The Best Guitars for Beginners - Choose from India's Top Deals & Coupons.

Table of Contents

What is a Guitar?

A fretted musical instrument is a guitar with a hollow wooden body. It has a long, narrow neck lined with ridges called frets, which indicate the notes. (The part of the neck that houses the frets is called the fretboard.) A typical guitar has six strings ( though twelve-string guitars are also standard) made of metal or nylon and is typically played by strumming or plucking with the bottom hand. At the same time, the top hand focuses on “fretting”—pressing down on strings to change their length and achieve the right note.

Before you sign up for your first guitar lesson, there are two things you need to know:

1. The distinction between an electric and acoustic guitar (which you want to play)

2. Whether you are a right-handed or left-handed guitar player

First, Decide Your Budget

Consider renting- Renting an instrument can allow you some time with it at home to decide if you like it, even though it is not financially advantageous (especially in the long run).

Beware of cheap instruments- Some guitars are awful; even a master guitar player will sabotage your learning efforts if you do not start with a suitable device. Spend correctly as much as you can afford.

Condition of Guitar

When purchasing this musical instrument, there are several things to consider. These problems are essential to look for, even though they probably won’t be an issue when buying a new guitar. Here are some procedures to take while examining a guitar’s condition:

1.) As shown below, slowly move your hand up and down the guitar’s neck. It should be smooth, devoid of splinters or rough edges.

2.) Check its heel by turning it over, as shown in the illustration below. Any gaps or cracks shouldn’t separate its neck and heel.

3.) Check the bridge on the guitar’s front, as shown in the illustration below. Run a small pick between the bridge and the guitar’s body to ensure no gaps.

4.) You may measure the guitar’s string height by applying pressure to the first, second, and third frets. You should be able to do this task quickly. Reach the 12th fret and tighten your grip. There shouldn’t be more than three times between the top of the unrest and the bottom of the string. If the number is five, the guitar may have a warped neck or a bridge that is too high.

Comparing Guitars

Playability

Does it feel good to play? It ranges from “easy to play” to “impossible to play.” As a beginner, you want to get one that’s as easy as possible. If you can, ask your teacher or a friend to help you find one that’s easy to play.

Good Sound

Is it a good sound? If your guitar sounds well, it will give you greater motivation to play. Ask someone to show it to you. But instead of focusing on their performance, try to hear their sound as a whole. The ideal scenario entails someone performing the same piece on various guitars.

Buying a guide for beginners

First things, before you start your journey of learning the guitar, you will need the instrument! While a lot of your choice will depend on personal style, there are several important things for a novice guitarist to consider when purchasing a guitar.

Price
Style
Player Age/Size
Guitar Condition
Where You Are Purchasing

Electric vs. Acoustic

The acoustic model is the best guitar for a beginner, but this choice may depend on personal preference. The broader neck of classical guitars might make it difficult for younger pupils or physically smaller people to hold the instrument while learning guitar chords. On the other hand, the electric guitar is made to be played with an amplifier, which is an additional expense. Acoustic guitars are perfect for beginning guitarists since they are straightforward and require little to no extra gear.

How to Play Guitar Chords?

It would help if you mastered the chords to your favorite song.
Go to the illustrations and directions below to learn how to play each chord.
You can use the ChordBuddy tool to get guidance on where to lay your fingers.
The circles in the photos show where your fingers should go: I for index, M for middle, R for the ring, and P for the pinky.
The O symbolizes strings that will be played without any frets, while the Xs represent strings that you won’t be strumming.

How to Play the D Chord- Place your index finger, middle finger, and ring finger on the first fret of the first string, the second fret of the second string, and the third fret of the second string.

Leave the fourth string open.
Strum the bottom four strings.
Pay attention to the sound. That’s the D-chord!

How to Play the C Chord- Put your ring, middle, and index fingers together on the second string at the first fret, the fourth string at the second fret, and the fifth at the third fret.

Do not close the first and second strings.
You can hear the C Chord by strumming the bottom five strings.

How to Play the G Chord- Place your middle finger on the fifth string at the second fret, your ring finger on the sixth string at the third fret, and your pinky finger on the first string at the third fret.

Leave strings two, three, and four open.
Strum all strings. That’s the G Chord!

How to Play The E-minor Chord- Place your middle finger on the fifth string at the second fret and your ring finger on the fourth string at the second fret.

Leave strings one, two, three, and six open.
Strum all strings. That’s the E-minor Chord!

Five benefits of learning guitar

Playing a new talent may frequently lead to unique advantages, and learning the musical instrument is no exception. You would be astonished at how many positive effects learning the guitar has on your body and mind, in addition to the practicality of being able to play an instrument (or any instrument for that matter). Many of these advantages also apply to routine behaviors and actions.

Improved Fine Motor Skills: If you have ever attempted to learn how to use chopsticks as an adult, you are aware of how challenging it can be to coordinate your fingers to precise position each stick to form a secure grasp on your food. That’s how learning to play a musical instrument is, just a thousand times harder (in my completely unscientific estimation). Learning to play the guitar dramatically enhances your hand-eye coordination because it calls for particular muscle motions that your body isn’t yet accustomed to. Beginner guitarists frequently remark on the strange feeling that their hands don’t react to their ideas. It will feel nearly impossible to move your hands in the way necessary to play chords and scales since your body has never executed such intricate movements. But if you persist with it and keep practicing, you’ll find that those small movements become easier to carry out, and you’ll also discover that you pick up more new tasks far more quickly.

Exercise for your brain: Another benefit of playing this musical instrument is improving concentration and memory. Without a doubt, learning any device is a difficult task; the initial learning curve is particularly steep, which is why to see gains, you will have to exercise your ability to concentrate and memorize things.

Memorization plays a massive part in getting good at playing guitar. The number of chord shapes, scale shapes, music theory concepts, and even songs you will have to remember is astounding. Even just the essential open chords can be overwhelming to initial learners, so taking things slow and memorizing small amounts of information over time is a crucial skill you will develop while learning to play the guitar, just like how the ability to focus translates over to everyday tasks, your ability to memorize guitar-specific knowledge will also translate into your daily life.

Emotional Release: The emotional sensation of making music is arguably the best part of its playing. Besides the visual arts, it’s one of the easiest ways to express oneself! Making music is a liberating experience that has numerous positive health effects. In the previous section, we discussed how playing guitar could help exercise your brain. Playing music can lower blood pressure, reduce your heart rate, diminish stress, lessen anxiety, and lessen depression, according to Fred Cicetti of Live Science. Playing music may also enhance your immune system’s reaction to viruses and bacteria. However, this claim is still up for debate.

Listening to music induces a sensation of flow comparable to the one attained through extended meditation durations, which is the leading cause of many of these emotional and health advantages. Time seems to move more slowly while in a flow state, and you feel overall calmer. Athletes frequently consult sports psychologists to discover how to enter flow states and perform at their best.