Playing the guitar: Bernard Butler

Lenny Kravitz: My father had a guitar and played it around the house when I was really small. I was just captivated by it; I touched it all the time and loved the sound it made

Richard Hawley: The concept of being in a band and playing is about sounding good and looking cool

Bill Frisell: When I'm making music, the last thing that I'm thinking about is what the guitar looks like. Yet, guitars are beautiful, and I love looking at them

Stuart Ryan on three different blues styles, with fretting and muting techniques to refine your sound

For Raconteurs guitarist Brendan Benson, blues has an integrity you just can't fake. Fortunately, it's not too hard to learn the basics ...

What's a chord if not several notes put together? Add a few more to this number and you've got yourself a scale ...

Amy Macdonald tells us what inspired her to pick up a guitar - and about the rewards of sticking with it

When Graham Coxon hid his plectrums and began picking, his passion for guitar was reborn

It's not just about guitars - here are a few other 'toys' for you to consider

His was the sound that inspired a generation of players. He knows so much about those six strings that he's even become a university lecturer on the subject. So let Johnny Marr tell you about the guitar