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Learning to play the guitar is a life-changing decision. Mastering this musical instrument will teach you dedication, patience, and perseverance, as well as stimulate your brain and reduce stress. You can also join a group or perform regularly to give your social life a real boost. More than anything, playing the guitar is an incredibly joyful experience that brings reward after reward—it’s just downright good fun!
Of course, learning isn’t always easy—so to get the best start possible in your playing career, we’ve put together a list of 13 things every beginner should know. These tips cover techniques, tone tips, gear choices and more. Starting well means ending well!
1. Buying the right guitar
While you can learn to play on any guitar, buying one that suits your needs best will greatly improve your learning path.
Traditionally, novices would be given a cheap, nylon-stringed acoustic with high action and a broad neck. Fortunately, times have changed. The first thing to consider is the genre of music that excited you about playing the guitar. If it’s mostly acoustic—like folk, fingerstyle, and Latin jazz—an acoustic guitar is probably the best choice. For blues, rock, or metal, an electric guitar will almost certainly be more your style. Trying to play an acoustic genre with an electric guitar and vice versa is feasible, of course, but it can suck much of the fun away.
Keep in mind, electric guitars can be easier to learn on than acoustics, along with being more stable and less resistant to temperature change. Building a good electric guitar is also far less expensive than building a good acoustic. Also, buy the best guitar you can afford—it will invariably sound better and be easier to play. Cheap acoustics are usually hard to tune and unpleasantly difficult to play.
For the best buying advice, check out our buyer’s guides that cover the best acoustic guitars and the best electric guitars for beginners available today.
2. Going acoustic? Buy the right size
Acoustic guitars come in a variety of shapes and sizes,