Content Summary : Before you begin to play, one minor detail is that you should have a guitar. This section is for those who do not have a guitar, or who to want to find out if the instrument they have is going to be suitable for them. The first thing to consider is that there are two types of acoustic guitars: Nylon string (classical) guitars and steel string (folk) guitars. In addition to the strings, you should be aware that they have a few other important differences. (Note: you don't have to play only classical music on a classical guitar, or only folk music on a folk guitar). 1. Unfortunately, there is a little pain involved with learning the guitar. The left hand fingers will be pressing down on the strings. This can hurt, at least until the fingers get toughened up (this doesn't really take too long). However, nylon strings don't hurt the fingertips nearly as much as steel strings when you are learning. For this reason, if a student has no guitar when they start, I usually try to steer them toward a classical guitar. 2. Classical guitars have a wider neck than folk guitars. If you have large fingers, this can be a big advantage (it is sometimes hard for people with large fingers to get them between the strings on the narrow steel string neck). If you have small hands, of course, you might be more comfortable on the folk guitar neck. Another consideration is that for the finger-style technique (see "How to Play the Guitar, part 1" for an explanation), the wider neck is an advantage.3. Sound is a very subjective thing. The point here is not to say that one is better, but just to point out that they sound very different. You really need to hear both types to decide which you prefer. Keep in mind that if you ask a guitar player which is better, they are going to be biased toward one or the other. For example, a folk guitarist might describe steel string guitars as sounding "bright" and nylon string guitars as "dull". A nylon string player, on the other hand, would probably describe folk guitars as sounding "tinny", and the classical guitar as having a nice "warm" tone.