.

pcsanwald 10y ago

I agree with everything you said, although I do think it applies much more towards jazz and classical rather than pop music. Making satisfying music by yourself on the guitar is definitely difficult, especially if you don't sing. However, playing johnny ramone style 3 chord punk in a band is, as you know, just not that difficult. So, I think it's not just the inherent complexity of the instrument, but also the context you are trying to make music in.

rebootthesystem 10y ago
Agreed

tarsinge 10y ago

I disagree for composition and improvisation : guitar is way easier for that from my point of view. Having always the same interval is the killer feature compared to the piano, where it's easy to play on white keys (C major/A minor scale) but then good luck changing scale, you have to know which notes are sharpened/flattened. Whereas with guitar any novice can learn the pentatonic scale and then play on anything on the radio, by just starting playing that scale from a random fret and changing until it's in key with the song. All scales are the same on guitar, just starting from a different fret. You can go really far in composition in guitar without knowing which note you're playing, but just scales and chords positions.

rebootthesystem 10y ago
I was also looping in the issue of being able to glide across the fret board with ease. This takes time and lots of practice. There's a reason why books like Pumping Nylon exist. It takes a lot of work to stop thinking about "where and how the f&%$ am I going to do that!" to having your mind free enough to improvise. In other words, to think about music rather than mechanics.

clentaminator 10y ago

> Piano is easier In terms of barrier-to-entry, I'd agree. There's a greater requirement for dexterity in the left hand (assuming traditional layout) to get a good, consistent tone from the instrument, and much more "up front" difficulty in learning. As experience grows, however, piano opens up a wealth of incredibly challenging literature, for example Bach's Overture in the French Style, Ravel's Gaspard de la Nuit, and Balakirev's Islamey. So the "progression curves" of the two instruments, for want of a better phrase, are very different, and certainly look like they favour piano for ease-of-entry.

weinzierl 10y ago

> At some stage on the guitar your left hand (assuming right-handed player) has to start doing some really unnatural and difficult things for you to be able to play anything interesting. I always wondered why the guitar is hold in a way so that the left hand is the one that does the complicated movements.

rebootthesystem 10y ago
The right hand is also doing complex coordinated movement. If you think about it, unlike the piano, the guitar, for the most part, requires both hands to play a note. That the human brain can do this at the speeds seen in experienced guitarists is pretty amazing.
- weinzierl 10y ago
  Makes sense. Thinking about it maybe the movements of the right hand also require more strength.
  - rebootthesystem 10y ago
    No, not really. Some stiles, maybe. Once you get past the newbie stage and develop some technique and related musculature it isn't all that strenuous for normal hobbyist playing. A professional who has to play for many hours, well, that's a different matter. The instrument almost doesn't matter at that level. I know both pianists and guitarists battling carpal tunnel and other repetitive motion issues.