My 10 best guitar buying tips will help you make a wise decision, save time, avoid frustration and save money while you search for the right instrument to meet your playing needs.
How much should you be prepared to spend? The good news is- it doesn't need to cost you an arm and a leg! With careful planning you should find that somewhere between $100-$300 will be enough to get you started. However, keep in mind as a general rule: the better the instrument, the higher the price.
BEST GUITAR BUYING TIP #1:
Know what you're looking for. Here are the four basic types of guitar:
Acoustic - The word means "to hear" and refers to an instrument that can be heard without amplification. Acoustic guitars can have either nylon stings or wound steel strings.
Classic - One of the oldest types of acoustic guitar. It is designed with a wider neck to facilitate finger-picking techniques.
Electric - An instrument that needs to have amplification in order to be heard.
Acoustic/Electric - As the name implies, these guitars can be played with or without amplification.
BEST GUITAR BUYING TIP #2:
Buy a guitar that is best suited for the style of music you want to play. Below are some suggestions, but please keep in mind that these are only recommendations. Buying a guitar is a very personal decision, so feel free to think outside the box!
Musical Styles and Guitars :
Alternative: any of the 4 basic types are suitable
Blues: any of the 4 basic types are suitable
Bluegrass: acoustic steel string, acoustic/electric
Classical: acoustic nylon string classic guitar
Country: acoustic steel string, acoustic/electric, or electric
Fingerstyle: acoustic, acoustic/electric, classic
Folk: acoustic, or acoustic/electric
Folk/Rock: any of the 4 basic types are suitable
Jazz: any of the 4 basic types are suitable
Ragtime: acoustic, acoustic/electric
Rock: usually played on an electric
Metal: electric
BEST GUITAR BUYING TIP #3:
If you're a beginner be sure to take advantage of package deals. This will give you an opportunity to get started without spending a lot of money first. Package deals usually offer a guitar and some extra goodies (such as a strap, pics, case, tuner, etc.) at an affordable.
BEST GUITAR BUYING TIP #4:
Children, or adults with small hands, should consider a 1/2 or 3/4 size guitar. Also keep in mind that electric guitars and nylon-stringed acoustic guitars are usually easier to play.
BEST GUITAR BUYING TIP #5:
You will find some safety in sticking with companies that have already established a good reputation for quality merchandise and excellent service. Some well known name-brands are Ibanez, Yamaha, Fender, Washburn, Ovation, Gibson, Martin, and Taylor. I often recommend Yamaha guitars for beginners because these instruments are usually well made and there is a wide selection of model to choose from. Take time to find the right guitar for your skill level and price range that will be easy to play, stay in tune and sound good too. You can always upgrade later if you need to.
BEST GUITAR BUYING TIP #6:
People will often put their unwanted guitars for sale on consignment at local music store, so be sure to ask local merchants about this when you're shopping around.
BEST GUITAR BUYING TIP #7:
Ask music store owners if they are planning to have any upcoming promotional sales. They may offer to put your name on their mailing list so you can stay informed and take advantage of any special offers or discounts they have in the future.
BEST GUITAR BUYING TIP #8:
Look through classified ads and check college campus newspapers and bulletin boards. I found a great deal on a "like new" Yamaha classical guitar this way. students are often in need of extra money to pay for tuition and books. Because of this they will often sacrifice musical instrument they are no longer using.
BEST GUITAR BUYING TIP #9:
Buying a guitar online can be another great way to save money. Be sure to find out if the company has a money back guarantee and what their return policy is. Look for competitive prices, and read reviews to learn about customer satisfaction.
Online auctions (on sites like eBay) offer another money saving solution. However, I recommend you stick with brand names guitars and be sure to purchase only from sellers who have a good reputation. Keep in mind the old adage..."you get what you pay for..."
BEST GUITAR BUYING TIP #10:
Enter contests that are being promoted online or in guitar magazines when you find them. This is a great way to get some free gear. Merchants will sometimes request that you provide a valid email address. They do this in order to contact the winner and send update of there products. you can always remove yourself from their email list after the contest is over if you want to.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Teach Children How To Play Guitar
Here are several tips to help you Teach Children How To Play Guitar...
1. Acoustic guitar lessons for children should be what they say... for children! Seriously, lessons shouldn't be long and boring or difficult to understand. If you want to Teach Children How To Play Guitar you should be laser focused on purely the basics it's possible to commence playing easy songs instantaneous. This helps to give the children a feeling of accomplishment.
2. Guitar lessons for children should begin with 4 chords or less. Like this you can keep everything easy and playable, you'll also pick up songs quite quickly.
3. Learning to play songs with an acoustic guitar should be a fun and gratifying experience. The lessons should be accessible,fun and easy to apprehend and have to bring in some instant results in a quite short time span.
You realize that you can actually learn how to easily play the acoustic guitar in just 2 lessons?
Check out Easy Guitar Mastery and see how!
Teach Children How To Play Guitar
Visit http://www.easyguitarmastery.com and learn How To Play Guitar In Just 2 Lessons.
1. Acoustic guitar lessons for children should be what they say... for children! Seriously, lessons shouldn't be long and boring or difficult to understand. If you want to Teach Children How To Play Guitar you should be laser focused on purely the basics it's possible to commence playing easy songs instantaneous. This helps to give the children a feeling of accomplishment.
2. Guitar lessons for children should begin with 4 chords or less. Like this you can keep everything easy and playable, you'll also pick up songs quite quickly.
3. Learning to play songs with an acoustic guitar should be a fun and gratifying experience. The lessons should be accessible,fun and easy to apprehend and have to bring in some instant results in a quite short time span.
You realize that you can actually learn how to easily play the acoustic guitar in just 2 lessons?
Check out Easy Guitar Mastery and see how!
Teach Children How To Play Guitar
Visit http://www.easyguitarmastery.com and learn How To Play Guitar In Just 2 Lessons.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Learn Guitar Chords Easily
If you have a burning desire to learn to play guitar chords then stick around. It does not matter whether you want to play lead guitar in a band or just accompany your singing on the acoustic guitar, the principles of learning guitar chords are the same. I will talk about the easiest kinds of chords to play and how guitarists learn thousands of songs with very little effort. After reading my little essay you will have the basic understanding of guitar chords that will give you direction in your quest to become a guitarist.If you have watched advanced guitar players at concerts or on TV you might have been discouraged by how complicated guitar chords appear to be. It is true that some guitar songs or instrumentals do call for chord shapes and changes that require alot of practice but you can easily become an accomplished electric or acoustic guitarist without being a virtuoso. It is quite possible to stay with easy guitar chords for your whole career.
The first thing you need to do is find a list of songs that you want to learn to play. The first criterion for choosing songs is whether you like them. The others have to do with the use of open chords and chord families which we will now take a look at. Apart from your personal enjoyment, the use of songs as tools for learning chords has a practical value: it is much easier to learn groups of chords rather than one at a time because changing from one chord to the other helps your muscle memory to learn the fingerings.Another thing that simplifies the process of learning guitar chords is the fact that popular music relies heavily on a form that uses only three chords for any song. This is not a hard and fast rule but you will find it holds true for most popular songs. An effective way to classify chords is to separate them into families which are simply combinations of chords that sound well together. In the key of A you have A, D and E. In the key of D the chords are D, E minor, G and A. In the key of G they are G, A minor, C, D, and E minor. And the family of chords for the key of C is C, D minor, E minor, F and G. To make your guitar practice time most effective begin with learning one chord family at a time and finding "three chord" songs that contain your chords.The key to beginning as a guitarist is to learn what are called "open" chords. These are chords that only require you to use two or three fingers to make the chord shapes. Open chords are played in the first position on the guitar fretboard, that is, within the first three frets. An example of an open chord is the E minor chord:
E--------0---------------
B--------0---------------
G--------0---------------
D--------2---------------
A--------2---------------
E--------0----------------
The E minor chord requires you to place two fingers at the second fret on the fifth and fourth strings. What could be easier?If you want to become an electric guitar player, you might be interested to know that power chords are the simplest to play. Power chords usually only need two fingers and are combined with the use of distortion to fry the brains of rock music lovers of all ages. So you have something to look forward to.
The first thing you need to do is find a list of songs that you want to learn to play. The first criterion for choosing songs is whether you like them. The others have to do with the use of open chords and chord families which we will now take a look at. Apart from your personal enjoyment, the use of songs as tools for learning chords has a practical value: it is much easier to learn groups of chords rather than one at a time because changing from one chord to the other helps your muscle memory to learn the fingerings.Another thing that simplifies the process of learning guitar chords is the fact that popular music relies heavily on a form that uses only three chords for any song. This is not a hard and fast rule but you will find it holds true for most popular songs. An effective way to classify chords is to separate them into families which are simply combinations of chords that sound well together. In the key of A you have A, D and E. In the key of D the chords are D, E minor, G and A. In the key of G they are G, A minor, C, D, and E minor. And the family of chords for the key of C is C, D minor, E minor, F and G. To make your guitar practice time most effective begin with learning one chord family at a time and finding "three chord" songs that contain your chords.The key to beginning as a guitarist is to learn what are called "open" chords. These are chords that only require you to use two or three fingers to make the chord shapes. Open chords are played in the first position on the guitar fretboard, that is, within the first three frets. An example of an open chord is the E minor chord:
E--------0---------------
B--------0---------------
G--------0---------------
D--------2---------------
A--------2---------------
E--------0----------------
The E minor chord requires you to place two fingers at the second fret on the fifth and fourth strings. What could be easier?If you want to become an electric guitar player, you might be interested to know that power chords are the simplest to play. Power chords usually only need two fingers and are combined with the use of distortion to fry the brains of rock music lovers of all ages. So you have something to look forward to.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)