When people first start to learn the guitar, one of the first questions they will often ask is “what type of guitar is the best for me to start learning with? In my opinion, the best type beginners guitar would be the classical acoustic guitar. I recommend this type of guitar for a few reasons, which i will explain below:
- Classical guitars have nylon strings which i believe is very important for anyone that is new to the guitar. The reason for this is that it is quite common for a beginner to get very sore fingers when playing on a traditional steel stringed acoustic guitar. With a nylon stringed classical guitar the strings are made from nylon (similar to fishing line) and these strings are very soft to touch and will reduce the pain to your fingers when you are starting out.
- Classical guitars are relatively cheap to buy and my recommendation is to buy a cheap guitar when you are learning the guitar, just in case it ends up not being something you want to continue with, although i don’t know why anyone would give the guitar up once they have started, as once you can play a few tunes, i think you would find it very hard to put your guitar down!
- If you go out and buy a steel stringed guitar, like most people do when they start to learn the guitar, you may find that your fingers become so sore that you will not practice often enough due to the soreness of your soft fingers. Remember that your fingers will become hardened on the tips once you have been playing the nylon strings for a period of time, you will then be able to progress to a steel stringed guitar much more easily…without the pain.
Beginners Guitars – Some Tips
- Try not to spend more than around $200 (this is ample for a decent guitar to learn with)
- Buy from a reputable guitar dealer and tell them you want to learn the guitar and ask what they recommend.
- Buy a guitar tuner with your first guitar, or learn how to tune the guitar yourself (it is pointless playing a guitar that is out of tune!)
A great article that sums it up. I already had a Mexican made strat which i bought years ago and then never really got going.. recently started again and really wanted that acoustic sound so invested in a budget price Fender dreadnought with onboard pre-amp and pickup (FENDER CD-60 CE). Have really enjoyed learning on it but BOY those steel strings have been hurting! 3 months in though and fingers have hardened nicely
Loving each stage of learning though and thanks for the site.
A very nice article about choosing the right guitar for a beginner. I still remember buying a guitar for my children when they requested one. I bought a steel string and they did complaint about the pain initially but was glad that due to their interests they overcome the pain eventually.
I really want to learn how to play the guitar, but I don’t have one yet. It would be great if you could send me some helpful tips.
Hi Justice,
I have another blog that will give you get you started with learning the guitar: Learn The Guitar
Thanks Scott, the first guitar I started on was a nylon, It took me around 2 – 3 months before it was an easy transition to the steel string.
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