There are some guitar accessories that you are definitely going to need quite soon, and some optional things that simply make your life a little easier. In this lesson, I want to give you a little bit of advice regarding all these things. It is recommended that you sort these out at some point but you don't need to get them all before you start—all you really need is a guitar and some picks to get going.

There are some things that are pretty much essential that you want to get before you think about starting out on the course, whether you're playing electric or acoustic.

1. Picks

You will need to buy a few picks. To start with you will need a few very thin picks (get as thin as you can find). These thin picks will help you learn to strum well. It is also worth getting a couple of Medium thickness too - these are better for playing notes individually (like when you play scales) and you'll need these later in the course. Buy a few because the sock monster plays the guitar and he'll steal them regularly! These Jim Dunlop Nylon picks are great for beginners. They're very thin (.46mm) and very forgiving for beginners. Buy a few, because the sock monster loves these picks!

Justin Recommends: Jim Dunlop Nylon .46mm

I recommend starting with some Jim Dunlop Nylon .46mm (Amazon link) and getting some slightly thicker picks like these Jim Dunlop Orange Tortex (Amazon link) which will be useful as you progress and need to pick out individual notes. More on picks and how to hold them in Lesson 1!

2. Tuner

It is essential to get your guitar in tune! Eventually, you should learn to tune your guitar without needing a tuner, but when you are starting out, it is better to be accurately in tune - and having your guitar sound nice - than trying to learn how to tune, messing it up, and having your guitar sound horrible. Have mercy on those that will listen to you practising and buy yourself a tuner right away!

Justin Recommends: D'Addario NS Micro Clip-On Tuner

Justin Recommends: D'Addario NS Micro Clip-On Tuner

I love these little clip-ons and have a bunch permanently attached to a few guitars. They're not as accurate as the Polytune, but cost way less and are small and have a great battery life and perfectly fine for a beginner.

Get the D'Addario NS Micro Clip-On (Amazon Link)

Justin Recommends: TC Electronic Polytune Clip

This is the tuner I now use nearly all the time. Clip-ons are super convenient and this one is super accurate (as good as the Peterson I used to use) but lasts longer and is a much better, stronger design. Just a great tuner and you'll often see it clipped on the end of my guitars in my lessons!

Buy the TC Electronic Polytune Clip (Amazon Link)

3. Spare strings

Don't make the mistake of not having spare strings. Order some next time you buy some other stuff, and have at least two spare sets at home. There are a few vids on String Changing if you need to learn to change them.

What gauge strings I hear you ask? Most beginners play 009 gauge for electric and 010 gauge for acoustics. The thicker the strings the more they hurt your fingers, but they sound better. Although "treated" Extra Life strings are a little more expensive, they don't rust and are better for people who don't change their strings very often; they keep sounding better for longer and are less likely to break!

I really rate D'Addario strings and would suggest you start with using their coated strings - they last ages and sound great!

Justin Recommends: (ELECTRIC) D'Addario EXP110 Electric Guitar Strings 10-46

Justin Recommends: (ELECTRIC) D'Addario XT Electric Guitar Strings 09-42 [XTE0942]

These are coated strings, so a little more expensive than regular ones but they last WAY longer. The coating slows down the corrosion so if you're not going to change often these are the best value even if they seem expensive to start. "9 gauage" is best for beginners on electric because they're as thin as you should go and best on soft fingers. I use 10 gauge on most of my guitars, sometimes 11 gauge, but I don't recommend beginners go thicker than 10's - and 9's would be my strong recommendation!

Buy D'Addario XT Electric Strings On Amazon

Justin Recommends: (ACOUSTIC) D'Addario EXP26 Acoustic Guitar Strings 11-52

Justin Recommends: (ACOUSTIC) D'Addario XT Acoustic Guitar Strings 10-47 [XTAPB1047]

Again, these are coated strings, so a little more expensive than regular ones but they last WAY longer. The coating slows down the corrosion so if you're not going to change often these are the best value even if they seem expensive to start. "10's" are great for acoustic beginners but you might be fine with 11's too... just 10's are that bit easier to press down.

Buy D'Addario XT Acoustic Strings On Amazon

Justin Recommends: (CLASSICAL) D'Addario Pro Arte Classical Guitar EJ45 Strings

Justin Recommends: (CLASSICAL) D'Addario Pro Arte Classical Guitar EJ45 Strings

These are solid and reliable nylon strings, with long life and are very popular all-rounder classic string. If you do have a classical guitar, please don't attempt to put steel strings on it as you will most likely damage your guitar and possibly hurt yourself when the bridge pulls off and hits you in the face! Seriously. No metal strings on classical guitars!

Buy D'Addario Pro Arte Classical Guitar EJ45 Strings On Amazon

4. Strap

Getting a strap is a very good idea. It helps keep the guitar stable and trains you up for when you want to go unleash your skills on the world. Don't worry too much about what type to get - just one that you like. If you bought a heavy guitar (like a Gibson Les Paul) you might want to get a padded strap so you don't hurt your shoulder!

Justin Recommends: Any Strap!

5. Strap Locks

If you plan to stand up and use a strap on your guitar, then please buy some strap locks. These can range from plastic discs that cost very little, to big metal catches that you fix to your strap, which cost more. I have seen too many beginners without strap locks and seen guitars drop to the floor. I have actually seen three guitars snap necks because the strap fell off. The cheap ones work, so there is no excuse not to have these. You can also use the red rubber ring that is on the top of bottles of Grolsch Beer (the imported one with the 'pop top'). Put it on the strap pin after you put the strap on. It's not quite as good as a proper strap lock, but has the added bonus of beer!

Justin Recommends: Schaller Strap Locks (Amazon Link) or these cheap rubber washers! (Amazon Link)

6. Metronome

This one is important. You will use your metronome a lot. Any metronome will do, but I recommend getting an electric one, not one of the old 'tick-tock' ones.

These days I use my own Justinguitar Time Trainer Metronome which is an app for iOS and Android. It's cheap as chips and is not only a sample accurate metronome but it's got some awesome training tools to help develop your own 'internal metronome'!! Go check it out, gets great reviews and really will be a big help on your journey.

Justin Recommends: The Justinguitar Time Trainer Metronome

Of course, I'll tell you to use my own branded stuff, but check it out, it's cheap, got amazing reviews and it's super accurate AND has awesome training features you won't find anywhere else!

Available for iOS and Android.

Justin Recommends: Korg TM60BK Tuner Metronome

If you still want to stay with a physical metronome, these are reliable, well made and easy to use and have a great feature set - and you got a tuner there too. Not the cheapest but often with stuff like this you buy cheap, you buy twice!

Buy the Korg TM60BK Tuner Metronome on Amazon

7. Capo

A capo is a really cool device that you place on the guitar neck, and it changes the pitch of the open strings. They are used to change the key of a song and can enable you to play along with songs that are otherwise very hard. If you sing, they are also useful to change the key of a song quickly to help you find the right key for your singing voice. A very useful (though not 100% necessary) accessory.

* CLASSICAL - please note that if you are using a classical (nylon string) guitar you will need a different capo to the ones shown below, it needs to be flat and not curved.

Justin Recommends: D'Addario Tri Action Capo, Black

Justin Recommends: D'Addario Tri-Action Capo, Black

I really like the adjustability of this capo, if you use light strings sometimes the pressure of the Kyser can press the strings out of tune, the spring here means you can adjust the pressure of the capo. Very well made too.

Buy D'Addario Tri-Action Capo On Amazon

Justin Recommends: G7th Performance Capo

I like the Tri-Action capo above but these days I find myself mostly using the G7th Performance Capo, really nice and thin and doesn't get in the way. Really well made and easy on and off.

Buy The G7th Performance Capo On Amazon

8. Music Stand

A music stand can save your back. If you have any posture problems, get a stand now! Many people sit on the bed or the sofa with sheet music next to them and twist around to see it, craning their neck to look at their fingers. This puts you on a sure-fire track to expensive chiropractic bill. Get a stand - they are not expensive and will make your practice time more comfortable.

I use one called a RAT stand, and it looks super awesome, but they are pretty expensive. If you are a pro or have the money and wanna look cool, then these are the bomb!

Justin Recommends: Some kinda wire music stand!

9. Jam Buddy or looper

One of the best things you can have when you are learning is a jam buddy that learns with you, a friend about the same level that you can practice and learn with. It is also a massive advantage when it comes to learning to improvise because one person can play chords while the other learns to take a solo, and then swap. If you don't have this option I recommend getting a small recorder, so you can record yourself playing and then jam along with that. It is also a very good thing to hear yourself back, so a recorder is a great thing to have even if you have a jam buddy.

A great alternative is my Beginner Song Course app (more on that below) which has hundreds of songs to play along with.

Another alternative is to buy a looper pedal, but they're likely to be very hard for a complete beginner to use, you need to be confident with your rhythm and foot tapping first. I've been using the TC Electronic looper called the Ditto (and it's brothers the X2 and X4) which as well as being tiny it's very reasonably priced, sounds great and is dead easy to use and is what I'd recommend for a beginner looking to explore using a looper as a practice tool!

If you're not sure what loopers can do - I have a lesson on how to use a looper.

Justin Recommends: TC Electronic Ditto

This little beaut packs a lot of punch for its small size. Very easy to use too so perfect for beginners to have fun with! Not essential for very beginners but will get more useful later in the course! Loads of fun :)

Buy the TC Electronic Ditto On Amazon

10. The JustinGuitar Beginner Song Course App

Back in 2016 I teamed up with the Musopia crew to make a Beginner Song Course App, which as the name suggests is a guitar course for beginners that is based around songs! The lesson content is not as comprehensive as you'll find here on the site - BUT - it's got hundreds of beginner songs that you can play along with karaoke style with backing tracks which are awesome fun for beginners! So well worth a look at that as a complement to your study on this course :) it's free to try out but then it's a paid subscription (we have to do it that way to pay the royalties due on the song rights!) but I think it's great value and we update it with new songs every month and are always looking to improve it with new features!

Available on Apple iOS and Android, check out the many many glowing reviews, it's amazingly popular!