The right guitar to learn on
What guitar is the right guitar for me? Great question and if you have never played the guitar before the information you get can vary depending upon the person you ask. When beginners ask me which guitar is the right guitar to use, I generally reply, 'the easiest guitar to play'. Nylon strings are very light but sometimes the neck on nylon string guitars can be very wide. Steel-string guitars have smaller necks but the steel strings can feel harder and tough against the fingers to start with.
For a younger beginner (or even an adult) the three quarter size nylon string guitar can be perfect. It has a neck size that is similar to an adult electric guitar and the strings are very light on the fingers. These guitars are also great for throwing into the back of the car for holidays as they are smaller.
If you do go for a steel-string guitar then perhaps you could put some 'lighter' strings onto the guitar (or have a music shop do it). Professional guitarists often use '.12' gauge strings on their guitars. The '.12' indicates the thickness of the string. You can decrease the string thickness to lighten the feel and make it a lot easier to play. '.11' or '.10' gauge strings can be a much better thickness to start with. Electric guitars often have '.10' gauge strings so a good idea is to go into a guitar shop and play a few guitars to see which guitar feels right for you and your fingers.
Photo: Alex Anderson playing the guitar during The Rock Academy school holiday programme in Kilbirnie, Wellington.
Live Q&A: Garden maintenance with Crewcut
This Wednesday, we are having another Neighbourly Q&A session. This time with John Bracewell from Crewcut.
John Bracewell, former Black Caps coach turned Franchisee Development Manager and currently the face of Crewcut’s #Movember campaign, knows a thing or two about keeping the grass looking sharp—whether it’s on a cricket pitch or in your backyard!
As a seasoned Crewcut franchisee, John is excited to answer your lawn and gardening questions. After years of perfecting the greens on the field, he's ready to share tips on how to knock your garden out of the park. Let's just say he’s as passionate about lush lawns as he is about a good game of cricket!
John is happy to answer questions about lawn mowing, tree/hedge trimming, tidying your garden, ride on mowing, you name it! He'll be online on Wednesday, 27th of November to answer them all.
Share your question below now ⬇️
Calling All Puzzle Masters! Can You Solve This?
When John was six years old he hammered a nail into his favorite tree to mark his height.
Ten years later at age sixteen, John returned to see how much higher the nail was.
If the tree grew by five centimetres each year, how much higher would the nail be?
Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.
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Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.
What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?
Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.