Making your choice of which type of guitar to study
Your guitar teacher is best placed to discuss and advise you on this topic. Kerikeri Guitar offers a free initial consultation in which this topic is covered. This website also provides information that can help you to be aware of the relevant considerations before you purchase a guitar or commit to lessons.
Kerikeri Guitar recommendations
Experienced musicians often specialize, to a greater or lesser extent, in the musical style that they choose to perform. As a result they use guitars best suited to both the chosen style of music and to the musical role they fill within the style. An overview of these roles and related instruments can be read on this website here. Another summary of guitar types and uses is also provided toward the end of this page.
On the other hand, beginners are seldom informed enough to know which musical genre they will eventually settle upon. A learner’s musical taste will almost certainly change as he or she develops musically, so exposure to a diverse range of musical style, as they learn, has long-term advantages for a music student. It is also makes for a much more stimulating and fulfilling approach to learning.
Kerikeri Guitar believes that a good teacher has a obligation to recognize the preceding observations and to avoid specializing too early which can place limitations on a student's later options. Our goal is to expand learning horizons.
For this reason we recommend that in general,* beginners, particularly children, use the most versatile type of guitar and the most flexible method of playing. We recommend beginners start on the nylon string guitar and master the fundamentals of classic finger-style technique, along with learning standard music reading skills.
In terms of purchase cost the nylon string guitar usually means the lowest initial outlay compared to other types of guitar, some of which also require the purchase of amplifiers, connecting electrical cables etc.
Further reasons for this recommendation can be read here.
* Kerikeri Guitar is happy to accommodate and teach other choices of guitar. We recognize that some students already have a clear and informed understanding of the musical goals that they are pursuing. For example, they may sing or play another instrument and seek the skills required to accompany themselves, or they may wish to add an extra string to their bow in a band situation. Yet others have a fixed interest in learning only the electric guitar. If you are in any doubt, talk to your teacher before committing to lessons or before purchasing your guitar.
A summary of four popular types of guitar
Nylon string classical guitar:
Acoustic steel string guitar :
Arch-top guitar:
Solid-body electric guitar.
See also
Your guitar teacher is best placed to discuss and advise you on this topic. Kerikeri Guitar offers a free initial consultation in which this topic is covered. This website also provides information that can help you to be aware of the relevant considerations before you purchase a guitar or commit to lessons.
Kerikeri Guitar recommendations
Experienced musicians often specialize, to a greater or lesser extent, in the musical style that they choose to perform. As a result they use guitars best suited to both the chosen style of music and to the musical role they fill within the style. An overview of these roles and related instruments can be read on this website here. Another summary of guitar types and uses is also provided toward the end of this page.
On the other hand, beginners are seldom informed enough to know which musical genre they will eventually settle upon. A learner’s musical taste will almost certainly change as he or she develops musically, so exposure to a diverse range of musical style, as they learn, has long-term advantages for a music student. It is also makes for a much more stimulating and fulfilling approach to learning.
Kerikeri Guitar believes that a good teacher has a obligation to recognize the preceding observations and to avoid specializing too early which can place limitations on a student's later options. Our goal is to expand learning horizons.
For this reason we recommend that in general,* beginners, particularly children, use the most versatile type of guitar and the most flexible method of playing. We recommend beginners start on the nylon string guitar and master the fundamentals of classic finger-style technique, along with learning standard music reading skills.
In terms of purchase cost the nylon string guitar usually means the lowest initial outlay compared to other types of guitar, some of which also require the purchase of amplifiers, connecting electrical cables etc.
Further reasons for this recommendation can be read here.
* Kerikeri Guitar is happy to accommodate and teach other choices of guitar. We recognize that some students already have a clear and informed understanding of the musical goals that they are pursuing. For example, they may sing or play another instrument and seek the skills required to accompany themselves, or they may wish to add an extra string to their bow in a band situation. Yet others have a fixed interest in learning only the electric guitar. If you are in any doubt, talk to your teacher before committing to lessons or before purchasing your guitar.
A summary of four popular types of guitar
Nylon string classical guitar:
- Versatile instrument well suited to the needs of beginners, particularly children.
- Lowest cost of guitar at entry level, no requirement for an amplifier.
- Rich and mellow sound.
- Excels in the role of both solo and accompaniment within many musical styles, easily the best choice of guitar for classical and art music.
- Not generally suitable for most electrically amplified band situations and for some specialist folk music styles - these might require the specific type of sound that is produced by the steel string guitar.
- Commonly heard in Latin, South American, folk and classical fields, sometimes in country music and even used in jazz and rock.
- Played using fingers rather than a pick.
Acoustic steel string guitar :
- The modern steel string guitar has developed over past century to meet the needs of accompanists.
- Low to moderate cost at entry level, no requirement for an amplifier.
- High string tension can be a physical hurdle for beginners.
- Used in many 20th century popular music styles.
- Distinctive bright sound capable of being heard within a group.
- Less suitable than the classical instrument for solo performance.
- Excellent choice for those wishing primarily to accompany their own voice or that of others.
- Commonly heard in folk, rock, bluegrass, country music.
- Usually played using a pick.
Arch-top guitar:
- Found in both electric and acoustic forms.
- Moderate to high cost at entry level and may also require the purchase of an amplifier.
- First developed to produce greater volume for dance bands before the application of electronic amplification to the guitar.
- Since the invention of amplification the acoustic form has become a specialist instrument seldom heard as originally intended, most players opting to fit magnetic pick-ups and amplify it electronically.
- It is a popular first choice of instrument for many jazz guitarists.
- Heard to best effect as part of a band or ensemble.
- The acoustic form has similar tone to steel string acoustic, the electric form has a characteristic mellow or "woody" tone but is prone to feedback at high levels of amplification.
- Usually played using a plectrum or pick.
Solid-body electric guitar.
- Embraced by popular and rock music fields after its introduction into the mass market by the Fender Musical Instrument Company in the 1950s.
- Remains the electric guitar of first choice for musicians in those fields.
- Low-moderate to moderate cost at entry level, it will also require the purchase of an amplifier making it of moderate cost for the total package.
- A wide range of sound effects can be achieved when the guitar is is coupled to electronic devices designed for that purpose.
- Heard to best effect as part of a band or group of musicians, very seldom used for solo performance.
- In the past, players of the electric guitar in the rock and related musical fields had to largely rely on their own devices when learning the instrument. However, an exciting wealth of educational material has been published over the past two decades, significantly assisting study in these fields.
- Requires the use of an electronic amplifier to function as intended.
- Usually played using a pick.
See also
