Now that you have a general understanding of the anatomy of the guitar, we want to talk about some of the differences between Electric Guitars and Acoustic Guitars. The guitar, that we have been using so far in the videos, is an acoustic guitar. Specifically, it’s Steel String Acoustic Guitar. The first thing that you’ll notice, if you pick it up and handle it, is how thick the body of the instrument is. And, that is essential to make the sound. When you strike the strings [Strums once], you’re actually allowing the bridge to vibrate the whole top of the instrument. This moves the air around inside, which ultimately comes out of the sound hole as sound. So, that’s how the acoustic guitar works. If you're considering getting an acoustic guitar, then there are two important things to think about. The first is the width of the body, it is going to make it a little bit awkward to get your arm around at first. It’s something you’ll definitely get used to, but in the beginning, you’re kind of might feel like this is difficult to get used to. But, it’ll happen. The second thing is the strings. Steel Strings for acoustic guitar are typically the stiffest and hardest strings. They tend to be, at times, a bit painful on the fingertips, at first. This is also something that you’ll get used to, when you build some calluses on your fingertips. But, it’s something to consider before making a purchase. However, the most important thing is definitely the sound. If you love acoustic guitar music, like Bob Dylan, Ben Harper, Dave Matthews, etc, then, this is the kind of guitar that you want. You can get a great variety of sound. Typically, you use a pick to pluck the strings. We’ll go into more on the pick later, but you can use your fingers as well and get prettier textures by plucking the strings [Plays finger style riff]. There is a lot of diversity that you can get out of this instrument, and that’s the steel string acoustic guitar.

Playing an acoustic guitar is really hard on my fingers. Any suggestions? Acoustic guitars need thicker strings to make enough sound to be heard. That said, to make it easier to play them, start with strings labeled "extra light gauge". These are also know by their thickness in millimeters of their first string, so you may find them called .009 or .010mm. Many stores only carry medium type gauge, so you may have to call around to find these strings. Another step you can take to make an acoustic guitar easier to play is taking it to a repair person and see if they can lower the guitar's action. Lowering a guitar's action is when you make the strings on the guitar closer to the frets, this way you won’t have to press them so hard. Do acoustic guitars come in different sizes? Yes, acoustic guitars are made in many sizes. The names of "adult size” guitars are OO, OOO, OM, Auditorium size, Parlor and Dreadnought (most common and popular). These types of guitars tend to be more expensive, but if you find them to be uncomfortable then smaller guitar are available. Smaller guitars are also known as “fractional guitars”, as they are labeled by size compared to a full sized guitar (IE: ¾, 5/8, ½, etc). Is the red line I get from where my arm lays against the edge of the body normal? Yes. If you play enough, you will form some temporary lines on both your  right hand arm and left hand fingertips. This is totally normal. The lines on your arm will go away and you will eventually develop small and visually unnoticeable calluses on your fingertips. While these lines may be a little annoying, they are nothing to worry about.