The Bend is by far the most used guitar trick in the book. As this picture shows, the trick is to push the string with your fingers while fretting it (bending the string). Usually you bend strings with your ring finger, using your middle and index fingers to help. The string tension increases, changing the sound of the note. If you pick the note and then bend the string, you get the classic wail of the Blues guitar.

Palm Muting is another way to get distinctive sounds out of your guitar. Although it works best on an electric guitar with distortion effects - it can also be used on acoustic guitars. Simply allow the palm of your right hand to touch the strings while you are strumming or picking the strings - this creates a flat sound or thump (depending on your gear). On some acoustic guitars that have excessive bass (the fat E string sounds too loud), you can partially palm mute by only touching the high E string - this will reduce the bass effect when you are strumming chords.

Guitars are normally tuned to E-B-G-D-A-E notes - however you can also use Alternate Tuning. This changes the open notes for one (or more) strings, completely changing the sound and of course the way you play notes. One popular alternate tuning is the Drop D tuning, where the high E string (fattest E string) is tuned down to D instead of E. Some rock and blues songs use alternate tuning - if you are trying to play one of those songs from tab or sheet music, it would be almost impossible to do so without changing the tuning of your guitar.

The Hammer On is another popular trick. When a note is following a previous note by one or more frets, instead of picking the second note - slam your finger down on the next required fret (while holding the previous note). This changes the note to the fret you have hammered on, and gives a forceful tone to the change. The complementary technique to this is the Pull Off, which works in reverse. When you have a note that precedes a previous note by one or more frets, fret the second note while keeping your previous finger down (don't pick the string) - then forcefully "pull" back the previous finger. The trick is to remove the finger rapidly so it doesn't muffle the string vibration - the result is a forceful note change to the next note. In guitar tab, hammer on and pull offs are marked with an arc linking the frets - if its going to a higher numbered fret then its a hammer on, if its going to lower numbered fret its a pull off. A combination of both the hammer on and pull off is called the Trill - where you rapidly hammer on and pull off on the same fret several times (keeping the first finger in place throughout). This creates an undulating sound that combines both the notes.

These are only a few advanced guitar techniques, click if you need a refresher on Beginner Guitar Lessons.

The type of music that you are interested in dictates some of the specifications of your new guitar. If you are into classical music or want to play with your fingers instead of a pick (finger picking), you will probably want an acoustic guitar with nylon strings. Rock, blues, country, and jazz music would probably prefer a steel string acoustic guitar.

All normal acoustic guitars are made of wood. The cheaper acoustic guitars are made of laminate material (plywood) or from multiple pieces of wood glued together. Naturally, these do not sound as good as the higher end guitars, which are made from premium wood and have a solid top, sides and back. There are many parts of an acoustic guitar that may be made from different woods. The top or soundboard (where the sound hole is) is the most important material since it gives the distinctive "sound" to that guitar. The back and sides are also important, natural solid wood will sound better than plywood, since it doesn't muffle the music. The neck and finger board also contribute to the distinctive sound of each guitar. There are several types of wood used to make guitars, with different combinations used for the top, back and sides, neck and fingerboard. Click to view Acoustic Guitar Types for more details on guitar wood used. In between the cheap guitars and the high end acoustic guitars, some manufacturers offer economical options such as solid spruce tops with laminate sides and backs, or laminate tops and sides with solid backs, and so on. Ultimately it comes down choosing what sounds good and is in your price range. One unwritten (and untested) rule with acoustic guitars is: the lighter the acoustic guitar, the better the sound.

The guitar is a beautiful instrument and comes in a high gloss finish, and is very delicate. The neck of the guitar should be straight when you look along the strings, not bowed at all. Check the cosmetics and workmanship of the guitar, make sure there are no visible cracks in the body or scratches that may indicate it was dropped at the store by some half witted customer. You do NOT want to buy a damaged guitar. Check the finish on the guitar, high price acoustic guitars will obviously be flawless, but lower priced units may have ugly spots. The most important piece of workmanship to check is the frets. Run your finger down both sides of the neck, the frets are metal pieces that are glued into grooves along the neck, and their edges should be exactly flush with the edge of the neck - NOT sticking out or coming short. Granted, you get what you pay for, but badly installed frets are not good in any price range.

Sometimes finding cosmetic ugly spots, or minor scratches, can help you haggle a better price for the guitar. In a store, you NEVER pay the "LIST" price - always whine, if you have children wave their pictures at the salesperson while bemoaning the high cost of diapers. On high end acoustic guitars, you can expect a discount upto 30% off the list price (that is, for a $10,000 guitar you would pay $7,000). Lower priced acoustic guitars will give you less of a discount, but never pay full LIST price, nonetheless.

Another factor to consider is the shape of the guitar neck. There are two main types of neck shapes, the V neck and the C neck. The V neck is, obviously, shaped like a V (or rather a sideways < ) and tends to make the neck feel thicker - if you have short fingers (as I do) then avoid the V necks. The C neck has more circular neck shaped like a C which allows smaller hands a more comfortable grip. Comfort is everything, if your hand is not comfortable, you're not going to be happy playing that guitar. Another factor to consider is the width of the fretboard, which affects the spacing between the six strings. Fretboards can vary from 1.5 inches to 2 inches. If you have fat fingers, you will want a wider fretboard, if you have small hands you may find a smaller fretboard more comfortable. The wider fretboards are also preferred for fingerpicking, and likewise the narrower fretboards are preferred for playing with a pick. On most acoustic guitars you can only reach 12 frets, some have a "cutaway" in the body that lets you reach a couple more frets. Note that cutaways change the internal shape of the guitar and you do sacrifice some sound quality. There is no big benefit in reaching those two extra frets.

Finally, when you buy your new acoustic guitar, have the store put new strings on it for you. You don't know how long that particular guitar has been on the shelf at the store, or how many other customers have abused the strings. Always insist on the best quality strings for that guitar, the price difference for strings is miniscule. Acoustic guitar strings come in various grades, such as heavy, medium, light, and extra-light. Heavy strings have the best sound but are difficult to play, most people prefer the medium grade which is a fair balance between comfort and sound quality. The newest light grade strings made from new materials (such those as made by CF Martin), have exceptional sound and have a great feel.

Now that you have your acoustic guitar, click for your Basic Guitar Lessons, or click here if you want information on buying electric guitar.

Auditorium: One of the largest guitar bodies being made today. As the name implies, the sound emitted should fill an auditorium. Keep in mind, larger bodied guitars lose their projection capability, the sound seems to become lost in the larger cavity of the instrument. Yes, it will have a large sound, and tremendous bass response, but seems to lose in projection. Great for fingerstyle.

Orchestra: Little larger than the 00 and 000 models described below, the OM shares many of the same characteristics as the 00 and 000 models. New variations are now available, such as the OM Jumbo which larger than the standard OM but smaller than the Dreadnaught.

The final size, which isn't a steel string design, is the Classical sized guitar. This body size is specifically designed for nylon strings and is almost always fingerpicked. On rare occasion, players will flatpick this style of guitar - such as Willie Nelson and Jose Feliciano has aptly done. And, when guitar is played in an Orchestra setting, the nylon is the guitar of choice.

There's also the question of shallow or deep, all Dreadnoughts, and Classicals, have a deep body, more depth adding to the overall cavity of the instrument - this usually contributes to a deeper resonance and more resounding bass shallow guitars, those with less depth on the body, will have more projection and focus while also having a better balance from bass to treble. Shallow body styles are normally found in the Concert size or OOO/OO sizes.