Buy A Guitar: Should You Buy A New, Used, Vintage, Antique, Or Collector Guitar?

Buying an Acoustic Guitar - What You Should Know

Acoustic Guitar Brands That You Should Consider

Guitar - What Guitar Should I Buy?

If you have come to the conclusion that you want to play guitar the next step will be to choose a guitar to buy. There is a variety of instruments out there at different prices. Let's look at your choices.

What types of guitars will you find in a guitar shop?

1. The classical guitar. The classical guitar or Spanish guitar has nylon strings which produce a soft and mellow sound suitable for classical guitar music and for accompanying soft songs with finger playing.

Personally I have grown up with the Spanish guitar in my home as my father was a guitar teacher and we had a lot of guitars in our home all of them with nylon strings.

I have played a lot of styles with Spanish guitars like blues and rock music. Yes, it is possible to bend the nylon strings on a classical guitar when you play blues if you get used to it!

2. Steel-strung flat-top guitars. The steel-strung guitar is very good for strumming with a plectrum and for playing solos.

Nowadays I play steel-strung guitars a lot both with right hand fingers and with a pick. I like the crisp sound from the steel-strings. The drawbacks with this types of guitars are that they can be hard to play if the strings have too high action.

3. Electic guitars. An electric guitar has electromagnetic pickups transforming the vibrations from the strings into currents that in an guitar amplifier becomes sounds.

In this type of guitar the direct sound from the guitar is not important which makes it possible to have light gauge strings that are easy to bend. This makes it easier to play blues licks for example.

I usually play on an American Stratocaster because I like the crisp, clean sound and I can play different types of music on it. There are a lot of different types of electric guitars to choose from.

Nowadays you can find inexpensive electric guitars of good quality for example Ibanez or Yamaha guitars that are easy to play. I have a rather inexpensive Ibanez guitar that is very easy to play.

If you are a beginner wanting to start to play guitar my advice would be that you ask an accomplished guitar player to help you choose the right guitar for you. Even two guitars of the same model can differ in playability and tone.

I would also suggest that you buy your guitar in a music shop with experienced musicians and guitarists that can help you find out the best guitar for you.

I would also suggest that you buy an electronic guitar tuner to help you to always have your guitar well tuned. There is no guitar that is nice to play if it is out of tune.

Peter Edvinsson is a musician, composer and music teacher. Visit his site Capotasto Music and download your free sheet music and learn to play guitar resources at http://www.capotastomusic.com

Learn to Play the Guitar - Should I Play the Electric Or the Acoustic Guitar?

Deciding what kind of guitar you want to play can be a daunting task. You ask yourself, "Do I want to play the electric or the acoustic guitar?" The best guitar to begin with is the acoustic guitar and here is why. In the first place you will not have to lug an amplifier around with you when you go places to play. You can just put your guitar in the car and go. Often times you may be somewhere where there is no electricity and so an electric guitar would do no good. That is when you pull out the old acoustic and you are in business

But more so than ever at some point in your music endeavors with the guitar, you are going to want to own an acoustic guitar, even if you think you play an electric. You will still always have the desire and also the need to play an acoustic guitar. Again, you are going to want to own one. An acoustic guitar can be played with a wide variety of instruments. You can play it with any fretted and stringed instrument and many of the wind instruments too. They are very versatile.

Now what type of acoustic guitar will you want to buy? What kind of sound are you going to want to hear coming from your guitar when you play. How much are you willing to spend? What make and model of instrument will you buy? All of this has to be taken into account and decisions must be made. These and much more.

Do you want a guitar that has a soft mellow sound or do you want a sound that has a brighter deeper tone? The Gibson acoustic guitar, which is a fine quality guitar, will give a more mellow sweeter sound than most other acoustic guitars. The Martin guitar, a very good guitar, has a brighter sound on the upper strings and a deep brassy bass sound on the lower strings. Both of these guitars are excellent guitars but they are expensive.

Once you find yourself truly committed to playing the guitar you will surely want to get yourself a really good one. If not a Gibson or a Martin or a Taylor or an Ovation, then it will be some other good quality made guitar. It is for certain you will want to have one or two good acoustic guitars or in your collection. On your first guitar, you will spend from a hundred and fifty to three or four hundred dollars. Look for a Ventura or an Alvarez, a Yamaha or maybe even a Takamine. I would highly suggest a Takamine. For the money invested they are one of the better guitars. The Takamine is made well, it is easy to play, it sounds very good, and it is not too pricey.

You can look at pawn shops as a fair source for an inexpensive beginner guitar. Most medium to large cities have guitar shops where you can buy either new or used guitars. I prefer a music store whether it be a new guitar dealer or a used guitar shop. Used guitars are not necessarily less expensive than new ones and new ones are not necessarily better instruments than used ones.You will have to make the decision by choosing what feels and sounds good to you.

No matter what kind of guitar you decide to buy you should do some on line research before you make your purchase. Once you have bought yourself a guitar it will be the one you will have to play. If you get an inferior guitar then it may be difficult to play and the sound quality may not be very good. Both are a big distraction to a musician whether it be a beginner or an advanced player. So, unless you have a lot of spare cash laying around and don't mind turning loose of it for another one. Chose your guitar wisely and choose the best one you can afford.

Look for a guitar that appeals to you. It is not so much what the guitar looks like, but the way it feels when you put your arms around it and begin to play. It has to feel good. Once you have tried out a few you will know what I mean. An acoustic guitar is really something to hold, especially a good one.

After you have played around on a number of guitars you will become aware of how each instrument feels subtly different than another. At some point you will pick one up and once you have settled into it you will say, "Wow, this is the one!" And you will have it, you will have found your guitar. It makes no difference what name is on the guitar what matters is how it feels and how it sounds. Looks are not so important, it is all about feel and sound. Keep this in mind when looking for an acoustic guitar, feel and sound. It has to feel good first and with feeling you can make a guitar sound good.

I have played guitar for most of my life and have never regretted picking it up and learning how to play. My first guitar was an acoustic guitar, a Ventura. I did not know anything about guitars and so it was not much of an instrument. Still, I practiced till my fingers were raw then callused over and tough enough and strong enough to stand the pressure on the frets. After my Ventura I bought an Epiphone which was an easier guitar to play but someone had filed down the frets so it wasn't much of an instrument either. Within a year of beginning to play the guitar, I decided to save my money and get myself a Martin D-35. It was the greatest musical investment I had ever made. It was like the Martin would play itself all I had to do was hold it.

My point is, when you are looking for a guitar look for a good one. You will not regret the time you took looking and you will be satisfied with your guitar. You can find out more about how to choose good a guitar by Clicking Here now.

Take your time and look around and you will find the instrument that is perfect for you. Go to http://jamminguitar.com where you will find more information about different types of guitars. You will also find links to other websites where you can learn even more about the acoustic guitar.

Easy Guitar Lessons - What You Should Know

Many budding guitarists fall for a deceptive claim that learning how to play the guitar is easy. Of course, such a claim depends upon how one defines the word "easy." I have been playing guitar for over 20 years. I learned how to play like millions of other guitarists. I took formal guitar lessons for several years. I can assure you that I have never been able to find easy guitar lessons.

What Are Formal Guitar Lessons?

Formal guitar lessons consist in a guitar teacher imparting his or her knowledge of playing guitar upon a student. The effectiveness of the guitar lessons depend in large part upon the quality of the guitar teacher. Naturally, the beginning guitar student must have a strong desire to learn.

There are many guitar instructors, so called, that try to teach people how to play guitar for a fee. Unfortunately for someone looking for easy guitar lessons, an incompetent guitar teacher might make a new student believe that guitar mastery is a couple months, or even weeks away.

An ineffective guitar teaching method is obvious when the teacher focuses on performing for the student, rather than teaching the basics from which the student can build upon. Over the course of a few short weeks and months, the new student becomes an ex-student. I cannot begin to tell you how many people I run into that tell me they took guitar lessons for a couple months and then quit.

The Components of Excellent Formal Guitar Instruction

Before I get started on this subject, let me assume that you are not looking to become a performing classical guitarist. If your aspirations are to play in a classic orchestra such as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, then you will need to enroll in an accredited music school. I am guessing though, that you want to play some popular music tunes. Okay, with that out of the way, what are the components of excellent formal guitar instruction?

1. Hire a Professional Guitar Instructor

Your guitar teacher should be someone who has earned a music degree from an accredited college or university. You definitely should not take guitar lessons from someone who is self-taught. Just because a guitarist can play "Eruption" by Van Halen does not mean they can teach you how to play guitar. Therefore, I recommend that you take formal guitar lessons from an instructor affiliated with a reputable music store. I have found that some of the best guitar instructors work out of family owned music shops, not chain stores.

2. You Need To Be Dedicated

If your guitar instructor does not demand that you practice at the very least, one half hour per day, then you are not going to adequately develop as a guitarist. Mastering the guitar takes years of practice and learning. If you plan on taking guitar lessons just to learn one or two songs you happen to like, you will never learn those songs or any others. Be realistic about your ability to devote the time and effort needed to really learn how to be a good guitarist.

3. Your Guitar Instructor Must Be Demanding

A demanding guitar teacher is very essential. I am not saying the person must be mean or cruel, but there are certain standards in regards to proper posture and fingering. If you find that your guitar teacher is constantly correcting your posture and repeatedly telling you to use the tips of your fingers, then you have a real gem of a teacher. As a beginner, I cannot tell you how many times my first guitar teacher told me to change position, use the tips of my fingers, and to "do it again" until I got it right. You might not like being told over and over to readjust your body or replay a certain guitar part, but it is well worth it.

4. The Basics of Guitar Music Theory

Despite your worst fears as a beginning guitarist, you will need to learn some music theory in order to understand how music works. The guitar is a complicated instrument because of the immense diversity of musical options on the fretboard. The guitar is what I would consider a 3-dimensional instrument. Whereas, the piano is a 1-dimensional instrument. Why? All the notes on a piano are in a straight line.

Now, effective guitar instruction will teach you how to read music. Yes, reading tabs is fast and easy, but it does nothing for helping you understand the musical structure of a song. You can be assured that music theory for guitar is not at all difficult. You just need to focus a little bit. Remember, this is not classical concert guitar school. Learn it and move on. You will find that music theory is an aid to being great on guitar.

5. Do Not Expect To Be Jamming Immediately

You have to learn to crawl before you can walk. And, you have to learn to walk before you can run. You will have to play "Tom Dooley" and "Streets of Laredo" before you can play "Dust In The Wind." There is no way around it. If your first lesson as a beginning guitarist is to learn how to play a contemporary rock guitar solo, then you will be an ex-guitar student very soon. You must be persistent until you are able to play some more difficult tunes. You will eventually walk and then run. Give it time and practice.

Guitar Lessons Are Expensive

If you cannot afford in-person formal guitar instruction, there are some wonderful options available to you. Distance learning via the internet has taken the world by storm. Some online instruction programs are excellent. I have looked at some of these and find the quality of the teachers to be top notch. Also, the educational materials that accompany the lessons are comprehensive. The only drawback is that you are left to your own devices, which might be a problem.

A solution would be to perhaps take an in-person guitar lesson every so often to make sure you are on the right track and not developing any bad habits in terms of form and method. But, it is possible to learn how to play the guitar from a very good online instruction program.

William Meisseur

Easy Guitar Lessons