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Year one - purchased a cheap electric guitar and amplifier pack. Used this to discover that I loved the electric guitar.

Year four - Splashed out on a middle range Jackson guitar - about 350 - well known, respectable brand although not the top name - High quality guitar with good pickups etc.

So you can see from the above I certainly didn't rush into my purchases. I am now considering what to buy next though!

If you are totally new to the guitar or you haven't played much before then it would be crazy to go out and buy a high specification guitar as you could be wasting your money. If you decide a month down the line that guitar is not for you, you have wasted a fortune that was not neccesary.

This is my guitar history

If you want to play the guitar then you have made a good choice of hobby. Great stuff - a very well informed choice. The common misconception however is that most people do not realise that, whilst the guitar looks quite easy to play, it is in fact quite difficult to master and takes a lot of time, effort and dedication.

Year six - Bought a top end Ibanez guitar - 1200 approx. - Well made, plays lovely and still the guitar I use today.

If after a few months you still have the motivation and inspiration to continue with your learning then you may like to consider trading in your old guitar for something a little nicer.

Year two - purchased a second hand guitar off of a friend - slightly better specifications but still very cheap - (this was in fact them buying a reasonable guitar to start with to then find they didn't enjoy it)

For a first guitar I would recommend that you do not go for a well-known brand. I would also suggest that you also do not go for the cheapest - You can pick up a decent starter kit now for under 80 and, whilst this most likely will not be an instrument you will be taking to your sell out gig at Wembley stadium in a few years time, it should do the job of allowing you to learn the basics of the guitar and establish if learning the guitar is for you.

At the other end of the scale if you go for a really cheap guitar you could actually be put off of learning the guitar full stop. How could this be? Well, cheap guitars generally use a lot more cheap, lower grade materials and components. While you can get very well built cheaper models some tend to create issues pretty quickly. Problems can start to occur such as the guitar constantly going out of tune, the intonation being out, generally not playing nicely or fret buzz. The list goes on. All of these things can be very off putting for a guitarist and can cause abandonment of the hobby.

There are many factors that make a cheap guitar cheap and an expensive guitar expensive. As with any products there are brand names involved. Top brands such as Gibson, Ibanez and Fender will command a lot more money for a guitar with a similar quality of materials used than a guitar by a lesser known brand. It's the way the world works in almost all markets - brand names cost more. I personally use branded guitars as at least with a brand name you do buy a degree of trust. You know that the price paid does reflect the quality of the product although it is a little more expensive.

What does the above have to do with buying a guitar? Well if you are intending to start guitar then you will need a guitar to begin with. There are many options out there to consider when buying a guitar. Make a visit to your local guitar store you will see prices that range from 45 right up to 5000 and beyond. If you are a guitar newbie then what do you buy? What are the differences between the cheap guitars and the more expensive guitars?

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3. You can make up your own techniqal exercises on your guitar on the go.

Nowadays I have developed this skill and I love to improvise in the style of composers like Sor, Tarrega, Paganini or others or just trying to find myself somewhere among the notes. These special moments are a form of meditation. They clear my mind and also helps me as a composer to stimulate my creative abilities.

I will just mention using classical guitar pieces in this article. But how do you begin?

When I was a fifteen years old guitarist playing rock solos and classical guitar pieces I remember that I had a desire to be able to improvise on my guitar in a classical manner.

The ultimate exercise is to use advanced classical guitar solos.

Guitar Lesson: How To Improvise The Classical Guitar Way

If you think about it you will realize that classical guitar pieces are filled with wonderful licks, more or less complicated.

2. You will find it easier to compose your own guitar pieces in a classical guitar style.

Now you can play around with the passage, break it down, change it, analyze it and so on. If you want to improve as an improvisational guitarist and musician you can regard classical guitar pieces as collections of very musical licks just waiting to be used.

1. It will be easier for you to memorize classical guitar sheet music.

The most important reason for learning classical guitar improvisation is that it's fun!

For example, take a two bar passage in a classical guitar piece that you like and practice it until you master it and then memorize it.

You can start with major scales, experimenting with easy chords, or easy classical guitar pieces. The most basic requisite is that you want to learn this art and with this desire you will find ways to practice classical guitar improvisation in all your guitar playing.

May I suggest that you begin with an easy melody with just one voice or maybe a two voice piece with bass notes on open strings. Learn a couple of bars by heart and play the melody over and over again and try to change the melody slightly without losing the classical touch.

There are many ways to develop classical guitar improvisation. How?

If you learn classical guitar improvisation it will benefit you in many other ways too:

I hope these hints will motivate you to reap the benefits from improvising the classical guitar way.

4. You will understand your guitar better.