Trick Guitar tone

Playing the guitar live in front of people is a completely different game than in your bedroom by yourself. There never comes a time where your pillow or clothes on the floor are going to laugh or say something negative at you while your strumming.

(Unless your home is possessed?...)

But, playing guitar in coffee shops and open mike nights is a great way to ease your mind on the idea of playing live.

For guitarists that have never been to an open mike night, you simply add your name to a list of performers, they call your name when it's your turn, and then you play for up to 20 minutes. It's a simple system, but it works.

The best part about playing at coffee shops and open mike nights are how generally supportive the people are.

You're not going to be booed off or pelted with raw vegetables, but you'll always receive a smile and a good amount of applause when you're done. Bring a friend out and the both of you can have some silly fun up on stage.

I mean, it's really great to be able to play the guitar, but sharing your talent with others is what turns your talent into a musical contribution to society. And you're not trying to be a free-loader are you? That's what I thought.

There are tons of things that you can do to preserve the life of your guitar and its strings, but one of the EASIEST things you can do is wash your hands. Have clean hands when you put them on your guitar and a few good things will happen.

1. You might win a million dollars!

It's conceivable. It has absolutely nothing to do with washing your hands either....unless you're talking about going into a gas station bathroom and finding an unscratched lottery ticket on the floor with no one around to claim it and it just so happens to be the winner of $1,000,000. That's the best case scenario.

2. You can prevent greasy strings.

You don't want greasy strings because they tend to wear easier and let your pitches go out of tune more often. Keep your hands clean before you touch the guitar.

3. Prevent your frets from getting so dirty.

It won't be too gross to touch your guitar frets when they have less barbecue sauce and chicken grease on them. It might actually be fun to play guitar again with clean hands!

4. More people will want to shake your hands!

If you ever wondered why your friends that you bump into at Quaker Steak and Lube won't give you a friendly handshake when they see you... it might have something to do with the ranch sauce between your fingers.

5. Your strings will stay in tune longer.

This one is a biggy, because if you're a normal guitar player, you know that strings going out of tune should just bug the heckfire out of you. Clean your hands before you play and you won't have as many hand juices messing with your strings' pitches.