Playing guitar has been a passion of mine for about six years, and as I came to Ferris State, I brought that passion with me.
I got into playing guitar thanks to my musical background in the orchestra at my high school. I went from playing the tall double bass to taking a guitar class in high school. I almost exclusively play guitar now, and I am delighted to have this hobby at this time in my life. Playing music helps me relax after a long or even stressful day of classes and coming home and playing my guitar helped me unwind and forget anything that happened during the day.
including guitar. Photo by: Nolan Matthews | Sports Reporter
I learned throughout my time here that many students start to learn guitar when they get to college. Some learn guitar due to the old trope that playing guitar gets the ladies (which it does not), or some want a constructive and healthy hobby.
I spoke with Professor Daniel Cronk, who is in the music department here at Ferris State, and he spoke about when he got into guitar and how beneficial it is for your health.
“I started spending more time on the guitar and bass when I got to college. I started my first band when I was a sophomore, and we had many opportunities to play music for money,” Cronk said. “But there is a great deal of research confirming the benefits of not playing guitar but music in general, from cognitive development to coping with stress and anxiety, music has health benefits.”
According to Breakthrough Guitar, playing the guitar can help with memory and concentration, lower stress, and increase your social life. All of these things are super important in college life. Finding something that you love that can help lower your stress and improve your cognitive functions is one of the best things you can do in college.
When advising anyone wanting to start playing guitar, I recommend getting a starter kit from Quinn’s Music or online that usually runs you about $200-300. The kits come with all of the necessities you need to get yourself started. Knowing the type of music that you want to play will determine what kind of guitar you should get. For the people who want to play the acoustic classics, get an acoustic guitar. If you’re like me when you start and want to play all of the awesome classic rock riffs you heard in your dad’s car growing up, get an electric guitar kit.
The brand of guitar should not matter to a beginner, one person I know got into guitar about the same time I did, and his starter guitar was worth about $600. Fast-forward a few months later, and he was not playing guitar anymore. Do not buy an expensive guitar to start as a beginner, buy a cheap guitar or a starter kit and give yourself a couple of months to ensure you want to keep this hobby.
The last piece of advice I will give is that I am about 95% self-taught, I only took one guitar class in high school, and since then, I have taught myself the rest of the way. Take guitar lessons. An experienced teacher will help you build good playing habits as well as help you not create bad habits. I wish I had taken lessons when I started playing because now I have habits that I cannot break no matter how hard I try.
Even if you don’t take “real” guitar lessons, learning from videos and other free resources won’t impact the positive effects that playing the guitar has on you.
To anyone who takes my advice or likes what they heard from Professor Cronk, I hope you enjoy the guitar as much as I do. I wish you good luck and happy playing.