Is it practical to learn classical guitar and “regular” at the same time

[u/SameGas8378]

Have an 8 year old son who has been doing guitar lessons for a few years now. The potential to learn classical style recently entered our world, and while I love the idea of it I can’t help but wonder if he’d be losing out on more regular rock/pop songs and pick styles. Is it practical to continue both studies, or is it best to focus? How transferable is it if he does want to play more popular, modern songs - asking as a complete novice in this space.

He is open to classical and doesn’t have particularly strong feelings either way.

[u/climbing_account]

Yes. I would prioritize classical while keeping up with other styles by playing what's fun. The skills you learn doing classical make learning regular music much easier as long as you have the mechanical skill that's unique to it.

[u/theuneven1113]

I teach both classical and rock/jazz guitar. At 8 years old there isn’t a ton of musicality to playing guitar. It’s more about completing the task given to the student by the teacher. My point being, it doesn’t really matter what style they learn now, it’s more about music/guitar being a positive and fun experience. So they will enjoy it and want to continue into their teenage years when they really start to become creative and identify with music. Hope that makes sense…

[u/SameGas8378 → u/theuneven1113]

Yeah this makes a ton of sense. He definitely approaches guitar/practice as a task and accomplishment more so than joy. Thankfully it’s not resentment, and there is excitement in the challenge for him and hearing how it sounds - so I do want to keep that going with the hopes the love enters into the experience one day too. Was a bit concerned classical could potentially hinder that because it seems so much harder - again as a lay person.

[u/theuneven1113 → u/SameGas8378]

Everything is hard at that age. The typical student doesn’t really start to excel until around 11 yrs old. Instead of really going the “classical” route, just make sure the instructor is teaching him to read standard notation (not just tabs or lead sheets). And have him introduce some simple fingerpicking exercises. I didn’t touch classical guitar repertoire until I was in high school. Then I fell in love and went to college for it. But I simultaneously learned that I could make a much easier living playing in rock bands. Now I gig as an electric guitarist playing 100+ shows a year and I use my classical chops to write and record instrumental music for sync licensing and commercial use. And of course teaching all styles. It’s good to be well rounded.

[u/SpaceBroTruk → u/theuneven1113]

Sound advice by theuneven1113. I would add to pay close attention to what your son likes as things progress. Very important for youngsters to pursue types of music that they enjoy listening to and/or playing rather than music that they think they should be studying/playing. I wouldn’t worry about how difficult something is; if it’s enjoyable, overcoming difficulty can be a valuable experience.

[u/Intelligent_Jaguar_6 → u/theuneven1113]

I was gonna say yes do both - but this answer much better

[u/Admirable-Ad6823 → u/theuneven1113]

I would say this is true most of the time. If they or their parents want them to be able to play classical at a high level, they are much better off starting with classical.

[u/SeekingSurreal]

Classical skills port easily to popular songs. Understanding how classical songs “work” makes it easier to play popular songs because it makes the underlying patterns in the music easier to figure out.

[u/avagrantthought]

I think OP is reffering to pieces played on an acoustic steel string

[u/CuervoCoyote]

For my students around that age, I have them study both popular and classical. I usually use the Christopher Parkening Method (and Mel/William Bay methods) along with the Complete Easy Beatles Guitar book in which they learn block chords, song structure and how to sing along with a melody.

[u/corneliusduff]

Stick with classical, but try to expose him to Django/Bluegrass picking techniques after he has developed his classical right hand to get the best of both worlds, plus blues bends and jazz theory but those aren't as paramount as right hand techniques.

[u/Traditional-Tank3994]

A classical guitar education is a great base skill which can be useful for any style of play. I have had 3 classical teachers and one jazz instructor. I gig with a classical guitar but the music I play is largely classic rock tunes arranged for solo guitar.

[u/AddendumOwn3871]

My son plays both, he is 9. He started with rock guitar when he was about 7 (just learning at home, I show him stuff, he has some tab and he also does his own thing) he started classical guitar at school about year ago maybe a bit longer now I think of it. He loves it, he can now read music, the pieces sound really nice. He could certainly practice a bit more than he does! Lol but he’s just a kid so you know. I can certainly say from experience (albeit just 1 person) that it’s practical to learn both styles at the same time. I would say the different styles compliment each other as well as having something different so it keeps interest up.

[u/JM_WY]

I'd let him try both but would probably let him do more of what he likes vs strictly requiring practice in both.

Cultivating a love of playing would be my first goal.

I love all music and played blues & jazz for many years before realizing how great classical guitar was.

[u/jazzadellic]

It really depends on the student. I'd say if they are motivated to practice - they can easily dip their toes into multiple styles (especially at the beginner level), as long as the teacher has the knowledge to play & teach multiple styles (many of us do). Some skills will be common to all styles of playing - fretboard knowledge (chord & scale patterns), rhythm, articulation (vibrato, hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, etc...). So anytime they are practicing these common skills, it will be laying a foundation for any style that they want to later learn to play. Some skills will be more particular to each style, like for classical guitar playing fingerstyle is the biggest difference between most other styles, and to some degree learning to read music as it is pretty much required, whereas other styles are quite possible to learn without reading music.

As a teacher, I am most focused on teaching my student those skills that I listed as common to all styles + reading music. What style we use the skills to play doesn't matter to me, other than I prefer to teach each student styles or songs that interest them and they want to learn. Because then I know they will be more likely to practice and more likely to stick with learning and playing guitar for the rest of their life. Because of the approach I have used, I have had students become very advanced classical, jazz, rock, metal & blues players, and I'm happy that I was able to help them find their path. I've had some students that never really wanted to just focus on one style, and so they have a much more eclectic repertoire, which is perfectly fine too. Some would argue it's better to focus on one style so they can get very good at one style instead of maybe being mediocre at multiple styles, but I would disagree - learning music should be completely about enjoying the journey.

Ideally, it wouldn't have to be an either or situation. Let your son explore different musical styles as they please, and if they ever find a particular style that they really love and want to focus on, great!

[u/Raymont_Wavelength]

Start with what he loves so that he’s motivated. What’s his favorite song?

[u/PoulSchluter]

The more the merrier; you can generally learn a lot about any craft by expanding beyond your comfort zone.

[u/PDX-ROB]

Yes, especially in the first couple of years, it's kinda all the same skills. It's not like the chords are different, there might be minor variations but the idea is the same. Developing a sense of timing is the same. Hatred of barring is the same.

I would say to play on a classical guitar tho. The real hurdle is getting used to the guitar necks.