Al Wielder asked:


Purchasing an electric guitar is very exciting and fun. The process can be made more efficient by following several basic guidelines and using several tips provided below. Are you new to guitars and ready to make your first electric guitar purchase? Are you a seasoned player who owns several guitars and you find yourself adding to your guitar collection? No matter which category you find yourself in, getting the most from your instrument purchase is very important. It is also important to understand the types of electric guitars available.

The choices include:

1. Solid Body Electric Guitars 2. Hollow Body Electric Guitars 3. Semi Hollow Body Electric Guitars 4. Acoustic/Electric Guitars 5. Pedal Steel Guitars 6. Hawaiian Style Lap Guitars

Guitars, and particularly electric guitars are not created equal. There are many brands of electric guitars to choose from. Making the right choice when purchasing a guitar will depend on some basic factors, including:

1. Your particular situation

2. The specific application when using the guitar.

For example, if you are a beginner, there is little reason to consider investing several thousands of dollars into a pro level guitar such as a custom Les Paul or a Paul Reed Smith. Another example regarding a specific application would be if you are a traveling musician. Traveling guitarists may want to consider a slightly less expensive guitar to take on the road while saving their finest instrument for a studio environment. Regardless of your situation or the application, the bottom line is there are several factors to consider. Understanding your position as a potential guitar buyer will help you make the right decision and ensure that you make an informed purchase.

Here are 5 tips to help you in choosing the right electric guitar.

Tip 1. Evaluate your level of committment to the instrument and the art of music.

Before you choose your electric guitar be sure you understand the level of committment that you are prepared to invest into the instrument. Electric guitars can be expensive and understanding the level of dedication you plan to invest in the instrument should play a vital role in choosing your guitar.

Tip 2. Identify your particular application for the instrument.

If you are a beginner and just learning to play the instrument, your application will be quite different from an intermediate or advanced guitarist who is adding to their collection. Determine your particular situation and application for the guitar you will purchase. Consider whether or not you will be keeping the instrument at home or frequently traveling with it. For example, if you plan to keep the instrument at home for recreational use, you may want to consider including a less expensive case for the guitar. Road cases can be costly and will not be neccesary if you do not travel with the guitar.

Tip 3. Identify your budget and include patience regarding your guitar purchase.

Many aspiring guitarists have wandered into the local music store only to be overwhelmed by the vast choices and different price ranges of guitars. As with any purchase, pre-planning and understanding your budget is critical. Prices for electric guitars range from a few hunderd dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. If you are serious about playing the guitar, selecting your instrument will be one of the most important decisions you make. Be sure to take ample time during this stage of the process. Patience is more than a virtue when selecting your guitar.

Tip 4. Consult a professional to get tips on guitar quality and performance.

It is a good idea to take the time to visit several musical instrument dealers in your area. Retail guitar shops will be more than happy to help you understand what to look for when buying an electric guitar. Get several opinions if you are new to guitars. Most guitar outlets will have seasoned players on staff who will be happy to impart their experience and wisdom. Ask questions. Find out what you need to consider when selecting an electric guitar. Getting several opinions in this area will shed light on the overall picture and will be very beneficial information when it comes time to buy.

Tip 5. Include additional items and training resources to help you get started playing the guitar.

Once you have made the right guitar purchase, be sure to have additional items on hand that will be vital to the process of learning. You will need an extra set of guitar strings, some extra picks, a tuner and a stand for your guitar. It is also very important to purchase some beginner books that include chord charts, guitar tab and chord progression exercises.

Learning to play the electric guitar is fun and exciting. There are few things in life that will provide the relaxation and feeling of accomplishment you can experience by becoming proficient with guitar chords, guitar tabs and guitar chord progressions. Applying the knowledge you gain from the right learning resources to your favorite style of music is very rewarding. Carefully select your electric guitar. Be sure to practice to develop skill, musical knowledge and basic music theory concepts. Apply what you learn on a daily basis and you will be amazed at the progress you will make with your new electric guitar.



Jimmy

Groshan Fabiola asked:


If you are interested in learning how to play the guitar the easy, convenient way and in the quickest time possible, then it is advisable to turn to the Internet for help. At present there are thousands of high-quality, dedicated online resources that have been especially designed to meet the needs and requirements of existing and prospective guitar players worldwide, so everyone who wishes to learn more about playing the guitar can find and access a wide range of invaluable guitar playing tips, video tutorials and lessons simply through a few clicks of the mouse. However, in order to have the guarantee that you will only be provided with quality information and online guitar lessons that really produce significant results, it is very important to separate the efficient, properly designed and administered websites from the rest and only stick with the ones that are reliable and can help you improve your guitar playing in the minimum of time, with the least of effort and most important, for less money.

With so many guitar lessons out there (both free and paid), the task of finding the best ones (and more important, the ones that are most appropriate to you) can be very difficult. The best approach to this problem is to do a quick research on the specialized online resources with a good reputation and choose the websites that provide the guitar lessons which best suit your needs and requirements. Before choosing the lessons of a certain online tutorial-providing website over the lessons of another, it is recommendable to ask for the advice of your friends or other persons in whom you trust in order to find out whether those particular guitar lessons are efficient or not. Checking the testimonial sections and blogs of online guitar lesson websites is another way to determine the actual quality of the guitar lessons, tips and tutorials they provide.

By choosing to use only the lessons and tips of the major, highly reputed online guitar lesson-providing websites, you will ensure that you will be able to learn to play the guitar in an exciting, efficient and simple manner and that your efforts of learning how to play the guitar will pay off in the least of time. Especially if you are a complete novice at playing the guitar (and aren’t yet capable of evaluating the quality and efficiency of online guitar lessons you may come across), it is very important to stick with the ones offered by the best guitar learning online resources. By doing this, you will avoid wasting time and money with guitar lessons that don’t produce the expected results.

Once you have found the online guitar lesson-providing websites that are right for you, all you have to do is choose the lessons, tips and guitar-playing video tutorials that match your levels of skill and experience and start practicing in order to improve your playing. In case you are a beginner, it is also recommendable for you to decide over what you are interested in learning first or what guitar techniques you wish to master. For instance, if you want to become a pro at playing electric guitar, using acoustic guitar lessons would in most cases be a waste of time, considering that the guitar techniques used for playing the electric guitar are very different from those used to play the acoustic guitar.

Furthermore, it is very important to establish a list of priorities of the things you want to learn and take guitar playing one step at a time. As an example, rushing in at learning advanced guitar playing techniques such as guitar tapping or harmonic picking without knowing the basics behind guitar playing (the basic chords, the most extensively utilized guitar scales) are very likely to get you nowhere.

Another important thing to take in consideration is the genre of music you are interested in learning to play. For instance, online guitar lessons which concentrate on teaching playing rock guitar are very different from those which concentrate on teaching playing jazz guitar. To obtain the best results, it is therefore crucial to decide exactly what you want to learn and also establish a list of learning priorities. After doing this, with the help of quality guitar lessons provided by a reliable, dedicated guitar lessons website, and with a little ambition and practice you will be able to play the guitar like a pro in no time!

For more information about online guitar lesson or even about guitar lesson your can check on this website http://www.guitar5day.com for more guitar related subjects.



Paul

Anne asked:


I am planning on becoming really good at playing the guitar but i love playing guitar hero too…would that be weird if i was really good at the guitar and played guitar hero still?

Frederick

Chocolat asked:


Hi! I actually have 3 Questions:
What is the guitar capo used for?
When do you know when to use it in a song?
Do Electric Guitars Use Capos?
I’ve never seen a Electric guitar with a capo.

Bobby

Peter Edvinsson asked:


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.



Frank

Matichel asked:


I’m thinking about learning to play the guitar, but I’m a college student on a tight budget. Looking on www.craigslist.org I can find some acoustic guitars for <$100, but the quality is probably not that great. How good of a guitar do I need if I'll probably buy a better one if I decide to continue playing? Does it really matter whether it's a Yamaha or Fender (or some other lesser brand), etc.? What are the *essential* things I should be looking for in a first guitar? If anyone knows, I would also appreciate descriptions of the major guitar teaching methods. hehe, it's nice to see all these helpful responses. ^_^ Just as a note, I've played the piano since 3rd grade, and a Chinese stringed instrument (similar to the violin) since 7th. I want to start on an acoustic because it seems more versatile if I know I want to learn classical guitar. I've been trying to decide whether to pick up the guitar or violin, but I figure it would be easier on my budget if I try the guitar first (esp since it seems like I'd be more likely to be able to teach myself guitar than the violin). If I like it, I definitely plan to look for a professional teacher. Thanks again for the responses!

Antonio

Max Cane asked:


Guitars come in various shapes, sizes, looks and design. The music world has classical acoustic guitars, semi-acoustic guitars, electric guitars, hollow body guitars, jumbo guitars, ‘S’ hole guitars etc. Each of these guitars has its own characteristic generic looks, characteristic sound and tonality, which attract their own respective following. Overall, guitars can be classified into two broad categories: acoustic guitars and electric guitars.

How Does a Guitar Work?

To know how guitar work, let us first see what is common to the working of any guitar. Every acoustic guitar has a minimum of six parts - the guitar neck with guitar nut and headstock, fret board, tuning keys, Guitar Bridge, sound box and guitar strings. Each of these parts is crucial to the good working of the guitar and plays its own roles to dole out music.

The guitar strings are long strands of metal or nylon wire, which stretch along through the major length of the guitar. There are normally six strings in a guitar (for the most common six-string guitar). All of these six strings run parallel to each other and are interspersed with a small gap between them. There are the sound generators of the guitar.

Strings generate sound for the guitar by vibrating along their vibrating length. The guitar bridge on one end and the guitar nut on the other end fix the vibrating length of a guitar string. The strings are tied onto a guitar under tension. The strings are plucked by fingers or with a pick. The tension in the string (varied about with the help of tuning keys) makes the string to vibrate.

Up to this point, the working of all guitars is the same. What happens next is what categorizes whether the guitar is an acoustic guitar or and electric guitar.

Working of Acoustic Guitars

All guitars have strings that vibrate which are the principal sound generators of the musical instrument. If you pluck a string tied under tension (no, no! not on a guitar!) you will find that the sound produced is not what you will want to hear again and again as you would like to hear the sound of a good guitar. Moreover, the sound from bare strings is very soft and you will barely be able to hear them. The sound has to be amplified so that people far and near can hear them. This is where the sound box from the acoustic guitar comes in. The sound box of an acoustic guitar is made as an hollow body constructed out of wood. It uses the ‘acoustics’ of the shape of the hollow body, material characteristics etc to amplify the sound generated by the string. The sound box of a guitar gives it its characteristic sound.

How Does An Electric Guitar Work?

Electric guitars amplify the sound generated by the guitar strings electronically. Instead of the sound box of an acoustic guitar, an electric guitar has pick-ups and other electronic components. The pick up from an electric guitar picks up the sound waves generated by the strings and converts them into their corresponding minute electrical signals. There are different types of pickups. Commonly used ones are magnetic pickups, piezo electric pickups, condenser pick ups etc.

The converted electric signal then passes through the various electronic components mounted on the guitar and finally into the sound amplifier which electronically amplifies the sound. The electronic components on the guitar modulate the converted electric signal to suit the guitarist. Most commonly found components on guitars are the volume control knob (which enables the guitarist to control the volume of the guitar sound) and tone control knobs (which enables the playing guitarist to determine the sound tonality).



Shane

gardnerwilkinson asked:


The advent of electric guitars has made acoustic guitars take a back seat among musical instruments. But that has not reduced the panache associated with true blue acoustic guitars. Whenever we think of a desperado wooing his senorita with a serenade, the image of a Spanish guitar, which indeed is acoustic in nature, flashes in our minds. An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only acoustic methods to make people hear the sound made by its strings. In literal sense, every guitar except electric guitars is acoustic in nature. Electric guitars also produce sounds with vibrations, but those sounds are amplified using electronic enhancements built into the guitar body itself.

Acoustic guitars are great for first timers, for whom the complexities of adjusting an electric guitar might be a little too much. Most acoustic guitars have soundboards and sound cavities built into them. The soundboard vibrates when the strings are plucked, and sound waves are produced from both the front and back faces. The sound box in the guitar provides both a support for the sound board and a resonant cavity and reflector for the sound waves produced on the back side of the soundboard. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrations of the string, further increasing the volume of the sound. This sound mixes with the sound produced by the front face of the soundboard. The resulting sound is thus a mixture of the two that gives the guitar its unique sound.

All the sound energy in an acoustic guitar is produced by plucking the strings, and no external medium is present to amplify the sound. All enhancements are built into the same guitar. This is why acoustic guitars are easy to carry around and also easy to maintain for new guitar learners.

Before purchasing an acoustic guitar, the first thing that should be considered is the kind of music that the player wants to create. If it is country music or classical tunes, a nylon-stringed guitar is the best choice. But if playing heavy rock music is the target, the nylon stringed guitar would seem a bit sissy. The steel string guitars are certainly the best options in that case. Steel string guitars will initially make the fingers sore, but with time one will develop protective calluses on the fingers.

Playing an acoustic guitar signifies style and elegance. Learning an acoustic guitar is one of the best steps that a novice music learner can undertake.



Sean

Ralph Serpe asked:


I am sure you have been searching for acoustic beginner online guitar lessons for quite some time now. Perhaps these sites have not answered some of the most basic questions that a beginner has when starting acoustic guitar. This article was written to address those questions with tips, lessons and basics that I hope will help you on your way.

What is the best beginner acoustic guitar?

This is probably the most common question amongst beginner acoustic guitar players. Do not buy the most expensive guitar, but do not buy the cheapest you can find either. A good range to shop in would be between 100 - 300 dollars.

If you can, find an experienced guitar player to come shopping with you. Ask him or her to pick up and play all the guitars within your price range and then purchase the one that feels and sounds the best. Make certain to examine any guitar you plan on purchasing.

Look down the neck of the guitar to see if it is warped. Check the action on the guitar. The action refers to the height of the strings from the fret board. If the action is too high or too low, it can cause problems with your playing.

Remember that you are just a beginner and this is your first guitar. Do not invest a lot of money into buying a guitar at this stage. If you do, and you find that acoustic guitar playing is not your thing, then you will have a beautiful guitar collecting dust in the corner of your room. If you enjoy playing and you find yourself getting better, then you can begin to explore your options and purchase a higher quality guitar.

Do not let yourself get stressed out when buying your first guitar. Just get a descent one and start practicing.

Some good brands to consider: Epiphone, Takamine, Yamaha and Squier.

Ouch! My fingers hurt. I can’t play!

This is a very common complaint amongst the beginner. Every single guitarist has experienced hand and finger pain when just starting out. It is something that you simply cannot avoid. The remedy? Keep playing and build up strength in your hands and fingers and develop those calluses!

Building calluses on your fingertips will allow you to hold down the strings of the guitar without any pain while flattening your fingertips to produce a better sounding note.

You build up calluses and strength from practicing. Practice, practice and more practice. In time the pain will subside, but you have to get through this difficult stage of playing first, so hang in there.

Listen to your body though. If you are in serious pain then by all means give your hands and fingers a rest.

Here is a great exercise to help strengthen your hands and fingers and to build up calluses:

This exercise will also familiarize you with the entire neck of your guitar and give you the agility to play chords and solos. Building the muscles in your hands will improve your stamina for playing and will develop what is called “muscle memory”.

The object of this exercise is to play each note going up and down the neck of the guitar.

Start with your pointer finger on the 6th string 1st fret, let your fingers follow up the neck of the guitar, one note at a time, staying on the 6th string until your pinky finger reaches the fourth fret.

Play the 1st fret with your pointer finger

Play the 2nd fret with your middle finger

Play the 3rd fret with your ring finger

Play the 4th fret with your pinky finger

Note: After you have played the first fret do not lift your pointer finger up. Keep each finger on the string as you play them. This is important as it will aid in the strengthening process.

Repeat the same process on the 5th string, then the 4th, and so on.

When you get to the bottom string, slide your entire hand over one fret without lifting your fingers.

So at this point, your pinky finger should be on the 1st string 5th fret, your ring finger on the 4th fret, middle finger on the 3rd fret and your pointer finger on the 2nd fret.

Now play in reverse, starting with your pinky, going back up the guitar to the 6th string, only this time you have to lift up your fingers as you play.

Then simply repeat the process until you reach the last fret of your guitar.

Do not rush this exercise or you will develop poor playing habits. Go nice and slow making sure you are producing a nice tone with each note you play.

More Beginner Guitar Tips

Make sure to stretch your fingers and hands before practicing.

Learn to actually read music and not just tablature.

Hire a guitar teacher if you can afford it. A teacher will be able to catch any mistakes you are making and correct you on the spot. This will help you develop better playing habits. If you cannot afford a guitar teacher, then invest in a good home study course.

Learn how to play chords, scales and techniques and not just your favorite songs. I know you just want to jump right in and learn “Stairway to Heaven”, but if you do not put the time in to learn the theory behind those great songs, you will not improve as a guitar player.

Do not pack up your guitar. Leave it out in the open. This will make it more convenient for you to just pick up your guitar and play at any time.

Practice everyday for at least 20 minutes, more if possible. If you find yourself getting bored, or making too many mistakes, then take a break and do something else. 20 minutes of quality practice is better than an hour of sloppy practice.

Listen to other guitarists and not just in your favorite genre of music. You will be surprised at how other styles of music can influence your playing.

Play with other musicians as often as possible. This is a great way to learn and pick up new techniques and advice.

Learn the proper way to string and tune your guitar.

Learn the proper way to take care of and maintain your instrument.

I hope this article has helped. The best tip I can give you is to never give up. Keep playing every day and try not to get discouraged. Good guitar playing is not just about technique, it also comes from your heart. If you truly love playing guitar, and you are dedicated to getting better, then it is only a matter of time. Enjoy and God Bless!



Sally

Victor Epand asked:


An acoustic guitar is a guitar that produces an acoustic sound through the vibration of its six strings. When we talk about guitar, the first thing that comes in our mind is Spanish guitar.

Acoustic guitars have a rich history. It had changed its design many times. Acoustic guitars are 5000 years old. Spain has a big contribution in its development.

The earliest form of modern acoustic guitar is the Cithara. Romans introduced this instrument in Hispania. After this, Moors developed the shape and made it a four-string instrument. But in Europe, the six-string lute guitar was very popular.

A Spanish guitar like instrument called Vihuela was introduced later in the 16th century. It’s body looked like guitar, but it had to be tuned like Lute.

Modern acoustic guitars are of various types. Like, twelve-string guitar, classical guitar, still guitar etc.

Given below are some of the popular names and description of acoustic guitars.

- Renaissance and Baroque guitars: These guitars are very similar to the classical guitar. But they are smaller and quieter than classical guitar. Their strings are paired up like twelve string guitar. But they do not have six courses of strings like twelve string guitar. They have only four or five courses of them.

- Classical guitars: Classical guitars are made of nylon strings. That’s why they are also known as nylon string guitar. Playing system of the classical guitar is somehow different. Fingers play it. Plectrum has no role in this specific playing process.

- Portuguese Guitar: This guitar is used in Portugal. This guitar is playing their traditional Fado song. This is guitar is a Portuguese twelve string guitar.

- Flat top guitar: This guitar is almost like classical guitar. But it is larger than classical guitar. It has got still strings. Still string produces louder sound. This guitar is used with varied kind of music like, jazz, bluegrass etc.

- Arch top guitar: This instrument is very much inspired from violin. This too is a still stringed guitar. Lloyd Lure invented this guitar this guitar is very much popular among the jazz guitarists.

- Twelve string guitar: Twelve-string guitar is a still stringed guitar. This guitar is made of six courses of paired up strings. This guitar is very popular in rock and roll, folk and blues music.

- Russian guitars: This is a seven-string guitar. It is a Russian guitar. This guitar is tuned in open G Major.

- Acoustic Bass Guitar: Strings are made of steel. Have only four strings.

- Guitar battente: have four or five metal string. Smaller than classical guitar. Used to accompany with voice in Calabria (Southern Italian region).

Apart from these there are other sorts of acoustic guitars also. Like, Extended range guitars, Harp guitars, Tenor guitars, Dobro guitars etc.

Acoustic guitars are very interesting instrument. The best thing about them is, they are absolutely hassling free. They are very easy to carry. And you can create magic with them in a family gathering also.



Alex