Guitar

[sooz07]

I am a beginner and want to learn to play the guitar. What kind of guitar should I get? How much would it cost? Is it easy to platy it?

[mattie]

Whatever style of music or type of guitar you want (acoustic or electric) the golden rule is never buy a guitar without playing it first. You will see cheap beginners' guitars available via mail order all over the internet, but trust me, don't do it.
I did and traded it in after two weeks in a local music shop and bought one of theirs, as, for me, It was physically unplayable.

If you like rock/metal/blues then try either the
Yamaha Pacifica 112j YNS Electric Guitar, this costs between �150 and �180, or Ibanez GRG170DX Electric Guitar which is about �190.

This may seem a lot of money, but with guitars, you get what you pay for, and all you need is a small practice amp a tuner, and a lead and you are away.

This website - www.justinguitar.com has loads of free lessons, so you can get going without buying books or having expensive private lessons, you can do that when you have learnt the basics.

I have one of the Ibanez guitars and it is excellent, really easy to play, with a great sound.

If you know someone who can play the guitar, take them with you.

[andy-hughes]

Sound advice from mattie.

As to the 'Is it easy to play it?' part of your question - that really is - how long is a piece of string.

I grew up with a guy who idolised Jan Akkerman from Focus and practised ten hours (yes that is TEN hours!) a day for months, and never improved in the slightest.

Amy Macdonald informed me when I interviewed her that at about fifteen, she had picked up her dad's accoustic guitar, and taught herself to play a Travis song from scratch in about twenty minutes.

What it comes down to is natural ability. My friend didn;t have it, and nothing could put it htere. Ms Macdonald has it in spades, as her burgeoning career proves.

If you feel drawn to play, then you probaby wil, but remember, most successful msucians have applied their initial talent to a body of work and practise - it's not easy, but if you want to, you will get there - assuming you have an ability to begin with.

Best of luck.

[Mortartube]

Excellent advice from Mattie. Guitars are not easy to play, they will require practice, but having said that, we all find things difficult at first. Like driving, the first time you try to drive a car the pedal control and gear changes are often awful but improve with time, guitar playing is the same.

The golden rule is "ENJOY IT"m don't make it a chore. You can either promise to practice for a set time each day, (not for me, I don't have the discipline) or do like I do and have a guitar near to where you sit (the computer in my case), pick it up for 5 mins and play about, put it down and come back to it later the same day.

Learn a few chords first, you only need 3 to strum a reasonable sounding tune. I would suggest perhaps D,A,G

Here is an excellent chord finder site.

http://chordfind.com/

To recap what Mattie said, do not buy cheap unheard of brands. They are often made of inferior woods and will go out of tune so often, including when you are playing, that you will think guitar playing is 10 times harder than it is and probably give up very soon.

For an acoustic I can recommend the Yamaha FG700MS. I bought mine here and got good service.

http://www.dolphinmusic.co.uk/?keyword=fg700ms &sa=Go&page=shop%2Fsearch_results&manufacturer _id=0

I can recommend the Ibanez electric guitars too.

Remember "Have fun".

Happy playing

[mormess]

Hi Sooz,

Good luck to you! playing guitar is great as there's often one knocking around in a friend's house somewhere and it makes you so popular to pick it up and accompany a sing song. Just don't get the police round like I once did with me and 8 fellas singing Ziggy Stardust at the tops of their voices at 2am.

You can often find good 2nd hand guitars in markets or in classifieds. If you can find a guitar playing friend take them along with you and get them to try it out for you. A nice steel strung acoustic is a good start, with action not too high and light gauge strings (your friend will know what this means). It means you don't have to mess around with amps and you can concentrate on playing.

Look for takamines, yamahas, hohners (my first!).

Your guitar playing friend (if you don't have one go to a local open mic night and befriend one) will be able not only to try out the guitar but also teach you a few starter chords - A, C, D, E and G are the basics. If you can only learn three of those learn G C and D and you have yourself a Status Quo song!

All the best!

[4candles]

Some very good advice thus far Sooz.

The only thing I would add is that (assuming you're right-handed) the finger tips on your left hand will feel sore for the first few weeks. Don't be discouraged - everyone has to go through it, and they'll soon toughen up. Oh, and keep the nails short!

Good luck - and enjoy!

[The Vortex]

If you're looking for a beginners guitar, then go for one of the best out there! The Squier by Fender Affinity Strat is top notch! It may not be as great as the real deal Fender guitars, but to get you started it's ace! It's got a 15 watt Fender Frontman amp too! It costs about �160 from here http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/74854 (Gak) but for the money, you get a lot! And you get a tuner, picks and a strap!

If you want a cheap guitar that looks and sounds great then try out the Vintage Zip (http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/71399) for about �99, which is one of the cheapest thrills I have ever found! Although you would be needing an amp with that, but for just the guitar it's great.

I think (and this is my opinion and I've been playing for 3 years) that when you start off playing, it's hard to grasp, but as long as you put the dedication in, it becomes a lot more clearer. I used these sights to help me along my musical journey and I think you should too:

http://ultimate-guitar.com - For learning tabs and chords for loads of songs! Litterally thousands!
http://www.guitarforbeginners.com/onlinetuner. html - For an online tuner
http://www.looknohands.com/chordhouse/ - For a handy little guitar chord finder (best try Easy guitar room)

Playing it should also broaden your musical knowledge, but I suppose that's kinda the same with any instrument :P

Happy strumming!

[mattie]

The reason I have suggested the Yamaha over the Strat type guitar is that the Squier affinity, for example has only single coil pickups, the Yamaha has both single coil and humbucker.