Article by Paul Summers
If you've committed to following guitar tutorials, what is that made you want to do it? Do you find you have spare time on your hands and want to take up a new hobby? Have you got friends who play in a band and they are looking for new members? Or maybe you found an old guitar sitting around unplayed in the house and thought it was about time you learned how to master it. If this is the case, is it going to be up to your requirements - can you learn to play on just any old guitar?
Before you strum your first chords, or have your initial assault on the infamous '3 chord songbook' take a closer look at your guitar. If you intend to do this seriously, you are going to want a good sounding instrument to practice on. That guitar you found in the loft - don't be shocked if it doesn't sound that great. To get the best sounds, you'll want one that's not damaged in any way. Have a close look over the one you have - give it a quick go. Than take a trip to your nearest second-hand guitar shop and try one out in there. How does your old model compare?
If you do decide to invest in a new guitar, you don't have to spend a fortune. You may even be undecided whether to buy electric or acoustic. Each has their own merits, of course. If you have thin and weedy fingers like me, you may prefer an electric. There's no doubt it's physically less challenging, and you don't have to push down quite as hard on the strings to get the notes and chords sounding right. However, as most of the instrument's sounds are dictated by the guitar and amplifier settings, it can be difficult to get a decent tone.
Conversely, the acoustic may be harder to get to grips with if you're just beginning guitar, but it will be easier to get a good tone, plus you have the advantage of portability. Basically, you can take it anywhere. By tone, we mean the actual sound that comes from your guitar. Why should this be so important? Well, even Eric Clapton would struggle to make a guitar with poor tonal qualities sound good.
Luckily, in this day and age, affordable acoustic guitars that sound good tonally are more affordable than ever. You could even take your old guitar with you to the store and you will hear the difference immediately. Just make sure you have done some homework, and decided how much you would want to pay. A model such as a Yamaha F310 Folk Acoustic Guitar can easily be found new for under 0, so a bargain priced second hand similar model should not be hard to get your hands on. If you are serious about progressing from learning guitar chords to becoming a master, be serious about the instrument you will be playing too.
About the Author
If you're beginning guitar and want to move to the next level, try the course that's trusted by over 200,000 students. This is the leading provider of Online Guitar Courses. Learn step by step, watch video lessons, and play songs on acoustic or electric guitar. Check out http://www.guitartutorials.info for full details.