[Acousticado]

The acoustic guitar is certainly more difficult than the electric to make music on...at least until one becomes relatively proficient. Kinda like manual vs. power steering in a car.

The acoustic’s popularity stems from its portability and facilitation of playing rhythm and adding voice. Imo, the hardest part about playing guitar, especially for newcomers, is the awkward fretting hand/wrist articulation a player must perpetually endure compared to other musical instruments. Yes, it never ends...we just get used to it. Proper, player-specific setup is also an important factor that affects difficulty. It can make certain chording very tough, which players work through, but doesn’t change the fact that the guitar is difficult to play, especially well, compared to other instruments.

It seems that since the invention of the acoustic guitar, players adopted a technique that defies comfort. The very few players like Jeff Healey had it right, not only from a comfort perspective, but the inherent use of all five digits, not just four plus the rare thumb wrap that 99.9% of us employ. Translating to piano, it’d be like laying under one while contorting the wrist to play the keys.

Why do guys do this to ourselves? To look cool and impress the ladies!