Used Acoustic Guitars

Learning to play guitar is not an easy process for most of us and requires confidence in your ability to learn new things. An acoustic guitar is recommended if you are new to guitar since you will be able to hear your deficiencies or mistakes much more readily than by playing an electric guitar that can hide your errors. Practice patience and reinforce your successes when learning to play an acoustic guitar and you will overcome your biggest obstacle...your fear of learning.

You will probably become frustrated along the way when learning to play an acoustic guitar, so take a step back and take a break when you need one. Just recognize that this is a challenge for almost everyone, have patience and enjoy the learning process.

Buying your first guitar is a prerequisite when learning because you will need to have your own guitar and not depend on a guitar that will be in your possession on a periodic basis. Each guitar is different as the more you play a single guitar and grow comfortable with it, the more you will gain confidence in the guitar istself and your ability to play it. There are two kinds of acoustic guitars that you can get; either a classic guitar that uses nylon strings or a more popular steel string acoustic guitar. Your choice is a matter of taste and music style so your choice will depend on the sound that you are trying to obtain. However, as a beginning guitarist you will probably find that a more contemporary steel stringed guitar may be a bit easier to learn with becasue the neck is somewhat smaller and easier to 'work'. On the downside, the strings may be a little more difficult to fret...so recognize that there is a trade off in your selection of a steel string guitar. Today's popular music across many genres is probably more associated with the steel stringed guitar since the sound is brighter and louder.

You'll also need to consider the body style of the acoustic guitar. Acoustic guitar body sizes are characterized by terms that extend from small to jumbo. Each size has a unique sound. A smaller body guitar will have more treble and midrange tonal characteristic and they are easier to hold. Lead guitarists also favor smaller or midsized acoustic guitars because they have a more balanced sound. Larger bodied guitars have more bass and are a little harder to hold for the average person. Since you are learning to play acoustic guitar, a midsize body shape is a great place to start with your first acoustic guitar because it has a balanced sound and is relatively comfortable to hold and play.

The quality of acoustic guitars varies by brand and model. Minor tonal characteristics can also vary slightly within the same model, but this is usually not noticeable to the human ear. After you have decided on the type and size of the acoustic guitar that you wish to play, try out some guitars in your price range to see which one you like and are most comfortable with. Also, take along someone that is an experienced guitar player and get their opinions on the guitars sound and quality.

Look to purchase the best acoustic guitar that you can afford. Try to avoid purchasing a new guitar that costs less than $200 since the cheap price reflects its' cheap quality. Save your money until you can budget at least $200 for your first guitar.  A quality guitar will be easier to play and will sound better. You will enjoy playing a good guitar more and this will result in your looking forward to practice and an increased desire to learn. You can find many quality acoustic guitars for under $500 new. Some quality brands to consider are Seagull, Ibanez, Alvarez and Yamaha. Higher quality guitars such as Martin and Taylor may also be available used in this price range.

Actually, used acoustic guitars are highly recommended because you can save a significant amount of money over the cost of a new acoustic guitar. It is not uncommon to find used acoustic guitars selling for half of their retail cost. You can stretch your dollar further by buying a basic or lower entry model acoustic guitar. You do not need to spend the extra money for an electronics package, exotic woods or upgraded cosmetics. Avoid most models labeled as Artist versions since the extra money that you will be paying for them will not translate into a better sounding or playing guitar, although the cosmetics and details will generally be upgrades. Again, take an an experienced guitar player with you before you purchase your first guitar, whether it be new or used.

A good guitar teacher can be an invaluable resource in your guitar learning process, but this can also be an expensive proposition. You may also simply prefer to learn on your own at your own pace. This is actually a reasonable approach for many 'students' because the fundamental chords and scales are easily self taught from instructional books. When you have 'mastered' teh basics, you may then give further consideration to a guitar teacher because some of the more advanced subjects are not easily learned from books and visual tips and help with technique can more easily be garnished from an instructor. However, for those that are learning on their own I will provide some tips and guidelines to help you get the most out of your practice time.

Practice as many times that you can for at least thirty minutes at a time. Learning guitar is a process by which you learn a new note, chord, scale, progression, song, etc. and then you practice it until you care comfortable playing it. Therefore, the more often that you practice and play, the sooner you will learn. Take your time when you practice and ensure that you are correctly playing and understanding the material that you are trying to learn. Don't practice or repeat bad or incorrect methods as you don't want to ingrain these into your brain. So, take your time when you practice and accept this as a challenge that will be overcome through your diligence.

Finally, before you even start your study and practice of  the acoustic guitar, take some time to learn about the individual parts of your acoustic guitar, how the guitar is constructed and how the different parts of the guitar work together to produce sound. Also, make sure that you know how to tune your guitar before you start. You can either buy an electronic tuner or use one of the online tuners to get this done. You can also match the low E string and use a fretting method to tune the rest of the strings off of this one.

When you are learning and practicing the acoustic guitar, learn the different major chords and then the variations of that chord. To break up your study of the chords and to introduce another topic, learn and practice your scales. This will give you a well rounded familiarity with the frets on the guitar and it will build up strength in your fingers and hands.

These are just some basic pieces of advice for the newbie wishing to learn to play the acoustic guitar. I hope that you find this information useful as an introduction to your learning process and that your guitar study is both rewarding and pleasurable.