I’m often asked what type of guitar is suitable for taking guitar lessons. My standard answer is that the guitar only has to be tunable and playable. I say this because, due to either poor construction or damage, some guitars are just impossible to tune or play.

Shopping for a guitar can be very confusing. Guitars come in many different shapes and sizes and have many different characteristics. But with a few pointers, you can make a wise purchase.

As most people know, there are two main categories of guitars: acoustic and electric. Acoustic guitars are the non-electric type and come in different sizes. The full size guitar is called a dreadnought. Then there are the three-quarter size and the half-size, which are best for most younger or smaller guitar students. There are even tinier guitars, but some of them are more like a toy guitar. They’re really cute, but they can’t be tuned and therefore can’t be used to make real music.

Acoustic guitars can have either nylon or steel strings. Nylon strings are a lot easier on the fingers, but some people seem to prefer the sound of steel strings. Never put steel strings on your nylon string guitar. The extra tension will damage it.

You can simplify your purchase of a beginning electric guitar by choosing a starter package which consists of a box containing an electric guitar and all the necessary accessories, such as an amplifier.

The price of the guitar shouldn’t be much of a factor, because you don’t have to spend a lot of money in order to get a decent guitar. The quality of even very inexpensive guitars has greatly improved in recent years and most are very suitable for the beginning guitar student.

One great thing about guitars is that they aren’t a very risky purchase. They maintain their value a lot more than most products and they are very resellable. There are always lots of people shopping for a guitar. If you decide you don’t want yours anymore, someone will be thrilled to take it off your hands.

Sometimes a young student will express dissatisfaction with his or her guitar. My response is: Learn to play the guitar you have and your parents or someone else will surely help you get a better one.

So it may sound contradictory when I advise that the most important thing about a student’s guitar is that the student likes it. That way he or she will be more motivated to spend time practicing with it.

I don’t sell guitars, or anything else. I just give guitar and piano lessons, but if you call me, I’ll be glad to help you find the right guitar or keyboard for lessons.