What You Need

A few things to get you started at OGS

Oakwood Guitar School

New to guitar? Here are a few things you'll need for lessons at Oakwood Guitar School.

A Guitar

An acoustic guitar is recommended for new students, however electric guitar will also work just fine if that is what you have or are more interested in. If the student is under 11 years old a smaller scale guitar is recommended, probably a 3/4 or half size guitar. There are two types of acoustic guitars:

  • Steel string acoustic: This guitar requires more effort to play but is a more common type of guitar that you hear on most recordings of acoustic guitar.
  • Nylon string acoustic: These guitars were made to play classical music and their strings are softer on the fingers. I recommend these for younger students to get started on.

Guitar Rentals

If you aren't sure about purchasing a guitar as a new student, I recommend a rental at Long and Mcquade which is very affordable and offer a rent-to-own on their instruments. They are located at Bloor and Ossington, here is an example of what you might say:

"I am looking for a half or 3/4 size nylon string guitar to rent for my 9 year old son who is starting guitar lessons this year. Do you have anything you recommend?".

Or alternately:

"I am starting guitar lessons and I would like to rent a full size steel string guitar for strumming chords."

Additional Items

  • Binder: All lesson notes, printed music, tabs, exercises and extra materials can be kept in one binder for lessons. You must bring this to all your lessons for maximum progress.
  • Guitar case: Soft cases can be bought for relatively cheap, if you have an acoustic guitar a hard case and a humidifier is recommended for the dry winter months.
  • Capo: This tool allows you to change keys to play familiar chords, so it is essential in learning a multitude of songs early on. It is also a great teaching tool because it removes a great deal of pressure off the fretboard, allowing you to play longer as a beginner.
  • Electronic tuner: It is essential to tune your guitar every time you play, and an electronic tuner is the most efficient way to achieve this. There are now many guitar tuning apps for iPhone, iPad and Android that are also quite good.
  • Internet/email address: The teacher will often send you songs, materials or links over the internet to save paper and customize your lesson experience. Make sure to have an email address set up so that this can be done. The teacher will also often require you to seek out materials on your own to bring to the lessons.

Other Tools

A metronome is a key component to being a good musician, and you can now find metronomes and drum machines on the internet for free. I recommend the following:

Oakwood Guitar School Store

  • Electronic Tuner (Snark Clip-On) - $15.00
  • Capos - $20.00
  • Electric Guitar Strings (Ernie Ball) - $7.00
  • Acoustic Guitar Strings (D'Addario) - $8.00
Please contact us for more information or if you have any questions!