Let’s face it, guitar is a very challenging instrument. You can play lead melodies and chords with it. Yes, a piano can also provide you the same possibility but you don’t have to get so physical with it; not to mention that every pitch is located at only one point on a keyboard whereas on a guitar there are six strings (or more) and way too many frets to conquer which may be overwhelming at times. Drums may be physically challenging but a drummer doesn’t have to memorize chords and scales to go with them, etc. In other words, guitar is a different monster all together.
A beginner cannot create decent sounds as soon as he/she grabs a guitar. One needs to stand the test of time before reaching a certain level that doesn’t drive your fellow bystanders crazy. I’m not even including theory to that, not yet anyway, because there are some legendary guitar players in history who knew nothing about theory but their lack of knowledge was more than compensated by their ears and technique.
All this difficulty makes the targets reached along the journey taste sweeter I suppose. Because those who are not passionate about guitar would get bored quit it before they get to that certain point but for those who keep soldiering on there’s simply no return. Would any of them complain about the burns and the blisters on fingertips and other “by products”? Absolutely not.
Having said all that, one doesn’t have to become a guitar player to enjoy guitar music either. I for one know many people who appreciate guitar albums but have never even held one in their entire life. They’re quite happy where they’re at.
