by sarge927 on Wed Aug 06, 2008 3:23 pm
Let's break it down:(1) The cost for guitar lessons all depends on where you live. For example, I have a buddy stationed in Germany who is paying 10 Euros per lesson. His teacher is kind of an independent and caters to the crowd on the base, so he may charge less than others. Personally, I find lessons to be a waste of time. Books and instructional videos/DVDs are better IMHO.(2) If you've never played guitar before your fingers are going to hurt some, but not as badly as if you were to start on an acoustic guitar. The best way to deal with it is to play every day and stop once your fingers start hurting. Eventually you'll get used to the fingering and develop calluses on the ends of your fingers, so you'll be able to play much longer (probably hours) with no discomfort. Just start small and work your way up. There really aren't any exercises you can do before you start playing -- the only way to get used to it is to play on a regular basis.