my first classical guitar

Change the strings. I think a classical guitar is good to start with because the action is easier than an acoustic guitar and nylon strings are easier on the fingers. I think that once you learn with the nylon strings you can restring with steel on a classical guitar. Don't quote me on that. Get some lessons though. Guitar is hard.

new_to_the_world_of_guitars, I've been playing guitar since 1973 but am new to this forum, too. Nice to meet ya!

I agree with Swimpy (nice to meet you too) that you should be just fine learning with a classical for the reasons stated. I agree, too, that the strings need to be changed. Once you get accustomed to the brightness and clarity of new strings, you'll be more able to recognize when they've gone dead. As a general rule, I would change them at least once every six months. I change the strings on my "gigging" guitars more like once a month. Be advised that nylon strings are much more tedious to put on because they are tied to the bridge as opposed to having ball ends to hold them in place. I'd get someone from a guitar shop to show you how the first time.

Swimpy, you were right to be hesitant about restringing with steel. There are three reasons why steel strings are not appropriate for a classical guitar: 1) Classical guitars have wider, flatter necks to accommodate the larger diameters of nylon strings. Steel strings would be too far apart to feel right, which would make it more difficult to switch over to a "non-classical" acoustic guitar. Also, the grooves in the nut of the classical are too wide to hold steel strings in place correctly. 2) The wood and design of classicals is selected to take advantage of the warm tone of nylon strings. Steels tend to sound tinny and cheap on classical guitars. 3) Most importantly, steel strings put much greater strain on the neck and soundboard (aka the top, where the soundhole is) than do nylon strings. Guitars designed for steel strings have additional bracing in the top and an adjustable truss rod built into the neck to compensate for this extra tension. Putting steel strings on a classical will, over time, pull the neck into a bow and warp the top of the guitar.

And finally, once again I agree with Swimpy; take lessons. You'll never regret it. Enjoy!

Yes, a classical guitar should never be strung with steel strings. It will warp the neck. The neck is wider than an acoustic, and doesn't have as many frets. However, it's a good thing to start with, if you get lessons. Any good guitar store will be able to check out the instrument, and show you how to string it. One cool thing about learning classical guitar is that it trains your pinky finger. Many self-taught guitarists don't bother even using it. It does come in handy though.

Welcome, Don, and stick around. You'll probably enjoy meeting Bi-Polar Bear, Panzade, and a few other musicians that hang out her - except for their weird politics, of course.

Damn! You can drag politics into anything, can't you?

Doc~ Anyone who agrees with me is OK in my book. Welcome to you and new to the world. Sit awhile, take your shoes off.

thanks for all your help! i think ill be getting new strings then. I'm finding the whole guitar thing a bit daunting at the moment, i'm not sure about whether to get lessons still. I realise its not the best way to learn but how reliable and helpful do you think 'teach yourself guitar' books are?

Thanks for the warm welcome y'all! Glad to make your acquaintence. Good point about the pinky, cavfancier; I hadn't thought about that.

nttwog, you're most welcome. If you look at the whole scope of guitar-playing, it can indeed be quite daunting. Even now, I look at somebody like Steve Vai or Christopher Parkening or any jazz guitarist and shake my head in awe. But one of the great things about the quitar is the wide range of levels to which it accommodates itself. You can learn a dozen fairly easy chords, practice a half hour a day for six months, and sit around any campfire or church youth group and play along. Or you can make it your life's work and join the ranks of the gentlemen above.

The guitar books and videos can be very helpful - Hal Leonard is among the most highly respected series - but taking lessons from a good instructor can keep you from learning bad habits you'll only have to unlearn sooner or later. He or she can also monitor your progress, nudging you along in the right direction as needed. It's a good idea, should you get lessons, to begin by discussing with the instructor what your aim is. You can then work together to customize your lessons to fit that aim.

You might also wish to take a look at GuitarNotes.com. It's the best single online resource I've found for everything to do with guitars: buying, maintaining, and playing. There's a great forum there, too. It's populated by pros and rookies, teachers and weekend warriors, and some long-winded guy with the same username as me. Also, you might want to check out frets.com for maintainence tips and cyberfrets.com for online lessons and other things that may or may not have anything to do with guitar-playing.

Cheers!

thanks for the websites doc. u said before you'd been playing since the 70s, what kind of guitar do you play? is it something you take seriously or just a hobby? for me i just wanted a bit of fun in an area i've not had much experience in before, but we'll see... i'd love to be able to play really well and i'm keen to try out other guitar types like electric and acoustic.

You're welcome! For the last dozen years or so, I've played mostly electric rock and blues on a hot-rodded 1973 Gibson Les Paul and a 1989 Fender Stratocaster. My main acoustic is a 1994 Taylor 710. I'm not a professional musician by any standards I respect, but playing is a very serious hobby, you might say. (My wife might say it's an obsession.) I too, started out for a bit of fun and a tame kind of escapism, and it evolved from there as these things are wont to do. What I've found is a way to get to some place inside where words can't seem to go. On a very good night, I even get take a few folks with me.

i know what you mean, i only hope my guitar playing future turns out as good as yours by the sounds of it! so what kind of music are you into doc, guitar ledgends mainly is it or do you have a broad taste?

Thanks! The main influences on my playing are Clapton, Page, Richards, Johnny Winter, Walsh, and SRV, but I have very broad taste in music, as do many musicians. Perhaps the best way to illustrate that would be to list a few of the names that appear on the concert ticket stubs I have stashed around here somewhere: Eric Clapton, Martina McBride, Christopher Parkening, Jesus Christ Superstar (the musical, not the Messiah), George Winston, Creed, Melissa Etheridge, B.B. King, Chuck Berry...well you get the idea. How about you?

im only a youngster myself lol so my music taste hasnt quite got to the broadness it possibly will. my dad thinks it's weird for a 15 year old to be into the kind of music that was around when he was my age but since there's not much talent in the music industry today i find looking at older bands is much more interesting. i really like guns n' roses and i'm going to see slash's new band velvet revolver next week, which should be great because it'll be the first proper band i've seen. i'm also a big hendrix, led zep and ac/dc fan as well as more modern stuff like snow patrol,(dont know if they're around in the usa) kings of leon, white stripes. trying to think of what else lingers in my cd collection but that'll have to do for now.

Congrats on starting with the classical guitar. It's the best way to learn proper technique.

I put together some sites to get you stoked.

I urge you to take lessons if you can ...the main thing you'll have to learn is how to read music for the guitar...which not many guitarists can do. They mostly read tablature.

I suggest a cd-book combo I used to learn some easy Bach

Christopher Parkening CD and book

http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002RNJ/qid=1105409866/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1_1/702-5982052-9047258




http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/ASIN/0793585260/qid=1105410113/ref=sr_8_xs_ap_i1_xgl/702-5982052-9047258

http://www.amazon.ca/exec/obidos/clipserve/B000002RNJ001002/702-5982052-9047258

Take a listen to the audio...it's one of the finest Classical albums you'll find.

thanks for the help panzade!
now i have another question, again it may seem basic knowledge to most but i thought it best to ask anyway, its about the subject of plectrums (or picks are they the same thing?). i've read that many classical guitarists would use a well filed and shaped nail to play but can a plectrum also be used or is this more a thing for acoustic and electric guitars?

Hello old friend!

Yes , a plectrum and a pick are the same thing. (I don't know if this holds true for the thumbpicks and fingerpicks some people use; I never could get used to those things myself.)

Yes, most - dare I say all - classical guitarists use well filed and shaped nails to play. Even most non-classical guitarists use fingernails or fingertips to play nylon-stringed guitars.

For example Eric Clapton recorded "Tears in Heaven" on MTV Unplugged using a fingertip-played nylon string guitar, even though he uses a pick pretty much all the time on electric guitar. On steel string acoustic, he varies depending on the song.

Sorry it took so long to get back to ya.

thats ok, thanks for the help. I'm finally getting my new strings tomorrow whaaay!

I bought my new strings and put them on yesterday, now im faced with the task of tuning. what are different methods i can use to tune, i know a few but when tuning to another instrument how do you know if its on the same note, is it one of those things where you just know? also, i've found various online tuners, how reliable do you think these are?

If I may?
Online tuners are fine.
I use my keyboard for the first note
Or you can get a little pitch pipe.

thanks panzade, i tried the online tuners but i wasn't sure, so i got a friend who plays an electric to check for me. he said there seemed to be something wrong and the first few strings kept going out of tune almost instantly, any idea what causes this? i'm not sure whether it's the new strings or he was doing something wrong, or could it even be my guitar is just old and quite frankly useless? do guitars ever die and if so, can they be revived?