First Guitar Lesson - Taking Care of Your Instrument

By: Sanjay Johari

Taking care of your instrument is not only the first guitar
lesson - it should become a regular habit for beginners and
experts alike. Apart from ensuring longer life and consistent
sound quality, by this practice you also grow a sense of respect
for your guitar, an affinity and a bond with the instrument. You
come to "know" your guitar better. On the other hand if you tend
to neglect your guitar eventually its quality of sound will
suffer. The sound quality is as important as the skill of the
player.

You may like to consider using a hard shell case for
transporting your guitar. The hard case holds the guitar
cushioned securely in place so that the instrument does not get
bumps and jerks in handling. This not only protects the body of
the guitar, it also keeps the guitar tuned for a longer time.

Many people use soft or cloth "gig bag" which can be zipped up.
Although such bags protect the instrument from dust, they do not
provide mechanical strength to protect the guitar from possible
physical damage. These bags do not even protect the tuning nuts
which turn during handling and the guitar gets out of tune. To
avoid such problems hard shell case of proper size should be
used. The hard cases are designed to take the impact while
holding the guitar safely, protecting body and neck of the
guitar and keeping it in tune.

Another important accessory is a guitar stand. When you are not
playing the guitar you should keep it on a guitar stand. It is
not a good practice to lean the guitar against the wall. This
can warp the neck of the guitar in due course. The warping will
increase the distance between the strings and the fingerboard.
This will in turn not only affect the quality of sound, you will
need to apply more force to play the instrument. Your level of
performance will be affected. To avoid such problems the guitar
should be placed on a stand or a level surface. It is good idea
to cover the guitar when not using it. You can keep the guitar
in its hard shell case when not playing it.

The strings exert considerable force on the guitar. There is
enough strength designed in the guitar to withstand this force
without deforming. However, if strings are tightened too much,
it will give additional strain on the guitar. To prevent
over-tightening and also for ease of tuning you can have a
tuning device for your guitar. With the help of this device you
will be able to tune the guitar quickly and accurately.

If you are very serious about protecting your guitar, you should
actually tune down your guitar (loosen the strings) when you are
not playing it. You can again tune-in when you decide to play
next time. I know it will be a botheration to tune the guitar so
many times, but it will provide greater protection.

There are some common sense practices. You need to keep your
guitar clean. While you clean your instrument, you can also
develop a habit of inspecting the body of your guitar and take
action quickly. For example, if any of the strings start rusting
they should be replaced.

The movement of the tuning nuts should be smooth. At the
earliest signs of any jerky movements, the nuts should be set
right by proper maintenance.

Care and maintenance of your instrument is an important guitar
lesson which should be religiously followed. The better you take
care of your guitar, the better output you can expect.

About the author:
Sanjay Johari regularly contributes articles to various ezines.
To see more information on music and guitar lesson please go to
this page :

http://www.sanjay-j.com/guitar-lesson