A capo is basically a little clamp for your guitar. I’ve been using this since I’ve been playing the guitar.
I strongly suggest anyone who is new to the guitar (especially kids) pick up a capo. I love this Kyser kind because it’s super easy to get on and off of the neck of the guitar. I have a bunch (and they come in multiple colors if you prefer something other than gold). Capos are especially awesome for kids because they can help smaller fingers get used to fretting notes and chords.
At some point, you’re gonna need to change your guitar strings.
I’ve been playing with these guitar strings for as long as I’ve been playing the guitar. There is a reason for that. These strings are super easy on the fingers. Do your fingers hurt when you play the guitar? These little babies will ease your finger pain (if only a bit). They have a coating on them that is easy on the fingers, cuts down on the screechy sound, and has a nice mellow tone. Get them. They’re awesome.
Ok… So I’ve gone through at least 10 different brands/styles of tuners. And I always lose them (or leave them in sofa cushions or at gigs, etc). This is by far my favorite.
It is durable, easy to read, easy to use, and bright red (so it’s not easy to lose). I also recommend getting a tuner app for your phone (the app has definitely helped me in a a pinch), but these clip-on snark tuner has been awesome.
Love This Guitar Stand (and I own at least one per guitar).
You know I’m not a fan of guitar cases. I prefer leaving the guitar out in the open where I’ll actually remember to pick it up and play or practice. Rather than leaning it up against a wall, I’d suggest a nice little guitar stand. I have at least one per guitar (or I use a guitar wall mount like this). Either way, keep those guitars out and ready to play.
Awesome and easy to use microphone for recording (macbook not included)
If you’re a singer/songwriter, you may want to pick up something like this Blue Microphones Yeti USB Microphone. It’s an easy way to record your vocals and acoustic (or electric if you’ve got it amped up). It’s not meant for professional quality, it’s really just a nice way to get your music down. It’s a inexpensive and easy to use microphone. You can use it to add better quality to videos (especially if you like recording stuff and uploading it to youtube).
Should work with most current Mac or PC software/computers (check the specs just to be sure).
This is the camera I use. It’s cheap and effective.
If you’re serious about putting some videos of your songs/recordings on Youtube, you probably want to use a webcam (that didn’t come built into your computer). I have this Logitech camera for my videos. It works great and it’s pretty cheap.
I used to use a pretty decent pair of bose headphones for all my recording (Youtube or otherwise). Until the cable/wire wore out and they became useless. I spent a month researching wireless headphones (that were affordable). I finally came up with these. I have not been disappointed. They hold a charge really well (i.e. excellent battery life). The sound quality is great. Easy to pair to multiple devices. Plus they have a microphone built in (that I use when paired with my phone).
If you have any other thoughts or ideas, leave them in the comments below. I’d love to know what you think (or if I missed anything).
Happy Holidays and all that stuff!
(Full Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, which means that I earn a commission if you purchase through my site. But don’t worry – these products are awesome, I love them… if I didn’t I wouldn’t recommend them. I recommend them because they’re great… not because of the small commission that I make from them. If you have other recommendations, just shoot me an e-mail and let me know!)
My last post about how much guitar lessons costhas proven to be pretty popular… So I thought I should do a follow-up with a little more detail (for all of you informed consumers).
Last time we gave an overview based on certain criteria (e.g. lesson length, in-studio vs in-home). This time we’ll try to break it down by, “what you get for the money”…
