The right guitar to learn on

Geoffrey from Seatoun

What guitar is the right guitar for me? Great question and if you have never played the guitar before the information you get can vary depending upon the person you ask. When beginners ask me which guitar is the right guitar to use, I generally reply, 'the easiest guitar to play'. Nylon strings are very light but sometimes the neck on nylon string guitars can be very wide. Steel-string guitars have smaller necks but the steel strings can feel harder and tough against the fingers to start with.

For a younger beginner (or even an adult) the three quarter size nylon string guitar can be perfect. It has a neck size that is similar to an adult electric guitar and the strings are very light on the fingers. These guitars are also great for throwing into the back of the car for holidays as they are smaller.

If you do go for a steel-string guitar then perhaps you could put some 'lighter' strings onto the guitar (or have a music shop do it). Professional guitarists often use '.12' gauge strings on their guitars. The '.12' indicates the thickness of the string. You can decrease the string thickness to lighten the feel and make it a lot easier to play. '.11' or '.10' gauge strings can be a much better thickness to start with. Electric guitars often have '.10' gauge strings so a good idea is to go into a guitar shop and play a few guitars to see which guitar feels right for you and your fingers.

Photo: Alex Anderson playing the guitar during The Rock Academy school holiday programme in Kilbirnie, Wellington.