Popular Brands of Electric Guitars

Are you an guitar freak? Do you want to know about the popular brands of electric guitars? Then here is the just what you want.

There is a long list of popular electric guitar brands. Information about some of the most popular ones among them is given below.

Fender:

Fender is a very renowned name in the arena of electric guitars. Mr. Leo Fender introduced this company in the year 1946. For times, Fender has supplied series of brilliant electric guitars. Their guitars are used in every genre of music. Like, rock, pop, rock and roll etc.

They have got different models of electric guitars like, VG Stratocaster, American Deluxe telecaster, Showmaster FAT HH (Flame Ash Top), Showmaster QMT HH (Quilt Maple Top) etc.

Ibanez:

Ibanez is another popular brand of electric guitars. Mr. Hoshino Gakki started this company in 1978.

Ibanez have a varied range of electric guitars. Like, Ibanez RG220, Ibanez IJX40, Ibanez GRG170DX, and Ibanez SZ320 etc.

Ibanez has made some brand new guitars in 2007. They are, Xiphos XPT700 (X Series), V Blade VBT700 (X Series), RG 8 String RG2228 (RG Series).

Gibson

This is one of the best among popular brands of electric guitars. Mr. Orville Gibson founded this company in 1902.

Some brilliant models of Gibson electric guitars are, Gibson ES175 Reissue Electric Guitar, Gibson ES137 Custom Electric Guitar, Gibson Standard SG Electric Guitar, and Gibson SG Standard Left Handed Electric Guitar.

Washburn:

This company was started in Chicago, in the year 1883. From then on it has not stopped creating quality guitars.

Washburn WI66PRO Idol Pro Electric Guitar, Washburn HB30 Hollow Body Electric Guitar, Washburn WI64DL TBL Electric Guitars are some of their high in demand guitar models.

Yamaha:

Yamaha is a very old and reputed company. They are somehow different from other popular brands of electric guitars. This company is in the instrument circuit since the end of 1800. But at that time they used to make organs. In 1900 they made piano. And in 1942, they started making guitars. Their guitars are very much popular and loved by various musicians all over the world.

Some very popular Yamaha electric guitar models are, Yamaha AES420 BL Guitar, Yamaha AES420 RM Guitar, Yamaha PAC012 Pacifica Electric Guitar Pack BL, and Yamaha PAC012 Pacifica Electric Guitar Pack DBM.

ESP:

ESP is a very famous brand now. E.S.P. stands for Electric Sound Products. At first they used to make replacement parts of other guitars. But from 1976 onwards they started making guitars.

ESP LTD Standard M100 guitars, ESP LTD H200 , ESP LTD Standard EX50, ESP LTD Deluxe EC1000 etc.

These are some popular brands of electric guitars. These brands of guitars are useful, user friendly, stylish and of good quality. Sometimes they are a bit expensive. But it is worth spending handsome amount of money for real good brands.

Overall these brands are very famous and they have a reputation to keep. So you can rely on them and can believe that they won't let you down.

The Bass Guitar and Why it Rocks

This post will introduce you to the bass guitar, touch on its history, its evolution and mention some of the amazing bass players that have graced the instrument. Read on to learn more about the bass guitar.

Welcome to the world of the bass guitar; if you’re reading this then you’ve taken an interest in the electric bass and have decided to pursue it further. Maybe this post will reaffirms your decision to play bass guitar, or perhaps it will be the final argument for you to start playing the bass yourself.

The bass guitar is a pretty cool instrument. It may not be as flashy as a drum kit, or command as much attention as a pimped out electric guitar, but it has a subdued, laid-back vibe all its own. A standard bass guitar has four strings and is tuned E-A-D-G; an octave below the lowest strings on a guitar to provide a sonic foundation for the melody to build upon.

While you may give up the fame and glory of the spotlight when you choose to become a bass player, you gain full control of the key of the music, and full dominion over the bass frequencies.

Bass Guitar Frequencies Move People

This is almost a mystical power that most people won’t even realize that you have. Many won’t even realize that it is the bass player and the way he chooses to play certain notes, leave others out, and the space and rhythms in between these that are hypnotizing them into dancing. It is a great responsibility that you take on – called the groove – without it; any music you play will be lame.

So besides this, why take on the bass guitar? What is it about the bass guitar that is cool, or should be attractive to someone just starting out that just wants to play SOMETHING? Well, getting up and running with a bass guitar is much easier than most other instruments. You don’t have to have four-way independence as with drums, you don’t have to memorize all the chord fingering patterns like you would with a guitar, and you don’t have to spend years to get a sound that doesn’t sound like a cat being tortured as you would with a violin. You can pick up a bass guitar and start playing bass lines almost immediately – the good news is that the easier it is to play an instrument along to music you like when you’re starting out, the more likely you’ll stay with the instrument for good.

Another great reason why the bass guitar is cool is that EVERYONE needs a bass player. You make the other band members sound good, and there are many styles of music out there that use the bass guitar. That means that if you’re a good bass player, you’re willing to work hard, learn and you have a great attitude –you’re going to have many more job opportunities than many other musicians would have.

Being a bassist is as much a state of mind as it is a position in the band. You need to put the song and the other musicians before yourself. You are the glue between the rhythm and the melody – you straddle the line between the drummer and the guitarist, giving the music that third dimension that makes music so exciting. If you’re willing to put your ego on the back burner, you can become a truly great bassist that is in demand.

Is playing the bass guitar easier? Yes it is. But to master any instrument is virtually impossible. Playing bass guitar is initially much easier than guitar; you can outline chords one finger at a time as opposed to learning the fingerings for each chord. You also have fewer strings to change than the guitarist, but keep in mind that bass guitar strings are thicker – so in some ways, playing the bass guitar is more difficult because you need to play just as fast as the guitarists but with thicker strings. This means that you’re moving more mass in the same amount of time or energy.

What you may not know about the bass guitar is:

There is something to be said for a simple bass line that does what it’s supposed to do, get some asses out of the chairs at the bar.

Bass guitars can be beautiful and expensive, they can break your heart and if you get used to playing them – playing bass guitar can indeed be habit forming!

The electric bass guitar was responsible for making rock n’ roll music come to life in the fifties – the bass could now be heard (as well as felt!) and helped to drive the new-fangled rock n roll bands mercilessly into the spotlight.

The electric bass guitar started out with 4 strings and remained that way for several decades, before evolving to 5, 6, 8 and even 12 stringed versions beginning in the mid-70s. These multi-stringed basses owe a large debt of thanks to Anthony Jackson who helped open the door to more than 4 string basses by commissioning the first six string bass guitar to be built in the 1970s!

Some famous bass guitarists include Paul McCartney, Sting, Geddy Lee, Jaco Pastorius, James Jamerson, Flea, Les Claypool, Victor Wooten, Billy Sheehan, Stanley Clarke and John Entwistle.

You can get started with a bass guitar kit that includes a bass guitar, a bass guitar amp, a guitar strap, an bass guitar instrument cable and a tuner for around $250 or you can even rent a bass guitar from many major music instrument retailers. Even if you don’t know of any teachers in your town, you can surf Youtube and find plenty of lessons for free that can get you started. There’s no good reason to sit on the fence anymore, playing bass guitar can be an affordable hobby that can actually make you some extra money if you choose to play out in bands.

Choosing to play the bass guitar has given me plenty of opportunity to learn and grow as a human being. It’s allowed me to experience the thrill of performing in front of large audiences while sharing the stage with some amazing bands and meet terrific people. Playing bass guitar is a great way to be creative, relieve stress and have fun!

So what are you waiting for? Get out there, find a bass guitar and start playing today!

Guitar Picks – Which Material and Thickness to Choose?

Generally, guitar picks are isosceles triangle-shaped ones made up of different materials to play guitars. Guitar picks are made up of various materials including, plastic, nylon, rubber, tortoiseshell, bone, wood, felt, stone, polycarbonate, Lexan and metal. Although different manufacturers use different shapes, the most common shape is isosceles triangle with highly rounded two equal corners and less rounded third corner. You can also go for customized guitar picks of your taste.

Customized Guitar Picks

Most of the guitar picks have a sort of imprint. This may range from imprinting manufacturers’ logos to fully customized guitar picks for artists. In addition, guitar picks come with signatures and logos of popular bands and musicians. For example, Rick Nielson mass-distributed customized guitar picks of “Cheap Trick,” a renowned rock band. Customized guitar picks evolved over time, as the printing technology evolved. Even many guitar enthusiasts started collecting various types of custom guitar picks, as guitar picks have become more colorful with attractive designs and look. You can get custom picks from music concerts, since at times many guitarists throw their used guitar picks on the crowd. You may even notice some celebrity guitarists selling their guitar picks.

Guitar Picks Made of Bone

Bone guitar picks in general and many in particular favor dinosaur bone guitar picks. These guitar picks made of bone come in natural colors and some of them are even transparent. Dinosaur bone guitar picks are hand-made and fully fossilized or agatized. Bone guitar picks are ideal for rock guitarists. However, these picks are relatively costlier than picks made up of other materials.

Types of Picks and Music Styles

Guitarists use different types of picks of different thickness to generate their desired sound. The thickness of the guitar also depends on the kind of strings and playing styles. Electric guitar players who play rock and metal music prefer thicker picks to produce more controllable, delicate and great music. Guitar players who play farthest genres, such as, black metal, death metal or punk rock prefer soft guitar picks. Many Jazz guitar players prefer to use very thick guitar picks, since they like heavy gauge strings. However, there is no written rule on selecting a particular pick. It is purely based on personal choice. Steel guitar picks are believed to be producing much brighter sounds than that of plastic picks. However, steel picks may damage the finish of the acoustic guitars.

Finding the Thickness of the Guitar Picks

Several of the manufacturers, including, Alicem Jim, Dunlop and Teckpick, imprint the thickness of their picks thousands or in mm on the pick itself. Popular guitar manufacturers like Fender, Gibson, Ibanez and Peavey sometimes used cryptic way of denoting the thickness of the picks.

Therefore, if you have the passion for guitar picks and want a celebrity signature, it is better to opt for customized guitar picks. You can claim you are a collector too.

How to Play the Guitar

If you think learning to play a musical instrument is difficult, then you haven't learned how to play the guitar. You may not become a musical genius overnight, but in just a few short lessons you can learn how to play the guitar and be well on your way to a consummate professional.

There are essentially two elements of learning to play the guitar: positioning and chords. Once you learn these elements you will be equipped with all you need to begin playing the guitar.

While you are anxious to play the guitar, you must first learn how to hold the guitar. Many people think they only need to place the guitar in their lap and they're ready to play. Holding your guitar incorrectly can actually affect the sound your instrument generates. When you play your guitar you will either play it sitting or standing. When you play your guitar sitting down, you want to be sure the guitar rests comfortably in your lap. The main thing to remember is that you don't want your body to support the guitar. Standing and playing the guitar is more of a presentation style.

You will hold the guitar like you would if you were sitting, but you place one foot in front of you to prevent stress on your back. When you first learn how to play the guitar, holding the guitar may seem awkward. Just give it some time and it will eventually seem natural to you.

Once you feel comfortable holding your guitar, it's time to focus on positioning. Positioning refers to what you do with your hand to play music using the guitar. Let's start with the left hand. The longest part of the guitar, the neck, is the area of the guitar where you will position your fingers and thumb so that you can create the great music afforded to the guitar. You should not place too much force against the fretboard when you play a note.

Your right hand is responsible for picking, plucking, or strumming the strings. You can decide for yourself how to play the guitar using either method. The proper way to hold your hand when you play the guitar with a pick is to make a fist with your thumb on the outside of your hand.

The pick slides between your thumb and index finger.

You then pick the strings in an upward motion. To play the guitar with your fingers, or pluck the strings, you use your thumb and index finger. Like when you use a pick, you pluck the strings in an upward motion. Strumming involves playing all the strings all at once. If you're wondering how to play the guitar if you use a left-handed guitar, you will position your fingers in mirror image of the instructions presented here.

Although you are just starting out, you are probably anxious to start actually learning how to play the guitar. There is one more important element to learn before you can actually playing music. It doesn't matter what genre of music you are interested in playing, you will need to be able to recognize chords to play music. A chord chart represents the neck of the guitar and indicates by using "X" marks, hollow circles, and numbered circled how to play a particular chord.

The fretboard consists of six strings and five frets. The hollow circles in a chord chart indicate strings that you play.

The numbered circles indicate which finger to use to play the chord. Neglecting to include your thumb, associate each finger with a number beginning with the number one (for example, the index finger would be 1, the middle finger would be 2, and so on). The "X" on the chord chart indicates that you should not play that string. Once you learn how to play the guitar and learn the five major chords (C, A, G, E, D) it will be easier to learn how to play just about any song.

A Look At The History Of The Electric Guitar

Electric Guitars

The Electric guitar hasn't been around nearly as long as the Acoustic and Classical guitars. In fact, the Electric guitar was created just 70 years ago (the 1930s) by Adolph Rickenbacker. Since that time, the Electric guitar has greatly evolved to the where it is today. In this article, we'll go over the history of the Electric guitar.

The History

Guitars, or similar instruments, have been around for thousands of years. The Electric guitar was first manufactured in the 1930s by Rickenbacker. Original Electric guitars used tungsten pickups. Pickups basically convert the vibration of the strings into electrical current, which is then fed into the amplifier to produce the sound.

The very earliest Electric guitars featured smaller soundholes in the body. These guitars are known as semi-hollow body Electric guitars and still are somewhat popular today, mainly due to the fact that they are flexible guitars.

However, with the use of pickups, it was possible to create guitars without soundholes (like the Acoustic and Classical guitars have) that still had the ability to be heard, if plugged into amplifiers. These guitars are called solid body Electric guitars.

The Electric guitar's popularity began to increase during the Big Band era of the '30s and 40s. Due to the loudness of the brass sections in jazz orchestras, it was necessary to have guitars that could be heard above the sections. Electric guitars, with the ability to be plugged into amplifiers, filled this void.

The Electric guitar that is most prevalent today is the solid body Electric guitar. The solid body guitar was created by musician and inventor Les Paul in 1941. It is a guitar made of solid wood with no soundholes. The original solid body guitar created by Paul was very plain-it was a simple rectangular block of wood connected to a neck with six steel strings. Les Paul's original solid body guitar shape has, of course, changed from the original rectangular shape to the more rounded shape Les Paul guitars have today.

During the 1950s, Gibson introduced Les Paul's invention to the world. The Gibson Les Paul, as it was and still is called, quickly became a very popular Electric guitar. It has remained the most popular guitar for 50 years.

Around the same period of time, another inventor named Leo Fender came up with a solid body Electric guitar of his own. In the late 1940s, Fender introduced the Fender Broadcaster Electric guitar. The Broadcaster, which was renamed the Stratocaster, was officially introduced to the public in 1954. The Strat, as it is now known, was a very different guitar in comparison to the Les Paul. It had a different shape, different hardware and was significantly lighter. Fender's Stratocaster Electric guitar is the second most popular guitar in the world, second to only the Les Paul.

Over the years, other companies, such as Ibanez, Jackson, Paul Reed Smith, ESP and Yamaha have all produced solid body Electric guitars of their own. However, most Electric guitars still feature the familiar shape of a Les Paul or Strat guitar.

Why I Love Gibson Guitars

There is something timeless about Gibson guitars.

They have been around for a million years it seems and they have been responsible for some of the most innovative guitar designs ever to appear.

The humbucking pickup is a Gibson design. Who could imagine life in the 21st Century without humbucking pickups for guitars? You couldn't! That would be a nightmare reality! There goes "Rock" music. We'd all be playing and listening to ... I don't know!

There is a passion behind Gibson guitars that is very admirable and commendable. That passion has been there for many, many decades! We the user have received and created JOY with a Gibson in our hands and our creativity in full bloom. Many generations of great song writers, and guitar players have been and gone. The Gibson name has stayed througout time. Why? Because they are great guitars!

At GASKELL Guitars we manufacturer exclusively left handed guitars. Our mainstay model is based on the 1958 Gibson Explorer. This is a wonderful guitar, ahead of it's time when it was designed, and to this day is a popular "extreme shape" guitar with many artists such as James Hetfield (Metallica), The Edge (U2), Gary Moore, and more. In the 1980s and 1990s just about every guitarist seemed to played Explorers or Explorers made by other guitar manufacturers such as The Police, Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Kiss, U2, Metallica, Rick Nielsen, ZZ Top, Lynard Skynard, Gary Moore, and more!

The modern day Explorer is not made in left hand by Gibson or their subsidiary, Epiphone.

A left handed version is made by GASKELL GUITARS.

Other guitar manufacturers who have been inspired by this masterpiece of music instrumentation are Hamer (theirs is called the Hamer "Standard" and doesn't have the pickguard), Dean Guitars (make an impressive range of colours for their version), Jackson Guitars (Jackson's is called the "Kelly" and is a little different from the Explorer but is still visibly Explorer derived.) Other companies have made clones of the Explorer such as Tokai, Stagg, Aria, and in the past Ibanez, ESP and Peavey to name a few.

None of these companies listed above as far as we know make their variant Explorers in left hand without going the "custom shop" option which usually results in a pay out of around $4000 and possibly more than a year waiting time.

The Explorer guitar is really a master piece.

Left Handed guitarists can play one now, via Gaskell Guitars, and experience first hand the pleasure of such a fabulous instrument.

Gibson is a musical instrument company that has stood the test of time because of innovative and dedicated passion towards the music industry and guitar players and we here at Gaskell Guitars would like to tip our hats in honour of the legend that we have had some fortune to partially benefit from by way of the left handed Explorer style guitar we manufacture to fill that gap in the market.

EXPLORERS are great guitars. Left handed guitarists can now enjoy the greatness of them via Gaskell Guitars!

Types of Guitars - Acoustic Electric Guitars, Electric Guitars, Classical Guitars, Hollow-body Guitars, Steel Guitars

Acoustic electric Guitars: this is a term used to describe acoustic guitars that have pickups installed in them so they can be plugged into amplifiers or PA systems. The majority of acoustic guitars you see on stage are acoustic electric guitars. Structurally, they are identical to traditional acoustic guitars.

Electric Guitars: these types of guitars made out of a solid piece of wood and rely exclusively on their electronic pickup systems and amplifiers for their volume. Their unique sound lends itself best to rock and roll, but they have also substantially shaped the sound of country music in the last 50 years. (Think "twang")

Classical Guitars: also called "nylon-string", classical guitars are used almost exclusively in the classical and folk idioms, but can also be found on more popular recordings. Carlos Santana makes a lot of use of the classical guitar in his

recordings. Slightly smaller than a traditional acoustic, they feature slightly wider necks and strings that are made of nylon rather than steel, to give them a very gentle, warm sound. The best Classical guitars are usually from Spain.

Hollow-body Guitars: These are simply traditional electric guitars that have chambers cut in the body to allow for more sonic resonance. They come in many different sizes and are favored primarily by players of blues and jazz music.

Steel Guitars: These are the farthest breed apart from traditional guitars so far. While any guitarist can pick up any guitar

from the above list and play, a steel guitar requires special training to play. The guitar is played flat on its back, and the strings are elevated approximately half an inch above the fretboard. This allows the strings to be played using a "tone bar" that takes the place of the fingers on a fretboard and gives the steel guitar its classic "crying sound". This is the archetypal guitar sound.

TIPS TO BUY A CLASSICAL GUITAR

Buying a new guitar is always an exciting process for the beginner or experienced guitarist. A basic knowledge of the instrument and an assessment of your musical goals will help you make a wise purchase, a purchase you can enjoy for years, perhaps even a lifetime All guitars produce sound through the vibration of the strings. Classical guitars transmit the vibration of the string to the soundboard via the saddle and bridge. The combined resonance of the strings, saddle, bridge and soundboard are, in turn, amplified in the sound-box or body of the guitar. The design and quality of the, saddle, bridge and soundboard have a major impact on the guitar's sound.

Have in mind before buying…

Nylon produces a round, mellow sound and is the preferred sound for classical, Low, medium, normal and hard tension strings create a tension up 75-90 pounds. Less string tension makes a classic guitar easier to play. The fingerboard, 50-52 mm at the nut, provides room for intricate finger picking. The longer string, 650-655mm length from saddle to nut enhances the bass response and sustain. The classical guitar body style is smaller than most other acoustic designs which make the instrument easy to handle and feel. Always remember, when buying a handmade guitar, you are buying a live instrument. Temperature and humidity are the main factors to ruptures and instrument deterioration if not cared according to the maker's instructions.

See" taking care of your guitar" below.

Setting Goals

What are your goals? Are you anticipating a serious hobby or majoring in music? If so, buy the best solid top guitar you can afford. An inexpensive guitar is a good choice if your goal is merely casual enjoyment for a semester or so (or if you're really poor!). Do you need to be amplified for church or stage? If so, an acoustic-electric classical will afford maximize versatility. Before shopping, decide on a budget so the dealer can show you guitars in your price range.

Trying Out a Guitar - Action

Each guitar is unique in feel due to variations in neck thickness and shape. If the neck is comfortable, the guitar will be easier to play. The string height above the fingerboard--the action--also influences playing ease. The action may vary according to personal taste and playing style. High action is difficult to play but allows buzz-free high volume playing. Low

action is easy to play but buzzes during aggressive playing. A compromise between the two is best for most players. Fortunately, the action can be adjusted to suit your needs. If you are a steel-string player, remember that classical action is higher than steel-string action due to nylon's lower tension. Listen carefully to the timbre (tone color) of the guitar. A balance between dark and bright is the most versatile. However, timbre preference is subject to taste and playing style. If your right hand technique is on the bright side, a dark sounding guitar will help balance your tone. If you play without

nails, a brighter guitar will help bring out the upper frequencies. Play single notes throughout the guitar's range and listen to how they sustain. Listen to the relationship of the bass notes to the treble. The bass should be firm with a long sustain. However, the treble notes must be able to stand out in relation to the bass so you can project the melody. Finally, have someone play the instrument so you can judge the projection. What's the difference in sound between a $300 guitar and a $3000 one? Budget guitars are less resonate and have a smaller tonal and dynamic range than expensive guitars.

Workmanship

Whether you are a beginning or advanced player, a quality guitar is crucial to your success and enjoyment. A fine instrument is easy to play, exudes workmanship, and sounds resonant and responsive. A quality instrument inspires you to practice and excel as a musician. Buy the best guitar you can afford and it will greatly enhance your learning and enjoyment. Note the quality of workmanship in the seating and polish of the frets, the binding between the top and sides, and in the finish. However, in all fairness, you normally get what you pay for. Budget guitars cost less because cheap materials and lesser workmanship are used to trim costs. Budget guitars should be playable but will have numerous finish defects, unpolished frets, messy glue joints, unsanded bracing and poorly adjusted action (a good dealer will adjust the action if needed). Premium quality guitars will have a near perfect fit and finish of all components. Even the interior bracing will be neatly glued and sanded smooth! Before purchasing a guitar, confirm that the tuning heads turn smoothly and allow reasonable pitch control. Fortunately, cheap or broken turning heads are relatively easy and inexpensive to replace.

Price Ranges

Professional classical guitarists play instruments handcrafted by individual makers, e.g., Fleta, Hauser or Gilbert. Depending on the maker's reputation, these guitars cost $3,000 to $20,000. Guitars made by a specialized group of builders in a small shop cost from $1000 to $10,000 e.g., Ramírez, Hirade or Asturias. For most people these instruments are out of each.

Most beginners are looking for an inexpensive guitar. Buyer beware: most guitars retailing for under $100 are disappointing junk. Don't throw your money away on a cheap toy, pay a little more and get a real guitar. Really cheap guitars have

unacceptable compromises in design, materials and construction quality. Fortunately, there are many factory-made guitars costing from $150 to $300 that make fine beginning instruments.

Recommended Classic Guitars

These models are excellent values in their respective price ranges. Granada guitars from Sevilla- Spain range form $299- $499, Prudencio Saez - guitars form Torrent - Spain. range from $380 -$1,800. Amalio Burguet guitars- Catarroja- Spain, range fro, $999- $4,500.

ACOUSTIC GUITAR TIPS FOR THE BEGINNER

Acoustic guitar lessons online are not difficult to come by. There are many sites offering free tips and lessons for the beginner, but it can be rather difficult sifting through pages of content to find direct answers to some of the most basic questions beginners have. I researched many of the frequently asked questions that beginners have and created this list of quick acoustic guitar lessons and tips to make life a bit easier for you. I do hope this helps.

1 - Learn how to play the acoustic guitar with both your fingers and your pick. Practice using both. This will make you a more versatile player.

2 - Learn how to use a capo. A capo is a clamp that you can apply to different frets of your guitar to change the pitch. You will definitely need to become familiar with this wonderful tool. If you do not already own one, head out to your local music store and buy one today.

3 - Make sure you choose the right guitar for your size. Guitars come in different sizes from classic to jumbo. It is very important that you find a guitar size that you are comfortable playing.

4 - Learn how to change your strings and change them often. If you do not know how to change your guitar strings yet, stop what you are doing and search for articles and videos online right now. This is very important.

5 - Wash your hands before you play and clean your strings after you play. Dirt and oils from your fingers and hands can wear down your strings.

6 - Build up those calluses. Many beginners complain of pain in their fingertips when first starting out. This is normal and will go away after you have been playing for a little while and start to form calluses. The more often you practice the faster you will build up calluses.

7 - Learn how to tune your guitar. Make sure your guitar is in tune before you start every practice session. Tuning your guitar is really quite easy. You can either purchase one of those small battery powered guitar tuners, or you can tune your guitar online. Just do a search at your favorite search engine using the key phrase "online guitar tuner" and you will find many helpful sites on this topic.

8 - Use YouTube to find free acoustic guitar lessons. Everyone is now familiar with the site YouTube. They have a huge variety of free lessons. Two providers of free lessons that I recommend you check out are: "Next Level Guitar" (goes by the user name "rockongoodpeople") and "Justinguitar.com" (goes by the username "JustinSandercoeSongs"). They offer some of the best free online acoustic guitar lessons. Highly recommended.

9 - Find a good guitar teacher. While it is possible to learn at your own pace at home using free lessons online, books and home study courses, nothing will replace a guitar teacher. A guitar teacher will help keep you from forming bad guitar playing habits and praise you when you are making progress.

10 - Stretch and warm up your hands and fingers before each playing session. This is important. Proper warm up and stretching exercises are essential in helping you avoid injury and improving your guitar playing. For more information on stretching and warm up exercises, do a search on Google using the key phrase: "guitar warm up". You will find plenty of tutorials on this subject.

11 - Learn music theory. I know music theory can be boring and difficult, but it is essential learning if you want to become a good guitar player.

12 - Learn about the parts of your guitar. Spend as much time as possible familiarizing yourself with all the various parts of your guitar and how it is constructed.

13 - Learn how to practice. This may seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many guitarists are not practicing correctly. There is definitely a right and a wrong way to practice. Make sure you understand how to make the best out of your practice sessions.

14 - Keep your finger nails on your fretting hand trimmed. Your fingernails on your fretting hand must be kept short. If not, they will most certainly make playing more difficult as they will prevent your fingers from pushing down the strings properly.

15 - Don't over do it. If you are experiencing any pain or discomfort during your playing or practice session, then stop and take a break.

16 - Try and learn something new. If you continually do the same thing, day after day, then your guitar playing will become stagnant and you will not progress.

17 - Join discussion forums online. Search for guitar discussion forums online and begin discussions with experienced and professional guitarists.

18 - Listen to a variety of different music. Not just your favorite styles either. You would be surprised at how much this can influence your guitar playing.

19 - Learn alternate ways to tune your guitar. Not every song is played in standard tuning.

20 - Go to live performances. This will give you a chance to get up close and personal with the musicians enabling you to see first hand how a professional plays.?