This is a Gibson Les Paul Standard that was apparently owned by Les Paul himself and it was donated to help raise money for the Uniformed Firefighters’ Association Widows and Childrens Fund after what had happened on 9/11 at the World Trade Center in New York.

D’Andrea Picks manufactured the first plastic pick in 1922. Before that, they were handmade from tortoise shell. Luigi and his son, Tony, came up with the idea of using plastic after finding sheets of celluloid that looked like tortoise shell. Picks made out of stone can be crafted by a mason but may also be found with a natural shape and thickness for use. The tone created by a stone pick will depend on the type of minerals it contains. Metal picks produce a bright sound.

photo credit: matsuyuki

These days, plastic picks can be found made out of celluloid, Lexan, nylon, Ultem and Acetal, just to a name a few of the materials that are commonly used.

Nylon picks are coated with a high-friction material to counteract their natural smoothness. They are popular for their initial flexibility but they tend to wear out quickly and need to be replaced often. Acetal is more durable and less flexible while Lexan is very stiff.

Musicians will choose the thickness of their chosen pick based on playing style and the kinds of strings they use. A thin pick will produce a wider range of sounds and one that is muddy and heavy with high amplification. Thicker picks are used for more delicate tones that require precision plucking. Most bass players will favor a heavier pick to accommodate the thicker strings on their instrument of choice.

There are also various shapes available including the ergonomic pick with its curved edge that wraps slightly around the thumb to allow for reduced wrist action. The shark’s fin pick has small nubs that produce a scratching sound when scraped against the strings.

Guitar players are encouraged to try different types of picks and choose the one that feels most comfortable and works best with their particular playing style.

You kids these days have it so much easier! LOL!

Since I started blogging about the guitar, I have read quite a few excellent posts on other guitar sites and blogs that I wished I would have had back when I first started playing the guitar. Things would definitely have been a lot easier then.

Here are some of the most excellent blog posts and guitar related articles that I have seen over the past little while online. Hopefully, if you are either a new guitarist or seasoned guitar veteran, it will allow you to increase your guitar knowledge and playing abilities:

Unlocking The Neck – this multi blog post goes into so much detail that it is almost a little intimidating at first but once you get yourself going you are well on your way to learning the entire neck on the guitar. This is something that I believe every guitarist should go through.

Learn How To Play Guitar In 21 Days – okay, this might sound like one of those “play guitar fast” or “learn to play in 24 hours” type things but it is actually a really well done video series on what would essentially be your first 21 days of playing guitar. This definitely gives a beginning guitarist the edge over other guitarists just starting out because it gives them the right way to do things right from the start.

How To Practice Guitar And Not Bore Yourself To Death – very important. This is something that I used to always tell my guitar students. You see, it is only natural that you will become bored if you are playing guitar songs that you absolutely hate!

Alternate Tunings For The Guitar – this is something that I have just recently got into. Having the ability to play around with all different guitar tunings opens up an entire world of different possibilities for what you can do on a guitar.

Modding The Boss CS-3 – okay, I’m not putting this out there to get you into the modding guitar world. Some people, like myself, are just not comfortable voiding their warranties and working with a hot soldering iron. However, I put this hear because I wanted to mention the possibilities that this type of thing brings. It is a whole new cool level to the guitar world and a hobby as a whole. It is something that is not always thought of but for people already used to dealing with electronics and want to do some cool mods to their gear, there is a whole internet of available info on this.

So there’s just five little links to check out and get you thinking in different ways on starting or continuing to play the guitar

Here is a list of some of the coolest guitar apps that you have to check out — assuming you have an iPhone!

1. GuitarToolKit.

What more could you ask for? Guitar tuner, chord library of over half a million guitar chords, scales and it has a left hand mode for all you left handed players.

One really cool think about this app is the fact that you can strum a made up chord on the screen’s virtual guitar and the app will tell you exactly what chord you are playing. Makes it a great reference and learning tool.

2. Ultimate Guitar Tabs

Want to have a collection of over three hundred thousand guitar tabs in your pocket at any given time? It will just be a matter of installing this app on your iPhone. Imagine being at a band rehearsal and wanting to learn a new cover song. A couple quick taps on your screen and you’ll have it right there and the song learned by the end of the jam!

3. Scale Wizard

This app actually comes from my favorite guitar cable company – Planet Waves. Before I checked out this app, I had no idea that over ten thousand guitar scales even existed, but this app has just that. Be prepared to get your mind blown with all the arpeggios, modes and different guitar scales.

This app even goes into alternate tunings and has a left hand mode.

4. Guitar Progression Practice

We all need some kind of practice tool to keep us in check and this one may just be what you are looking for. Get your riffs up to speed and work on your timing with the metronome, learn chord progressions in any key and has the ability to automatically change the chord progressions during a practice session.

5. Guitar Web Application

This is an excellent application to help you figure out how different chords relate to each other. Great for building your own chord progressions and figuring out what notes make up certain chords.

6. Arpeggio Studies For Guitar

Learning arpeggios can be a bit of a daunting task if you are trying to do it on your own but luckily this app makes it a lot easier. You will be sweeping in no time!

This app is great for getting your head around more technical playing as well as getting yourself warmed up for a demanding practice session. Each volume of this app series has different arpeggio studies to get your mind and fingers in shape.

7. Guitarist’s Reference

This colorful little app is another excellent reference tool for a guitarist. Comes with a library of over 3000 chords, 550 arpeggios, 500 scales, triads and a crazy amount more. Even has references for chord/scale relationships to allow you to easily figure out which scale to work with when playing a certain chord.

Who would have known that the iPhone would have become such a great influence on the guitar and guitarists.