Remember the Jemsite list for 10 Things I Wish I Knew About Guitars (Before I Bought One)?

A few members came up with their own lists.  Here's one that I found particularly enlightening (and entertaining!) It's by Jemsite member Nickcoumbe.

1. Practicing methodically and regularly may sound dull but you will be able to play better quicker and have more fun.
2. Learning to play with other musicians is as important as learning to play scales etc.
3. Tablature is not always right. If it doesn't sound right when you play it, try to make it better
4. Shop assistants in guitar shops don't always know very much about guitars
5. Guitar shops are like dentists. When you find a good one stick with it and go regularly, even if it costs you money each time.
6. Building a custom is never cheaper. It might be better, but it doesn't fundamentally save you money.
7. Play gigs. Otherwise all you are doing is practicing for the sake of it.
8. Everyone's first gig is probably bad. Make sure you play better at each one.
9. Credit cards are not free money. Save up for it, you will appreciate not being in debt more.
10. They are addictive. I really wish someone had told me that.

As guitarists, as musicians, we’re always looking for ways to better ourselves. And yet we often miss two simple, yet astonishingly effective (not to mention fun), opportunities to learn.

So if you have a sort of cosmic list of “rules to live by,” I would make certain these two items were close to, if not at, the top:

Never Turn Down The Opportunity to Hear Live Music

This may seem like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many people would rather sit at home and practice or sit at their computers instead of going out to see a local band.
Not only does this get you out of the house (always a good thing), but seeing people who have managed to put together an act, whether as a solo singer/songwriter or as a band, can you inspire you to play.

Gary Fletcher shares guitar tips and lessons at his blog Not Playing Guitar.

Here's a post about a technique from Software Engineering that can help you organize your guitar practice to get the most out of the skills you learn. When I'm not playing guitar I work as a software engineer to pay the rent. I was recently reading about the new features of a developer tool I use when I came across the passage below (edited slightly to make it appropriate to this context) that gave me an idea to improve my guitar practice.

What then is the theme of the new version? Rather than trying to find some way to yet again radically increase the power of the tool, we decided to spend a cycle on making what we already have work better with the other stuff in our programming platform. Now actually "works the way you'd expect it to" is not really a theme that gets people excited, but sometimes you've got to stop running forward at full speed and take some time to fix the existing stuff that is annoying a lot of people.

Now playing guitar induces G.A.S. as we all know, but even at the early stages in your guitar career you are not immune to it. If you teach you guitarists the most asked questions are:

• What is the best guitar?
• What is the best amp?
• Which effects are best?
• Are tube amps really better than modellers?
• ......

You can imagine the rest of the questions. The reason for these questions is also easily found, we tend to look for easy answers, don't we? Other people might wonder: What is the best tennis racket, what is the best car, etc.

The cold hard truth however is as always: there is no best, period.

Do not get me wrong however, there is good and bad here. There are guitars out there that are total crap and that will make you play worse and these are not necessarily the cheapest guitars.

Herb Smith is a guitar soloist who's a veteran in the music business.  I personally fell in love with his playing when I heard his luscious rendition of Tango #3 (by Jose Ferrar) over at his Jazzmatrix site.  Spanish classics, jazz masters, contemporary guitar styles, Herb plays it all and lives to write about it.  Check out his Guitar Performance and Instruction blog here.  

"The guitar is the easiest instrument to play poorly." — Andres Segovia

This is my first posting for Jemsite so I feel like I should introduce myself and make a confession of sorts.   I've been a guitar player for nearly 40 years. I started teaching in the '70s. My motto: Want a real guitar teacher? Hire one with gray hair.

I am old enough to have seen the original Pink Floyd "Dark Side of the Moon" tour. I was in the front row.

I am old enough to have seen Andres Segovia perform several times. I once had a seat on stage at the Kennedy Center for one of his concerts. The last time I saw him he was 88 years old and had a six-year old son. Right then and there I said, "that's what I want to do."

A while back I was asked to write up a short, entertaining list for a music blog called 10 Things You Wish You Knew About Guitars (Before You Bought One.)  So what better way to get the real dish on the subject then to ask Jemsite members of course! They were the ones that really knew the answers.  So I went on the Jemsite forum, of course, and started a thread--hoping the community would help me out.

And they responded...in an overwhelming way! I got more answers then I knew what to do with and so, unfortunately I couldn't possibly use them all.  This was supposed to be a list of 10--so I added the 10--and 5 honorable mentions and yet still have more answers then I know what to do with.

Unfortunately due to the blog creator's time constraints, the blog has since closed down.  Fortunately for us, we have the perfect place to include that list--right here on our very own blog! So without further adieu, I present the best answers for the burning regret we've all had on our minds: 10 Things You Wish You Knew About Guitars (Before You Bought One) from our very own vast and highly opinionated Jemsite community!