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Unlike its electric brethren, the acoustic guitar has been around for over 200 years. It is, by far, the most traditional form of the stringed instrument, and it is often the first choice for beginning guitarists.Acoustic Guitar For BeginnersThe most common type of guitar used is the acoustic guitar. Musicians have used acoustic guitars in unplugged sessions for decades. Since it is not amplified, the sound of an acoustic guitar is softer. When played correctly, the acoustic guitar can be a very powerful and emotional instrument.It does not have to be difficult to learn how to play acoustic guitar. First, you must choose the right guitar for you. When you are learning, it is very important to have a guitar that is the right size and weight. For this reason, you should never borrow another person’s guitar for lessons, unless you are sure that it fits you. Most likely, you will need to buy your own.Acoustic guitars are very easy to find. You can buy one brand new at any music store, or they can be found second hand, if funds are limited. Again, just be sure that it is the right size for you.Once you have your instrument, you need to find beginner acoustic guitar lessons. There are many ways for you to learn to play acoustic guitar. All you need to do is find the right method for you.The most traditional acoustic guitar learning method is to take lessons. Basically, you hire someone that is qualified to teach you to play, and you travel to your lessons. The advantage to this is that you have an instructor that can work with you face to face, giving you immediate feedback. They can keep you motivated, and assist you with your technique. These lessons are often tailored to your needs.This method, however, does have disadvantages as well. Guitar instruction can become very expensive. Each half-hour lesson costs you money, sometimes upwards of $75-100. If you are taking weekly lessons, this can add up fast. Also, you must schedule these lessons around your schedule, and this may be difficult if it does not coincide with your instructor’s schedule. Finally, packing up your guitar and traveling to a lesson is very inconvenient.Thanks to modern technology, there is a relatively new way to learn almost anything, including how to play the acoustic guitar. Online acoustic guitar lessons can be either free or fee-based. You can waste a great deal of practice time looking for free lessons, and they are often inadequate or poorly produced. It is usually better to pay for the lessons, and get quality instruction, all in one place.It is easy to see the advantages of this method. You pay a one time fee, rather than paying for each lesson, and you receive all the instruction that you will need, right from home. Best of all, you will have the convenience of taking your lessons on your own time. The only disadvantage to this method is the lack of immediate interaction with your instructor, but with the lessons being so thorough, it will seem like your lessons are fit to you perfectly.Learning to play the acoustic guitar is a matter of finding the right source to learn from, and you will find that learning to play will be much easier if you follow the right steps.

The acoustic guitar is a popular instrument amongst all age groups and is a very rewarding instrument to learn to play even though you do not get to fool around with cool electric guitar sounds. So let us take a look at the techniques you will learn as an acoustic guitar player and some legendary guitarists whose work will need to become familiar with in order to hang out with other acoustic guitar players.

You can think of acoustic guitar technique in two ways: you can be a strummer or a picker. A strummer plays by dragging your thumb, index finger or plectrum across the guitar strings. You can find a multitude of strumming patterns on the internet. Start with the simplest you can find. Some strumming patterns simply show the names of the chords you are supposed to be strumming, and others show that you include only selected strings. The strings that are not included can be damped with the little finger of the left hand or the heel of the right hand.

You can pick using a plectrum – this technique is called flatpicking – or use your fingers. If you decide on fingerpicking you might want to use picks which fit on the thumb and tips of your fingers. Steel strings are hard on the fingernails so you might need fingerpicks to stop your nails being torn to shreds. Nylon strings do not demand the use of picks but after you have had some experience playing guitar you can make the decision based on the kind of sound you want.

A simple start to fingerpicking is to finger an E minor chord and place your fingers on the strings you intend to play. Do not try and do any picking, just decide which strings are the ones you are playing in this chord and place your right hand fingers in a plucking “stance” ready to play. So for the E minor chord you could place your thumb on the sixth string and your first finger on the third string, you second finger on the second string and your first finger on the first string. Now pluck each string by pressing down with the thumb and pulling up with the fingers.

If you want to see what you can do if you foster your devotion to the acoustic guitar, Leo Kottke is a good start. He is an innovative fingerstyle acoustic guitarist who is strongly influenced by folk music, jazz and blues. Another great is Tommy Emmanuel, an Australian acoustic and electric guitarist known for his energetic fingerpicking style. He has developed his own style based on the “travis picking” style of playing he heard played on records by Chet Atkins.

“Travis picking” is a style of finger picking which involves playing bass with the thumb, and melody with the first two or three fingers simultaneously. This picking style was developed by Merle Travis, an American country and western singer and songwriter who composed one of the early fifties hit songs, “Sixteen Tons”. While we are talking about travis picking, you have probably heard of Chet Atkins. He was an influential Nashville guitarist and producer of records for many famous recording artists. He played mostly electric guitar and his picking technique was inspired mostly by Merle Travis with musical influences from Django Reinhardt and Les Paul.

For the acoustic guitar player who elects to stay with  the plectrumn, “Doc” Watson is an American bluegrass, folk, country, blues and gospel music singer and guitar player. He is revered by other guitar players for his astonishing flatpicking style although he does do fingerpicking.

The acoustic guitar repertoire of today owes alot to the folk revival of the sixties. Here are some names from that era whose work you should catch up with:

John Renbourn the English guitarist and songwriter is best known for his work with fellow guitar player, Bert Jansch and his career  with the English folk group Pentangle. Renbourn’s musical interests include early music, folk, classical music and blues.

Bert Jansch is a Scottish folk musician whose influences include English guitarist Davy Graham. His music has influenced Jimmy Page, Ian Anderson, Donovan and Neil Young.

John Martyn is an English guitarist who also sings and writes songs. He has made twenty studio albums and worked with famous musician like Eric Clapton, David Gilmour and Phil Collins. He has invented his own sound featuring an acoustic guitar played through a fuzzbox, phase-shifter and Echoplex.

Davy Graham is a guitarist who featured heavily in the English folk scene in the nineteen sixties. Many acoustic guitar players like Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Martin Carthy and Jimmy Page. His acoustic instrumental piece, Anji was recorded by Paul Simon on an early Simon And Garfunkel album.