6 Must-have Accessories Every Budding Guitarist Should Own

If you’ve been eternally fascinated with this stringed instrument, we don’t blame you. If you’ve finally taken up guitar lessons to join the large brigade of guitarists, we still don’t blame you. It is a beautiful art. And, every art has its tools that will aid you in becoming a master guitar player.

As a beginner, you should take a look at these six tools and accessories that you just cannot do without:

1. Guitar tuner

The thing about any stringed instrument is that it needs to be perfectly tuned in order to produce that heavenly music. And, one of the first skills that one needs to master when learning to play the guitar is tuning it. In the past, this was not as easy as put in theory.

However, now, thanks to the evolving technological innovation, guitar-tuning has become amazingly easy. All you need is a tuner to set the strings right. And of course, the ear to identify if it’s out-of-tune or sorted. No more resorting to the pro-guitarists or YouTube for lessons, and most definitely, no more people running away from your music.

2. Plectrum

A lot of plectrums, actually. The plectrum, though small in size and seemingly insignificant, goes a long way in determining your style and quality of playing. Speaking of which, the thickness of the plectrum is of extreme importance too and has a great effect on the kind of sound a strum will make. Similarly, different thicknesses work for different styles and paces of picking.

So yes, you’ll have to go through a lot of trial and error and interrogations before you find the right ones. Don’t think twice about collecting as many plectrums as you can. Trust us; they’ll never sit there gathering dust. Also, while you’re at it, get a good plectrum holder too. It will help you keep all your plectrums safe and in one place.

3. Guitar stand

No, encasing the guitar in a nice and cushy guitar case isn’t the end of the story. You need a guitar stand – a good sturdy one at that. It’s an investment you’ll never regret making.

It’ll keep your guitar safe, prevent it from falling, make sure it remains in the position it’s supposed to and save the guitar from constantly being transported from one random point to another. Plus, it also makes your guitar look cool when it’s propped up on a sleek stand.

4. Spare guitar strings

No matter what level of guitar-playing you are at, if you play it enough, the strings will come off eventually and will definitely need replacement. Should this ever happen to you, you shouldn’t be forced to abandon the session entirely and not use the instrument again. There is nothing more disappointing and depressing as a session left halfway through.

5. Guitar tabs

This is an absolute must-have for newbie guitarists. You’re not at that stage where you can simply predict or imagine the chords for the songs you might want to learn to play. Get yourself a good set of guitar tab books. If you have a smartphone (which we hope you do), you’ll find a lot of apps that act like handy little tab books.

Moreover, reading tabs means you don’t have to read notes, which makes everything so much easier and cooler. And from there, it’s only a matter of time before you become a pro at identifying tabs and playing them without any assistance.

6. Capo

Not many find the capo to be an essential accessory for guitar-playing. However, it’s one of those things that can make your playing-technique simplified. And we believe that anything that can simplify life is an essential.

The capo helps you create different chords without much effort. For those who are followers of Guitar God Jimi Hendrix or just have learned to play a song like Wonderwall, the capo is a blessing from heaven.

You may need a pedal, amplifiers, sliders, E-bow, cables and adapters, and other tools. Basically, in addition to the ones mentioned above, anything that makes the learning process easier and smoother should be with you whenever you’re playing.

Laura Philip, the author of this post, works for Musicians Universe, online retailers of audio & sound amplifiers. You can connect with her team on Facebook and Twitter. Laura is the lead singer in a local Blondie tribute band.