This is my first year of marching. But quite honestly, I never wanted to do it in the first place. I was pressured into it by my own parents and my two older sisters. (who did it for 4 years straight in highschool) although I really enjoyed watching my sisters perform when they were in highschool, It just wasn t my interest in joining marching band.

As of right now, it s my fourth week of marching band camp. And since day 1, it s been hell for me. I ve had horrible anxiety and stress. Every time we march on the field, my body shakes and I feel like I m going to faint on the spot. It s just horrible for me.

I talked to one of my sisters about quitting but she yelled at me & told me to just stay. (More stress that added)
I m already 4 weeks into band camp & the band director terrifies me to the point where I can t even breathe.

The point is --- I don t want to continue on. I don t care that my sisters did it in highschool for 4 years. I don t want to walk in their footsteps and go through the hell I m going through right now. I want to make my own decisions for my next 4 years.

How do I tell my parents that I don t want to continue on in marching band? ( I m fine with concert band)

How do I explain to my sisters that I don t want to be forced into something I don t have an interest for?

If you could read through this i would really appreciate it.

Before i get started with my question, I am 16 years old. I play acoustic right now, self taught. I am no beginner, but I am no pro.

(I have been committed to playing for about 2 years, maybe less)

After going to a Guns n' Roses concert recently, I started learning some songs from them.

(I don't have an electric as of right now.)

The most popular song that I learned so far is Sweet Child O' Mine.

Only problem is, it sounds terrible.

By this I mean whenever I lift my fingers, it takes the strings with it making a sound that throws the whole song off. (I'm not sure if that made sense)

Basically, I know how to play it, I know where my fingers go and I and move them on the right timing, but the noise throws it all off.

I am wanting to save up for a decent electric guitar, I am not wanting to get a beginners one since I already know what and how to do things for the most part.

Now here are the questions:

1.) Is this just a problem because it is an acoustic or am i just bad at it?
2.) Is it easier to move your fingers around on an electric? I don't mean speed, just in general.
3.) Does an electric make a squeaky sound on the strings when you slide your fingers around like it does on an acoustic?

This is a personal question, not really any right or wrong answer but...
would you find a girl playing an electric guitar unattractive?

Any tips and answers are appreciated! thank you!

When an acoustic guitar is converted to left handed, several alterations are made. These will all need to be reversed. Here is a list of things of alterations that should have been made if the conversion was properly done:

1) Strings need to be mounted in reverse order.

2) The slots in the "nut" are re-cut....or the nut is completely replaced. The nut is the slotted plastic piece at the upper end of the fretboard which the strings pass through. Since the strings are different thicknesses, when the strings are reversed, the nuts have to be altered.

3) The bridge saddle is adjusted for height and intonation. On an acoustic, this generally means re-locating the saddle so it slants in the opposite direction.

Your best course of action is to bring the guitar to a repair shop to see exactly what was done in the conversion, and how much it will cost to reverse it.

Well there are two schools of thought.

If you learn the acoustic first, you will find the electric much easier and more fun later, because an acoustic guitar is going to be generally harder to play because the strings are thicker and require more strength. Budget wise, I recommend any Yamaha acoustic guitar, they can be found for anywhere between $100 and $300.

The con is that you can get discouraged (If your that kind of person) if you start with the acoustic because the acoustic can be difficult at first. Also you can't get a lot of different sounds out of an acoustic, like you could with electric.

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Or, If you start with the electric, the benefits of that is that electrics are easier, strings are easier to bend and press down on. You can also get the sound you want out of an electric (Like a distorted or overdriven sound, something you can't get with an acoustic) There are also just lots of things to explore about electrics. Budget wise, a good electric guitar and a good practice amp can be obtained for about $300 (USD) I recommend the Squire Affinity series for a good started electric guitar, and the Fender Mustang I V.2 as a good starter amp. (Can be found used for an even better price)

The downside is that it is you may get distracted from actually learning how to play by all the bells and whistles that would come with an electric guitar and amp. Also if you start with an electric, if there is a situation where you would want to play an acoustic, you might have some trouble. Also it may be tempting to play with a lot of distortion on an electric when you start out, but playing with a lot of distortion when you start out can hinder your learning of the guitar, distortion is for after you get beyond t he beginner stage. And there is more things that can possible go wrong with an electric guitar, not saying this to discourage you, but a electric guitar requires more maintenance.

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Or you can get a hollow body electric guitar, they are the electric guitars that you would commonly find a blues player or jazz player to use, they have all the features like pickups, knobs, a jack to plug it into an amplifier, the string feel of an electric guitar, and if you plug them into an amplifier, they sound just like any other electric guitar would, but they have are hollow bodied, so they can be played and heard like an acoustic without an amplifier. For a hollow body electric guitar, I recommend an Ibanez Artcore, which could be found for anywhere between $200 and $500, another one I would recommend is a Epiphone Dot Studio, which can be found for up to $329 brand new, and it can be found used for even better prices!

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So, weigh the pros and cons with yourself, it all comes down to how you want to learn and what sound you want and how you want to end up.
Pick which method you will enjoy yourself the most with, because that is what matters.
The important thing is whatever you choose, don't give up because the end result is priceless