Probably the first obstacle you will have to face when you decide to learn to play the guitar is buying one to start with. If you are not all that clued up about the genre, or if you have no friends who can play to ask for advice, then it can be a difficult task.

A lot of people take the advice of the shop assistant, make the mistake of buying a nice economical purchase to start learning on, and find that it does not even come close to meeting their needs. The advice can also turn out to be a little misguided and driven by desire to make a sale rather than getting the best deal for yourself.

If you are in this situation, and are looking seriously into the possibility of buying a guitar in order to learn, then the following are all questions that you really need to know the answers to before you step foot into a guitar shop. There are a few things that you should be considering before you depart with your hard-earned cash.

1. What style of music do you want to play?

It may sound quite obvious to say that an electric guitar is more suited to rock music whereas an acoustic guitar is better for strumming and singing along. However, many people make this mistake. Make sure you keep this in mind so that you don’t get pressured into buying something that will not be suitable for your needs. You will know what you want to play, and what you want to learn.

2. What sort of budget do you have?

Realistically, to begin with, you should be looking at paying somewhere in the region of $250-$300 (US) for a decent electric guitar, and around $150 (US) for an acoustic. If you have never played guitar before, then spending thousands of dollars on a top quality instrument is probably not the way to go. What you are doing when you buy your first guitar is investing – you are investing in yourself and your own musical development. This should be considered as you set about finalizing exactly how much you want to spend.

When you decided on the style of music that you want to play, and the budget that you can afford, then it’s time to make the decision on which guitar you buy. This is often a fraught step, and will take a little time to get it right, but the time is well invested to make sure that you get the right instrument. Bear in mind your answers to the questions above, and consider the following.

· Try before you buy. Buying your first guitar is a little like buying a new car – you wouldn’t just take the first one you see, right? Try as many guitars as you want! There’s also no reason why, at this stage, you shouldn’t be looking at guitars that might be outside of your budget – by doing this you will be getting a good idea of the range available to you, and the big differences that exist from one guitar to another.

· Examine the playability of the frets. Play a note on each fret, and listen to the noise that it makes. If you can detect a small buzzing noise, then this can often point to the fact that the guitar is not set properly, or in worse cases, signify poor workmanship. Check out the condition of the frets as well – do they show signs of excessive usage? Do they look worn out?

· A quick and easy way to purchase your first guitar can be online. Online guitars can often be a lot cheaper than the store on the high street, with the added advantage that it will often arrive straight to your door. If you do decide to go down this route, then make sure you check out as many user reviews as you can in order to find out whether this particular guitar is right for your needs.

· Be comfortable! Make sure you select a guitar that you like, and that you feel comfortable with. If you find one that fits you like a glove and makes a sound that you genuinely enjoy, then there is a much higher chance that that guitar will stay with you for a much longer time.

Don’t get pressured into spending more than you can afford, as this will only produce resentment on your part, and you are therefore much less likely to continue. If you are a beginner, and are trying to learn to play a guitar for the first time, then you should seriously consider all of the above before you even start. Playing the guitar can be a wonderful pastime, full of reward and great fun.

Copyright 2009 Liam Gibson (Pro Guitarist)

A lot of people want to play guitar because they think it would be fun to learn to play the songs of their favorite artists. There are many ways to learn guitar nowadays, but what is the most best way to get started so you can start playing as soon as possible?

I too had this same motivation when I started to play guitar about five years ago.  At the time, I wanted to be able to play some guitar songs and show off to all of my friends.  So I did some research and found a good guitar teacher who could give me private guitar lessons.  This worked out okay in the beginning, and I learned the guitar basics in my first month.  However, private lessons are quite expensive and after the first several lessons I decided I wouldn’t be able to afford it anymore.  Plus, it was such an inconvenience to keep my appointments twice a week and go over to his house for lessons. 

I still wanted to learn guitar though, so I decided to start learning on my own, using the best guitar courses I found on the internet. After just a little bit of practice, I began to master the basic guitar chords and I was able to recognize them by ear.  Most popular songs are made up of the same 3 or 4 basic chords that you learn from the beginning.  Once, I got the fundamentals down, soon I was able to play my favorite songs just by listening to them first.

It is amazing to see how many guitar playing tutorials there are on the internet these days.  The best part is that many of these great guitar tutorial sites are absolutely free.  You can find how to videos that show you all the important guitar playing techniques right on Youtube.  If you have questions, then join one of the many guitar forums and you will find several experts able to answer your questions.  All these guitar teaching resources make learning to play your favorite guitar songs easy and convenient.  Playing the guitar is such a fun hobby, and it never gets old impressing your your friends and family with your guitar playing ability.