The guitar is one of the most popular musical instruments on the planet. Along with learning basic chord shapes and scales one of the first things you got to know when learning the instrument is how to get it in tune. Here´s a handy guide, including a few tips to make it as easy as possible.

This article describes what an acoustic electric guitar is and why they have become popular among guitar players of all styles. The dangers of buying a cheap acoustic electric are touched on, as are the types of pickups that can be fitted to an acoustic guitar.

This article is a useful introduction to acoustic guitar playing, highlighting finger picking and blues chord progressions. After an overview of some of the big names of early twentieth century blues guitar playing, the article encourages the student to remember the importance of locating a balance between embracing a great guitar player´s style and developing one´s own original style. The relative merits of bare fingertips, finger picks or a plectrum for budding acoustic blues players are discussed in depth. The article concludes with a detailed account of the theory behind the one-four-five chord progression - the underpinning of twelve-bar blues.

This article describes how students of the acoustic guitar can be rewarded in return for a small investment of time and money. The advantage of nylon strings over steel strings, what a novice guitarist can expect when he starts lessons, and the pitfalls of group lessons are all discussed. The article also offers advice on choosing a first guitar, and mentions some models that are recommended by experienced guitar players.

There are many popular songs that are easy to play on the guitar, but the budding guitarist needs to do some preparation in order to take advantage of them. This article details the advantages of taking lessons from a teacher, and how to use the internet as a source of lessons. Also included are details of how to build a repertoire of songs using free lessons on YouTube, a list of easy to learn chords that are used in many popular songs, how to practice chord changes, and a discussion on which songs to learn first.

This article discusses the use of several types of picks in acoustic blues guitar playing. The reader learns how finger picking came to be used to accompany blues songs, and the respective roles of the thumb and forefinger in guitar picking. The ease of use and the sounds produced by bare fingers, fingerpicks, the flat pick and the thumb pick are also considered.