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.
About the author:
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
