"If you happen to hear a guitar player that you really enjoy listening to, approach this person after they perform and ask if they teach guitar," he said.

A dedicated, caring instructor can guide you through the steps necessary to produce clear tones on the instrument, play with relaxed technique and create great music.

"Expect a little work and finger discomfort in the beginning," Hopfinger said. "Stick with it and when you do play something that doesn't sound like a tortured animal it will inspire you to practice on!"

There are many guitar method books available on the market. Players of all ages can grow quickly by combining both a do-it-yourself approach with books and one-on-one time with an instructor.

Not sure what type of guitar to get? Make sure it feels good. Hopfinger equates a guitar to your favorite baseball glove, or a good pair of shoes.

"Sit with a few guitars and see what feels most comfortable in your lap," he says. "If you make a commitment to playing, you should feel comfortable holding this instrument, like another limb on your body."

And don't forget one of the most important, but often underrated musical accessories of all time, the guitar tuner. Tuners can save the beginning player a lot of time, and may keep housemates' sanity intact. Several inexpensive electronic models are widely available and easy to use. Simply heed this word of advice from Hopfinger: "Tightening a string will raise its pitch, while loosening a string will lower its sound, just like a rubber band,?only safer!"

Instrument in hand and lessons scheduled, now it's time to practice. In addition to running scales and rehearsing your stage dives, Hopfinger suggests focusing some of your time in a few other directions.

Learning to read standard music notation will aid in communicating with other musicians. Also, he says, "Understanding music theory, listening and responding musically to what you hear are as equally important as any other aspect of playing."

Finally, he says, practice with a metronome. Whether it's your grandmother's piano-top pendulum version or a pocket-sized digital contraption, a metronome will click out a steady pulse and ingrain a sense of solid rhythm and time.

"If you ?actually practice?with your foot tapping to the click of steady time for at least 20 minutes each day, you will?train yourself to play with an incredible sense of timing. This is really what?makes your favorite guitar player's playing sound like magic," Hopfinger said.

Mark Powers teaches drums and percussion at Weathers Music, Chemeketa Community College and Riverfront Wellness Center. Visit him online at Powers Percussion website, or call (920) 410-0465.