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Hmmm, I disagree, having played electric and acoustic guitars for over two decades and begun learning piano and synths for the first time in 2025. For one, you

Hmmm, I disagree, having played electric and acoustic guitars for over two decades and begun learning piano and synths for the first time in 2025. For one, you can’t easily play two melodies simultaneously across several octaves, using both of your hands, with an electric guitar. Stringed electronic instruments do have their advantages, but so do the others. Each music making thing has its place in the spectrum. Two books that have helped me greatly in my musical life, in case people haven’t heard of them, are The Listening Book, and Bridge of Waves, by W.A. Mathieu.

kavalg 7mo ago
You are completely right about the polyphonic expressivity of piano. What I lack is the intonation (bending) of tone.
- hypertexthero 7mo ago
  Guitars certainly have a more intimate connection between the touch of fingers and the sound, including the bending of the tone, one of Hendrix’s virtuosities. Keyboards can approach that with polyphonic touch keys like the Hydrasynth (lean into keys, pressing them harder, for bending the tone in a configured patch), sustain pedals, and pitch bend/modulation controls, but not the nuanced touch of skin on a vibrating string. I think synth guitars exist, too, but don’t know anything about them. The pedalboards are enough, maybe :)
  - xcf_seetan 7mo ago
    > I think synth guitars exist Of course they exists, just listen to Pat Metheny. There are Midi hexapickups that can play any synth with MIDI and full expression.
ben7799 7mo ago
There are certainly guitarists who can play simultaneous melodies. If you're limiting to a 6 string guitar the distance between the two melodies would be limited compared to a piano but guitars don't have to be limited to 6 strings. Classical guitar is full of this kind of thing. Having taken piano lessons but being more into guitar I think the thing is almost all people who play piano are introduced to this and it is a core concept in far more piano music than guitar music. But it is not impossible on guitar, and many works for piano that get adapted to guitar require the player to do so. E.x. there are plenty of players who have studied and played the Well Tempered Clavier on guitar.
xcf_seetan 7mo ago
You can play with both hands on a Chapman stick, right hand can do the bass, the left the melody/chords or vice-versa (Chapman stick is played tapping the strings with both hands)

kavalg 7mo ago

You are completely right about the polyphonic expressivity of piano. What I lack is the intonation (bending) of tone.

hypertexthero 7mo ago
Guitars certainly have a more intimate connection between the touch of fingers and the sound, including the bending of the tone, one of Hendrix’s virtuosities. Keyboards can approach that with polyphonic touch keys like the Hydrasynth (lean into keys, pressing them harder, for bending the tone in a configured patch), sustain pedals, and pitch bend/modulation controls, but not the nuanced touch of skin on a vibrating string. I think synth guitars exist, too, but don’t know anything about them. The pedalboards are enough, maybe :)
- xcf_seetan 7mo ago
  > I think synth guitars exist Of course they exists, just listen to Pat Metheny. There are Midi hexapickups that can play any synth with MIDI and full expression.

ben7799 7mo ago

There are certainly guitarists who can play simultaneous melodies. If you're limiting to a 6 string guitar the distance between the two melodies would be limited compared to a piano but guitars don't have to be limited to 6 strings. Classical guitar is full of this kind of thing. Having taken piano lessons but being more into guitar I think the thing is almost all people who play piano are introduced to this and it is a core concept in far more piano music than guitar music. But it is not impossible on guitar, and many works for piano that get adapted to guitar require the player to do so. E.x. there are plenty of players who have studied and played the Well Tempered Clavier on guitar.

xcf_seetan 7mo ago

You can play with both hands on a Chapman stick, right hand can do the bass, the left the melody/chords or vice-versa (Chapman stick is played tapping the strings with both hands)