The guitar is one of the most popular instruments in contemporary music. Excluding electronic music and classical music (though not completely) the guitar is present in nearly all modern musical forms. Part of the popularity of the guitar is that it is relatively simple to play and with a little effort you can be producing recognisable music with your guitar within a few weeks.

Of course there are countless hours of practice needed to become a virtuosso guitarist, but for most people the dizzy heights of jazz improvisation or high speed shredding are not really what it is about. The ability to knock out a three chord pattern that you and your mates can sing along to is the guitars greatest strength. Combine this with the portability of the acoustic guitar and you have the perfect instrument for taking to festivals, holidays or just round to your mates flat.

The electric guitar offers easier playability than the acoustic guitar but does require some kind of amplification which makes it less portable. However it lends itself much more readily to playing live gigs or playing along with a band where any kind of guitar is going to need amplification to match the volume of a drum kit etc.

The other great thing about electric guitars is the plethora of different electronic effects you can apply to the sound of the guitar. The most popular is undoubtedly distortion or overdrive. Some people might not even regard that as an effect it is so ingrained into the conception of the electric guitar sound. Other very popular electric guitar effects include the wah wah - the signature sound of Jimi Hendrix, tremelo - Beach Boys et al, Pitch Shifter - Rage Against the Machine... to name but a few.

To conclude, playing the guitar is definitely an excellent life choice and is well worth the minimal investment in a suitable beginners guitar. If you take to it fully then you will probably aspire to owning something a bit more special but that is all part of the pleasure.

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