Broken Strings, or How Not to Behave at the Music Store

I'd only learned three chords (woo! I can join Rancid now!) when I experienced my first small snag in my plans for global rock domination (heh) - a broken string. It went off with a big twang in the middle of a sweet G chord and scared the beejebus out of me. After cursing the cruel fates and drying my eyes I trundled off happily to the local music store, where the conversation went something like this:

Nice English Chap: Hello, miss. How can I help you?
Me: Er... I'd like some... guitar strings.
NEC: What sort would you like?
Me: Um... acoustic? (This is more of a question than a statement.)
NEC: Would you like nylon or steel?
Me: Ah, I didn't realise there was more than one kind...
NEC: [assumes overly-patient face of one dealing with a slight imbecile] Well, what kind does your guitar have?
Me: I'm... not sure... (That's right, I spent two days playing a guitar without ever noticing what kind of strings it had. I am a musical genius.) I think, maybe nylon?
NEC: Guitars take one or the other, maybe you should...
Me: [completely embarrassed at my return to musical noobitude] I'll just take the nylon! Thank you!
NEC: [he smiles wanly and takes my money] Thank you. Come again.

So I get home and - you guessed it - the guitar takes steel strings. But it doesn't end there! At this point I am still under the impression I can string the damn thing with the nylon strings I bought at the shop. I unstring the guitar. I look at the ends of the old steel strings. They have little round doo-dads on them. How cute! I pull them out. I get out the nylon strings. No doo-dads... The penny drops. I choke down my pride for a second trip to the music store. Huzzah!

I'll spare you the embarrassment of the ensuing exchange, but I'll say this at least: sometimes it's good to feel like a beginner again. It can make you feel like a complete dunderhead, but it also reminds you not to be an arse every time you feel tempted to click your tongue and roll your eyes at someone who doesn't know how to recognise a 1960 Porsche Spyder, hasn't heard of your favourite obscure indie band from Nanavut, or couldn't tell you what year Wim Wenders directed Faraway, So Close! (or whatever your particular area of expert-nerdery). Embrace your ineptitude! It'll make you a kinder, more tolerant person - if you don't kill someone first!

Anyway, I finally got home and proceeded to string up that bad boy beautifully with help from this very clear and handy online tutorial. I ended up buying D'Addario EJ16 Phosphor Bronze strings (with their handy dandy colour-coded doo-dads! Yes, doo-dads will be the official terminology until otherwise noted). The sound is SO much nicer than the old steel strings - definitely worth spending a little extra money on them.

So I'm all strung-up, suitably humbled and ready to keep working on those calluses! Do you have any stories about your first try at stringing a guitar?

Today's result: Kate: 0 - Guitar: 1