One thing is for sure, learning guitar is easier if you already play another instrument like the piano. But how easy will it be if you already play the piano?
It will be easier because you are already familiar with reading music, playing a melody, keeping rhythm, and having good timing.
You can compare it to learning your third language, with learning a second language you have to figure everything out from absolute zero.
But with your third language, you already know a few tricks and have figured out how you learn best.
Is It Easy To Learn Guitar If You Play Piano?
Learning the guitar after piano will be easier than starting from zero because you know the basics of playing music. This will also depend on your talent and how fast you pick up on a new instrument.
Although there are some similarities, there are also major differences between learning these two types of instruments.
The answer to the question ‘is it easy to learn guitar if you play piano’ depends not only on personal preference but also on what your goal is.
Reasons Why Guitar Is Easy After Piano
You Played Music Before
The biggest reason why guitar will be easy if you already play the piano is that you have played music before. This means that you trained your ear to pick up on melodies and rhythm.
This will be different for someone that has never touched an instrument in their life. Normally someone has to practice this for a few weeks or even months.
You Have More Finger Strength And Coordination
Playing the guitar is easier if you have more finger strength. Some of the chords might be hard to play because your fingers are not used to that type of movement.
The piano trains for having good finger control and muscle development. You might even notice that you have more coordination between both hands.
You Know How To Read Notes And Chords
Playing the guitar is closer to playing the piano than it is to singing. You need to be able to read notes and know where the music goes, depending on which chord you are playing.
A G chord on a piano will look completely different when played on a guitar. The point is that you already know what chords and notes are and how they work when reading music.
Reasons Why Guitar Could Be Hard After Piano
Guitar Is a Completely Different Instrument
The biggest reason why starting the guitar after piano could be hard is that it is a completely different instrument. The guitar is in a completely different instrument family than the piano.
You will need to learn proper techniques. When playing the piano you’re pressing keys with both your hands.
But when you’re playing guitar you are making chords with your left hand on the fretboard and you’re either strumming or fingerpicking the strings with your right hand.
You Lose Motivation
If You’re expecting to play like a pro within a month because you already play piano, you might be disappointed. You will need to put in a lot of practice.
And if things don’t move as fast as you had expected, you might lose your motivation and inspiration quickly to keep going forward with guitar lessons.
You Might Be Bored Fast Because It’s Easy
On the other hand, you might be a musical genius that always picks up a new instrument easily. If you’re already a master at the piano it might be easy to learn guitar.
You might even be bored of how quickly you learn new things. You will notice that you can pick up some chords or techniques within a week, and this might make the next weeks feel long and boring until you reach the next level.
In this case, learning guitar is easy after piano because you already know the basics of reading music and changing chords.
The most important thing to keep in mind is that there are no shortcuts when it comes to learning a new instrument. If you put in the work it will pay off, but everyone has to start from somewhere.
First Steps To Learning Guitar
The only way to really figure out if learning the guitar will be easy for you is to try and see for yourself!
Go to a guitar store and pick one of the cheaper models, so that you don’t waste a lot of money if you find out that guitar is not the right instrument for you.
When you get home you can start looking up some free tutorials online or join online guitar lessons like Fender Play or Masterclass and start practicing!
Conclusion
Although learning guitar can be easy for some people who have prior experience playing music, it can also be difficult for those who don’t.
It is important to remember that there is no such thing as a shortcut when it comes to learning a new instrument.
The most important thing is to practice and be patient in order to see results. You might find out that you can play like a pro even faster than expected!
Thanks for reading!