Learning to play the guitar - 20 questions for Adrian Hommel

What is the perfect starting age?

You can learn the guitar at any point in your life. It doesn't matter if you're in primary school or retired. A very good age to learn guitar is roughly between nine and twelve. Experience with my students shows me time and again that constant progress is possible at this age and that control over fingers and hands is already present and usually very precise.

Do I have to learn to read music?

Yes. No. It depends. If you want to learn classical guitar, it is essential to learn how to read music. There's no way around it.

But if you're more interested in pop & rock, notes are secondary. Here, you usually work with chord symbols, which - in the beginning - can be assigned to a single fingering. Thus, an E minor chord is not a layering of the notes E-G-H, but rather a hand position - a so-called fingering.

In addition, there is also tablature. This form of notation indicates which strings to press at which fret to achieve the desired result. So maybe it's a bit like 'painting by numbers'. For jazz, you should certainly have a good command of all forms of notation.

However, the more professional you become, the better you should know about notes and different notations. The good news: this is absolutely no witchcraft and in the course of time is more of an enrichment than a burden.

Are there instruments that are played in the same way?

Yes. The lute, the mandolin or the ukulele are played very similarly to the guitar. Even the banjo should then no longer be a closed book. The bass, especially the E-Bass, has a lot in common with the guitar - even if the playing technique and the approach to the instrument is significantly different.

What physical requirements are advantageous?

The guitar was designed for two hands with five fingers each. But since the way of playing has become so varied due to aids such as capos, bottlenecks or picks, you only need two limbs that can move independently of each other to be able to play the guitar. I have seen people play the guitar with their feet, with only one arm or with fingers that are not fully developed - and still it sounded good every time.

How do you know if you are ready for the instrument?

The first thing that should be there is a general interest in the instrument. Then comes the aesthetics. Do I like the look, the sound, the material? If the answer to all these questions is yes, then there is another question to be answered: Do I have time for an instrument? When afternoons are filled with school or work and many other leisure activities, learning an instrument becomes a torture because there is no time to practise and progress is slow or non-existent.

In most cases, however, you know after a trial lesson whether you like the instrument (and the teacher) or not. Then you are ready.

Can you teach yourself to play the instrument?

Up to a certain level, I would say yes. But the question has many facets that need to be illuminated.

First, there is the attitude. Most self-taught players have posture problems. This usually results in tension, blockages to progress on the instrument and, in the worst case, physical pain. A skilled teacher recognises these and tries to correct them little by little through exercises, because a natural posture is the cornerstone for decades of healthy music-making.

The next thing that comes to mind is the choice of pieces. Thanks to very good YouTube videos, autodidacts tend to play pieces that are too difficult quickly. In many cases, too little technique is taught here and the frustration threshold is quickly reached. A good teacher creates a good foundation for the difficult pieces by choosing many technique exercises and pieces that are adapted to the playing level. Progress sometimes seems slower with the teacher, but is more accurate.

Lastly, I would like to throw 'the inner bastard' into the ring. When you teach yourself to play the guitar, you are totally dependent on your own motivation. Here, a regular weekly visit to the teacher can be a reason to keep working constantly. Even if only in small steps.

Video platforms and online courses certainly enrich the learning of an instrument immensely. For many people, the hurdle to learning an instrument has never been as low as it is today. There are certainly autodidacts who have trained themselves very successfully on the instrument, I don't doubt that at all. With this approach, however, I would advise a visit to a local teacher sooner or later. How long and how intensively, of course, is up to you.

How do you choose suitable practice material?

First of all, it is important to know and recognise the learner's playing level. Based on this, one looks for pieces that are at this level or that are slightly challenging. Well-known pieces or songs are particularly suitable for the latter.

Coupled with additional finger exercises, one can gradually improve the technique and raise the level. It makes sense to formulate a goal or to follow a certain musical direction. Often, musical genres have special playing techniques that can then be practised and put into practice.

It can make just as much sense to deliberately change the genre in order to create variety and establish new playing techniques. All in all, there is no pattern. As a teacher, you have to be close to your students and, in some cases, discard pieces and start a new one.

Learning the electric guitar

AND THEN...

What are popular pieces for the first audition?

Well-known children's songs, Christmas carols or pop songs are usually very suitable for the first audition.

What are the classics and what is your favourite piece?

In the classical field, it is certainly pieces like the "Spanish Romance" or the Etudes No. 1 and No. 6 from AC/DC, Nirvana and Guns N' Roses cannot be missing.

Pop songs are a dime a dozen, but "Behind Blue Eyes" by The Who or Limp Bizkit or Every Breath You Take should have been played at least once. It's incredibly difficult to name a favourite. My personal milestones were probably Metallica – Nothing Else Matters, Classical Gas (The Music Of) and Francisco Tárregas .

Which piece really makes you want to play the instrument?

When two guitar virtuosos let loose on an earworm: