New player with keyboard experience

Hi All:

I am guitar beginner and have played keyboards most of my life- I am in my fifties- old - I know- I play the keyboards by ear and was self taught but do know the note locations/chords etc..  I am trying to find out if there is path I should take knowing my background on the keyboards and transitioning it to the guitar- I appreciate  any feedback in advance -Dave

Hi Dave & welcome to the forums. Your fifties isn't old. You have a decade plus yet until you start to hit multiple privileges of that real physical age barrier.

A guitarist first and keyboard novitiate second, here's my take. Someone experienced with keyboard prior to coming to guitar may offer you their greater experience of their journey, but here's what I didcovered as a post-novitiate cum intermediate guitarist taking up keyboard a couple of years after guitar.  Your years of keyboard will be extremel;y useful as the same theory applies. Keyboard is considered -and I found it so, easier to learn initially because it's linear, and so very useful for grasping concepts literally in black and white.

Unfortunately the guitar neck isn't that friendly, and the fingers learning it is largely down to greater applied repetition until rote.  With all that motility from playing keyboard too, you should find the transition to guitar and your journey easier than a complete neophyte.  Have fun with it. That's the prime objective. 

Cheers!

In my experience,Keyboards are easier to explain/understand, when it comes to theory (that is why colleges teach theory on the keyboard) ... as manxcat has pointed out, pianos are linear.  However where the guitar really shines, is in learning scales.  On Piano (or a lot of other instruments) you have to learn different fingering to be able to play in diffrent keys (12 major scales, 12 minor scales and that doesn't even take Modes into account).  On Guitar you only have to move the same pattern up or down the neck to play those same scales.  Learning one fingering pattern allowed me to play in most keys.   This really makes it easier to transpose into other keys (a very useful skill for playing with others).  If y want to play the same lead line or song in another key, y just move that fingering pattern up or down the neck... presto chango you are there!  It may take more work to ingrain that scale pattern into your brain and fingers on guitar.  But once done, playing lead or even playing chords in diffrent keys, gets much easier.  For me, that made theory a bit less complicated to  understand and use.

I think your Piano experience can be very useful if you can move your practice habits from the keyboard to the Guitar.  Learning persitant prctice habits is usually the hardest hurdle for Guitar novices.  They have been playing the instrument for a couple of months, then they come to a difficult skill (like barr chords) and they hit a brick wall. They get frustrated that they still don't sound like their heros, and they skid to a stop.   If you have played piano for most of your life, you have probably developed practice habits that allow you to keep putting one foot ahead of the other, without getting bored/ furstrated.  Here on this forum, you will hear, again and again, "Learning Guitar is a distance race, not a sprint".  Most beinners just skip over that wisdom and fall flat on their face as a result.

I would guess this is the greatest reason that most novices give up playing guitar.  As you learn Guitar, make a point to latch on to things that you enjoy playing.  That could be riffs, or rthyms, or songs, or what ever excites you.  When you hit difficulties learning new stuff, be sure to spend practice time going back to polish/ develop those old favorites.  This can be extremly helpful when you hit the inevetable brick walls of developing new skills.  When that happens go back to back to the songs/ riffs you love.  Have some fun with them. 

I also find that I end up getting much better at those old riffs/ songs as I incorprate new skills into those old favorites. Those favorites are more fun than just banging your head against a brick wall.  As a side benifit, those old favorites will also grow with your developing skill set. 

Having fun is the greatest reason to play guitar.   If you stop having fun.. you will likely stop playing guitar.

 Most of the people who suceed at learning guitar are people who have learned how to enjoy practicing.  They have fun at it instead of getting flustered by it.  As I said, you probably already have this skill, as you have been playing piano for most of your life.  That practice skill will be the key to growing as a guitarist.  It places you well ahead of most novice Guitarists here on GT.  Enjoy the flight....

Welcome Shep.

I'm a keyboard buy too - years of music theory, keyboard expertises, etc.  I added guitar in my teens because a piano was too big to tote around at that time.  Didn't apply the "seriousness" to my guitar playing as my piano.  You're in a great spot because your ear is most likely highly developed.

I'd suggest either or both of the beginner guitar courses.  There are a lot of mechanics unique to playing the guitar that differ from playing the keyboard and the beginner course are excellent.  Along the way, you can add some simple versions of songs available in the library for motivation.  After that, it's just a matter of choosing a direction.  I chose the Blues and went through both (outstanding) sections of the Blues course.

If you want to stick with "ear based" playing, you can do that here.  If you'd like to gain a greater understanding from a formal perspective, that's here as well.

Some interesting things moving from keys to guitar - you're moving from 88 keys all in a row to 66 to 84 (or more) in six overlapping layers.  At times over the years I playes a keyboard stack.  Kind of the same, maybe?  You'll find transposing keys (say going down a couple of keys) to fit the needs of a singer much more easy.

Dynamics/attack on guitar are affected by fingers, wrist, elbow, shoulder - similar to a real piano.

Of course, there are things unique to guitar:  slides, bending, etc.  Yep - I know that kind of stuff can be replicated on modern electric keyboards but it's just not the same.  There's a particular joy in bending for me - consistently nailing a bend just right is a surprising joy.

There's more of course but, you get the idea.

Take the beginner course.  Nail the mechanics.  Open that experience ear of yours.

Drink it up.

Rumble