Changing guitar strings doesn’t have to be difficult or time consuming.

There are 3 important things you should understand before you change your strings.

Each step can be completed in about a minute, if you know what you’re doing…

1. Removing Old, Tired Strings
2. Choosing and Installing New Strings
3. Tuning and Stretching Your Strings

Step One: Removing Old, Tired Guitar Strings

Loosen each tuning peg until you can remove the string from it. Simply use your fingers to turn each tuning peg (in the proper direction of course) …or you can get one of these string winding tools to speed up the process.

Once you’ve ‘unwound’ all of your guitar strings, its time to remove them at the other end (the bridge of your guitar).

On an electric guitar, you simply slide each string out from the bridge of your guitar.

But you’ll need some tools if you want to learn how to change acoustic guitar strings.

You’ll have to remove the bridge pins from your acoustic before you can completely remove your strings.

If you bought that string winding tool; you’re in luck, because it doubles as a bridge pin puller!

If you can’t afford it or something, that’s fine! A set of pliers (standard pliers or needle-nose) will do the trick.

Use whatever tool you’ve got to pull the bridge pins straight out from the bridge of your guitar.

You shouldn’t have to pull with very much force.

Once the bridge pins are out, you can remove your strings completely. Don’t lose the pins! You’re going to need them in a minute or two.

Step Two: Choosing and Installing New Strings

When buying guitar strings, there are a few things that you need to think about.

Different body styles require different types of strings.

If you’re playing on a classical guitar- you’ll be looking for nylon strings.

Most acoustic guitars use strings made of phosphor bronze,

…and electric guitars tend to sound best with nickel plated strings.

Another important aspect of guitar strings is their thickness. If you’d like to hear a deeper tone from your guitar, you’ll want to look for a set of strings with a thicker ‘gauge’.

Gauge simply refers to the thickness of the strings (…a larger gauge means a thicker string.)

Thinner strings will be easier to bend and (arguably) easier to play on; however, they will also be easier to break than thicker strings.

I prefer light or medium gauge strings because they provide a balance of solid, deep tones and reasonable ‘play-ability’.

Installing Your New Strings

Step Three: Tuning and Stretching Your Strings

See: Guitar Tuning Guide.

The Ultimate Guitar Tabs Resource will help you to learn songs in less time.

I’m going to share the resources that I use to learn songs in minutes.

If you’ve been using Ultimate-Guitar.com, you’re not alone- but you are missing out… BIG time.

You need to check out Songsterr.com…

That is my ‘Go-To’ place for finding the best guitar tabs online.

You can search for songs (they’ve got over 70,000!)

…but what I really like about their site is that they suggest songs based on your level of experience.

All of their tabs are grouped by skill level:
-Beginner,
-Intermediate,
-or Advanced

Or by style:
-Rock,
-Metal,
-Blues,
-Jazz,
-and many others.

When you visit their site, you’ll read about the “Songsterr Plus” option (which I decided was totally worth getting!).

Songsterr Plus allows you to adjust the play back speed so that you can follow along at half-speed to learn those tricky parts.

You also can put all or part of the tab on a loop in order to practice certain sections of a song.

Plus, you get to print the tabs for your own hard copy.

Find a tab with Songsterr, and post the title and artist in the comments section below!

I look forward to talking about the song you’re learning!

Talk soon,
Andrew

You can play 38 Guitar Songs
with Four Basic Chords.

An Australian comedy group performed 38 songs with four simple chords at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in 2009.

Over 20 million people have seen this video! Have you? You can watch the video here… (and I’ll show you how to play along!)

Guitar Chords

D Major

A Major

B Minor

G Major

Songs

1. Journey – Don’t Stop Believing

2. James Blunt – You’re Beautiful

3. Alphaville – Forever Young

4. Jason Mraz – I’m Yours

5. Mika – Happy Ending

6. Alex Lloyd – Amazing

7. The Calling – Wherever You WIll Go

8. Elton John – Can You Feel The Love Tonight

9. Maroon 5 – She Will Be Loved

10. The Last Goodnight – Pictures Of You

11. U2 – With Or Without You

12. Crowded House – Fall At Your Feet

13. Kasey Chambers – Not Pretty Enough

14. The Beatles – Let it Be

15. Red Hot Chili Peppers – Under the Bridge

16. Daryl Braithwaite – The Horses

17. Bob Marley – No Woman No Cry

18. Marcy Playground – Sex and Candy

19. Men At Work – Land Down Under

20. Banjo Patterson’s Waltzing Matilda

21. A Ha – Take On Me

22. Green Day – When I Come Around

23. Eagle Eye Cherry – Save Tonight

24. Toto – Africa

25. Beyonce – If I Were A Boy

26. The Offspring – Self Esteem

27. The Offspring – You’re Gonna Go Far Kid

28. Pink – You and Your Hand

29. Lady Gaga – Poker Face

30. Aqua – Barbie Girl

31. The Fray – You Found Me

32. 30h!3 – Don’t Trust Me

33. MGMT – Kids

34. Tim Minchin – Canvas Bags

35. Natalie Imbruglia – Torn

36. Five For Fighting – Superman

37. Axis Of Awesome – Birdplane

38. Missy Higgins – Scar

Can you think of any other songs that use these four guitar chords? Leave the song title and artist in the comment section below!