Playing a musical instrument can be one of the most exciting things for anyone. It is not only satisfying but also lucrative as a career. Although each instrument has its own charm and significance, guitar seems to be one of the most well loved choices of all time. For any guitar lover, it must be a treat to watch a person playing guitar and its tune and rhythm is simply overwhelming.

But, it takes a long time for a guitarist to master the art of playing guitar so well. If you question any guitarist about their preference on the sound of guitars, their unequivocal answer would be electric guitar. Over the years, the popularity of electric guitars has gone up and so has their sale. Even though you have been playing acoustic guitar for some time now, you will need proper guidance while buying an electric guitar.

Take a look at the following points before you hit an electric guitar store:

Budget:

The prices of electric guitars would start from $300 and upward. If you have a shoe-string budget, chances are that you won`t find high-end guitars such as Guild Benedetto Signature Model or Paul Reed Smith Santana II. But, the excellent news is, due to the computer aided woodworking equipments, even low-end electric guitars sound nearly as well as their high-end counterparts.

Types of Electric Guitar:

Electric Guitars can be found in different depending on their body. Most electric guitars are made up of solid wood such as Alder, Ash, Mahogany and Basswood. Semi-hollow instruments such as Gibson`s ES-335 are well loved because of their thinness and lightweight. On the other hands, there are electric guitars such as Gretsch Black Falcon which a right hollow-body and f-holes allowing the user to tune the guitar to resonate sounds as well as the acoustic guitars do.

Types of Music:

Whether you would want to buy a Gibson ES-5 or Fender Telecaster depends purely on what music you play most of the time. For instance, if you belong to a country band, you should choose an electric guitar that produces cleaner and brighter twang. Hence, you can pick a Stratocaster or Fender Telecaster to do justice to your county band. On the other hand, go for the Paul Reed Smith McCarty Hollowbody II if you are playing music in a jazz setting.

Number of Pick-ups:

Usually, modern electric guitars can be found in two different pick-ups such as single coils and humbuckers. While single coils will sound brighter with a pronounced attack, humbuckers will produce a warmer and darker tone. Some electric guitars can also have mix pick-ups. Guitars having more pick-ups will produce more tonal variations.

Electronics:

All standard electric guitars have a basic set of pick-up selector switch, volume and tone controls. Instruments such as the Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster have an added feature which allows the player to adjust the warmer and flatter sound of the humbucker. There are also hybrid electric guitars such as synth guitar which are fitted with additional hardware for connecting them to a synth via a 13-pin RMC system. Electric guitar manufacturers are now putting more emphasis on guitars playability than their aesthetics.

Appearance:

The looks of electric guitars would vary greatly and it really depends on you preference. Guitarists who are into death metal would hardly like a Fender Telecaster with a shell pink end. Hence, now-a-days, electric guitar manufacturing companies produce guitars that are genre-specific.

Frets:

Many buyers do not care much about the frets; but, they are curial to the playability of electric guitars. For instance, electric guitars with smooth and playable neck will allow you to do hammer-on and pull-offs, bend notes, and deliver clean articulations at any positions of the neck. If the frets are tailored perfectly, the electric guitars will offer a superlative performance.

When we wonder what guitar tab we need to get to start to make up our repertoire, we usually reckon only about songs we like. We know that our choice in music does not suck in the slightest but if we are going to be playing our guitar and singing for audiences we need to get used to the thought that our taste in music will not match what our listeners want to hear. We may even take a look at well loved choices in songs and get the uncomfortable feeling that we might have to play songs that we do not like. One thing guitar players are well-known for is standing on their principles and not compromising on what they are going to play. The other thing they are well-known for is giving the audience what they want. So a mixture of these two attitudes is probably going to form in your psyche as you peruse your list of guitar tabs on the internet. While we are on the subject of lists of guitar tabs remember to pay a visit to your local music store or online merchant for ready-made collections of simple guitar tabs. You can find titles like “Well loved Songs for Acoustic Guitar” or “CMT\’s 100 Greatest Songs of Country Music”.

One fact that has emerged from field tests conducted by buskers, night club performers and covers bands is that you should look for your repertoire in the songs of years gone by. Oldies are goodies. Another thing you should reckon about is whether or not you are an audience participation kind of performer. If you are still wondering about it one second after the thought enters your head, then you probably aren\’t. So stay away from songs that require you to yell, “Everybody now!!” or “Just the girls this time!”. Likewise if you play solo acoustic guitar and have a voice like Johnny Cash you might want to stay away from Led Zeppelin\’s “Whole Lotta Like”. But do not walk away from songs you delight in just because they might not seem immediately doable.Remember Jose Feliciano\’s “Light My Fire” and Eric Clapton\’s unplugged “Layla”.

Of course what songs you choose is not going to matter much if you do not pay attention to how you sing and play the guitar. People pay to see performers who are better at something than they are. Which is where playing material that you like comes in. If you are playing a song that you consider to be a crowd pleaser but you personally reckon is a load of stomach chunks you give attention to the part the audience likes. You already know what that is. That is why you do not bellow, “Hello darkness my ancient friend” or shirk on the enthusiasm when you sing the line, “Welcome to the Hotel California”.

Okay so what we get out of all this is first, there are songs that crowds of people like and second, you can sing and play these songs in a way that highlights your particular talents. Now for a basic list of songs that have been known to please a crowd or two over a period of years:

Wild World by Cat Stevens

Imagine – by John Lennon

Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin

Catch the Wind by Donovan

Can\’t Help Falling In Like by Elvis Presley

Waterloo Sunset by The Kinks

Angie by the Rolling Stones

Everybody Hurts by REM

50 ways to leave your lover by Paul Simon

The 59th Street Bridge Song by Simon And Garfunkel

American Pie by Don Maclean

Both Sides Now by Joni Mitchell

California Dreamin\’ by The Mamas and Papas

Knockin\’ on Heaven\’s Door by Bob Dylan

Mrs Robinson by Simon And Garfunkel

You\’re so vain by Carly Simon

Blowin\’ In The Wind by Bob Dylan

Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison

I Walk The Line by Johnny Cash

Tears In Heaven by Eric Clapton

Gloria by Van Morrison (or Them)

Hotel California by The Eagles

Behind Blue Eyes by The Who

White Room by Cream

Sex And Candy by Marcy Playground

Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers

What Its Like by Everlast

Alison by Elvis Costello

Life By The Drop by Stevie Ray Vaughn

Melissa by Allman Brothers

Dead Flowers by The Rolling Stones

Seagull by Terrible Company

Mediterranean Sundance by Al DiMeola and Paco De Lucia

Classical Gas by Mason Williams

This list could be much, much longer, but you probably already see songs here that you would never play in a million years so all I can say now is I hope this guide to essential guitar tab has been helpful.