Enter the Spider Capo.  Thanks to the vision of Peter Einhorn and Frederic Hand of Woodstock, New York, the game has changed.

The Spider Capo allows you to capo strings individually.  That statement by itself is not very earth shattering, until you consider that you can now play behind the capo.  The old style of capos clamped all the way across the neck and limited the amount of neck available.  The Spider Capo clamps from above and as a result, the strings not clamped can be played behind the capo.  This opens up a world of possibilities not available until now.  You can play in alternate tunings without retuning your guitar which lets you use chord shapes and riffs that you already know while letting you create new chord voicings.

This is a live performance capo.  You can easily rotate the finger handles into place while you are playing to take your performance to new places.  There are a number of videos on the Spider Capo website to help you visualize the possibilities and there is a chart that shows you some suggested tuning positions to get you started.  That chart also comes on the package.  You can still use the Spider Capo like a regular capo and clamp all six strings.  It performs the function of an old style capo with the expanded functionality of the Spider.

Rediscover your guitar while you explore new tunings, harmonies and textures all without touching your tuning pegs.  And for you guitarists who paid attention in your music theory classes, this could change the way you write music.

Everyone that goes to a concert imagines on some level that they would like to be on stage in front of all those fans.  Realistically, that dream only comes true for a few people and that is usually after years of hard work and dedication.  However, every city and town has some clubs or bars that can provide the budding musician a venue to perform for people.  Summer also brings the festival scene that is always looking for local talent and for musicians with a following and competent management, touring is a possibility.  Or you just might want to entertain yourself and your friends at backyard barbecues.  Any of these scenarios brings a level of personal satisfaction to the musician but each one has a different set of technical requirements.

If you just want to play at home or in your backyard,  your choices are simple; you just need to decide what size guitar you want and what basic features you are interested in.  There are three basic body styles; the auditorium, the dreadnought, and the jumbo.  The auditorium has a smaller body size, and is easier to play for someone with smaller hands and shorter arms.  The dreadnought, which has a little bit larger and thicker body size, produces a fuller sound.  The jumbo has the largest body size and usually produces the most volume.  The other features you would need to consider are color and cutaway which give you access to the higher frets for playing leads and higher up the neck.

If you plan to playing live on stage, you want to spend the extra money for a built in pickup.  This allows you to amplify the sound by plugging in directly into the sound system.  If you are performing by yourself in a local coffee house or small club, you probably won’t need a separate acoustic guitar amplifier.  As a solo act, it is much easier to hear yourself.  Playing in a band with multiple instruments will require an acoustic amplifier to help you hear yourself.  It gets loud onstage and you want to be sure you are playing the same thing as everyone else in the band.  Another nice feature available in many acoustic-electric models is a built in tuner.  I can’t stress enough how important it is to be in tune.

Sierra Guitars makes a variety of models for every type of guitarist.  Whether you want to just play at home or hit the stage, they have a guitar for every performer.  From the value priced laminate tops (top of the guitar is made from multiple pieces of wood) to the more expensive models with a solid top (single piece top), they have sizes and colors to fit every taste.  Sierra also offers a number of acoustic-electric options that are designed for performing on stage and they even have a travel guitar.

Whatever guitar you decide to get, remember the old adage, practice makes perfect.  If you spend time learning and practicing, you will discover a hobby that will bring you a lifetime of enjoyment.

The ukulele is a relatively simple instrument to learn and to play and the internet has made it even easier.  Years ago, kids were generally taught by parents and grandparents.  You would go over to their house and while you were visiting with them, invariably grandpa would break out the ukulele and end up showing you a few chords.  Now, with sites like You tube and the Ukulele Underground, there are hundreds of videos and charts that show you step by step how to play your favorite songs.

No matter how you learn, the ukulele is an instrument that anyone can play.  Even without extensive musical knowledge, anyone can learn a few chords and play a song within 20 minutes of picking it up and its small size means you also don’t need the hand strength that a regular guitar requires.  So if you love music and you would love to play an instrument, the ukulele is the perfect place to start.