New Year, New You?

Happy New Year!

The new year has begun and there's always a lot of soul searching, resolution making, and bad habits that are going to be fixed. That usually lasts anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months, then it's back to the same old, same old. Here are a few suggestions to help you get started.

New Strings.
If your strings have not been changed since last New Year's, now's the time. New strings make your guitar sound better and they're not rusty or caked with gook. While you have them off, clean the fingerboard. I use Gibson Fingerboard conditioner which cleans the wood and adds a little moisture.

New Books or Songs.
Are you still practicing the same songs you were playing months ago? Congratulations, you've found your comfort zone! The bad news is, you're not making any progress. Yes, it's fun to play songs you know well, no, you shouldn't forget about them. Think about how excited you were when you first started to play them and how happy you are now that they're polished up and ready for public consumption. Get yourself a new book, or pick out a new song and challenge yourself a little. Maybe a different genre or something that's more technically challenging to get you to the next level.

New Guitar.
Is your old guitar kind of clunky? Does it make you want to sit down and play it or have you gotten to where you really don't like that make or model any more? If you can afford it, treat yourself to a new one. Or if you do like it, try something different. Maybe a classical guitar, a 12 string, an acoustic if you only play electric, you get the idea.

So have a wonderful New Year and dig back into playing and practicing your guitar!

How Often Should I Change Strings and What Kind Do I Get?

How long you go between string changes depends on a few factors.

Do your strings look rusty or black? Change them. Have they been on your guitar for more than a year? Change them. Does your guitar keep going out of tune? Change them. When in doubt, it's best to replace your strings. The nice thing about guitar strings is that they're fairly inexpensive, so there's really not much of an excuse for not changing them.

What kind of strings should you use?

Guitar strings are pretty confusing especially to a beginning guitar student. There are multiple thicknesses, brands, materials, and much more to consider. Again, since they're not very expensive if you find a set you don't like, get rid of them.


There are three basic types of strings, and many variations.

A classical guitar has nylon strings, an acoustic has steel strings, and an electric also has steel strings although they're usually made of different materials. Nylon strings have 3 or sometimes 4 wound strings which have an inner core of nylon or silk wrapped with very thin wire. The unwound strings are nylon and resemble fishing line.

A steel string, acoustic guitar has strings that are usually made of nickel, bronze or phosphor bronze. The bronze strings have a brighter sound than nickel and project a little better.

Electric guitars have strings that are usually nickel, and they're generally thinner (lighter) than acoustic guitar strings.

Those are the bare bones basics of guitar strings. In future blogs I'll go into more detail about ways for a beginning guitar student to choose the right strings.