While there are many types of acoustic guitars available, they mostly break into two groups. Nylon String acoustic guitars are mostly used for classical music, and Steel String acoustic guitars are popular for rock, blues, jazz and other types of music. Click for information on how to Buy Acoustic Guitar, or for Electric Guitar Types. The sound made by nylon string acostic guitars is softer, and nylon strings are easier on fingers - which makes them the ideal choice for fingerpicking styles of music (such as classical). Steel string acoustic guitars have a more forceful sound, and while steel strings can also be fingerpicked, they are more painful to use for this fingerstyle playing. One thing to note is you should NEVER put steel strings on a guitar built for nylon strings - steel strings have much higher tension and it will cause the neck of the guitar (which was designed for nylon strings with less tension) to bow.

Acoustic guitars are almost always made of wood, and the choice of wood used in making the guitar give it a distinctive tone. Cheaper acostic guitars are made from cheap plywood (or laminate), while expensive acoustic guitars are made from premium solid wood. Economical hybrids have some parts made of solid wood, and some from cheaper laminates. The different parts of an acoustic guitar that contribute to its sound are the back, sides, top, neck and fingerboard. Most musicians agree that the top wood of an acoustic guitar (the part with the soundhole cut in it) is by far the most important factor in the sound of the acoustic guitar. Spruce is a very popular top, but since white spruce trees are now hard to find in the US, Sitka Spruce is often used. Many cheaper guitars also use Spruce for the top while saving costs by using laminates for the rest of the construction.

The back and sides also play an important role in the sound of an acoustic guitar. Click for information on Acoustic guitar (some call it a GAT) Parts. Expensive acoustic guitars have premium solid wood for the back and sides, while cheaper guitars may have all or some laminate parts. The shape and size of the guitar body also is an important factor in its sound, and as the back and sides essentially define the body of the acoustic guitar - the combination of size, shape and wood used makes a dramatic impact on the quality of sound. The neck provides tension to the strings, and while a steel bar inside the neck takes most of the stress, the wood used for the neck also affects the sound of the guitar. The fretboard that runs under the strings (and has the frets embedded in it) also contributes to the sound that guitar can make. All acoustic guitars have to be "broken in", the wood has to be seasoned with age to produce its best sound. The guitar top is what provides the resonance, and it tends to take on the characteristics of the music style that is played on that guitar. If your music style is with heavy bass, that guitar will tend to develop a good bass "boom" over time. If you tend to play more treble such as blues notes, that guitar will develop a well defined trebly "twang" as it ages. Note that an acoustic guitar can take 5 to 10 years to break in. When you buy a new acoustic guitar, always choose one that sounds good - as it ages, it will sound even better. On the other hand, a lousy sounding acoustic guitar will only sound less bad over time. One trick that guitarists use, is to lean the new acoustic guitar against a stereo (or boom box) that is continously playing the style of music they intend to play with that guitar. The theory goes that the vibrations from the speakers will "break in" the guitar faster. Wether this is true or not is not known, but it is a popular urban legend among guitarists.

Acoustic guitars come in different sizes and scales. The Dreadnaught is the largest and loudest acoustic guitar size (also called the "D" size). The full size acoustic guitar is the normal size. Some manufacturers have an Orchestra Model (OM) size which is a little smaller than full size, other guitar (this instrument is used in every form of music, from Classical to Heavy Metal) makers use the term Concert Size. The 00 and 000 sizes are smaller and less thicker, which is good for smaller sized guitarists. The Travelling size acoustic guitar is very compact and is meant for portability, although the sound quality leaves a lot to be desired. For small children around 5 years of age there is the 1/2 (half) scale guitar, which is smaller and shorter which makes it suitable for kids. The 3/4 (three quarter) scale guitar is for larger and older kids, which is a little smaller than a 000 size guitar so they can hold it comfortably.

There are variations in the length of the neck scale as well, with shorter scale acoustic guitars having the frets closer together. The guitar neck comes in two types; the "C" neck (rounded back shaped like a C), and the "V" neck (sharper back shaped like <). The neck shape does not affect the sound of the guitar, it is a matter of choice and comfort based on the size of your hands. The width of the fingerboard affects the spacing between the six strings, and should also be considered for comfort based on your hand size and finger length. Fingerboards can vary from 1.5 inches to 2 inches, the wider fingerboards make it easier for fingerstyle playing - as the strings are further apart, making it easier to get your fingers under the string for plucking. Narrower fingerboards are easier to play with a pick, as there is less effort required to strum the strings which are closer together.

Most acoustic guitars have only 12 or 14 playable frets. The shape of the body prevents easy access to the rest of the neck. To get around this limitation, some accustic guitars have a "Cutaway" where the neck meets the lower body. This allows easier access to the higher frets, but it does affect the amound and quality of sound as the shape of the guitar has changed internally. Since the cutaway allows access to more frets, some of these acoustic cutaway guitars have more frets as well. This affects the playability of the guitar, since its frets are closer together to accomodate the extra frets. Some newer acoustic and acoustic-electric guitars (such as Ovation guitars) have plastic backs with odd bulges. This is supposed to increase the volume and retain the sound quality, but its a matter of opinion and choice. Acoustic-electric guitars have a built in "pickup" microphone, so you can either play it acoustically or plug it into an amplifier (amp) for more volume. There are also add-on acoustic pickups that can be easily added to any acoustic guitar, some are mounted inside the body while others clip onto the soundhole without any installation.

The guitar is a versatile musical instrument that allows musical creativity to be expressed very well. Picking notes and strumming chords is great for learning, but it starts to sound mechanical. Here are a few advanced guitar techniques and tricks to make your music more vibrant. As you learn, you will notice that your favorite guitarist uses these very same techniques! Click to view the Basic Guitar Lessons if needed.

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.

Guitar tab notation is shown here, bends are indicated with an upward arrow (and may also state how much to bend FULL, 1/2 etc). Pushing the string up a little (half bend) will change the sound by one fret (half step), pushing it more (full bend) will raise the pitch by two frets (one step), and once your fingers are stronger - pushing the string all the way will raise the pitch by three frets (one and one-half step). Be warned however, bending strings can be PAINFUL at first, so practice lightly till your fingertips get de-sensitized.

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.

A very common technique to break up a monotonous stretch of music is the Vibrato. At any point where a note is held (usually for more than one beat, though it works on single beats as well) - instead of leaving your finger on the fret to hold the note, rapidly wiggle the finger (up and down, or side to side). This adds a wavering quality to the note and gives it some feeling. There are many ways to add vibrato, in fact it gives many guitarists their "trademark" sound. BB King for example, does what is called the "Butterfly vibrato" where he extends the other (unused) fingers and wiggles his entire wrist.

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.