Useful Tips for Campfire Guitarists

Having spent holiday evenings with family and friends, sitting around the campfire with a guitar in his lap, Guestblogger Michel Penterman has some experience in this matter. Being a campfire guitarist is no joke – you have a job to do. You need to bring the vibe and, not only bring the vibe, but keep it there. So it’s not the moment to pull out those face-melting solos, it’s the moment to get crowd-pleasing – and that’s some free advice right there! Read on to get some tips about the right kind of campfire guitar, the right campfire repertoire, the chords you’ll need to know and even the accessories and apps that might come in handy for any campfire guitarist in-training.

What Kind of Guitar Do You Need?

To start, what kind of guitar will you need? Lugging an amplifier and a stack of pedals to a campfire isn’t exactly a good idea, so you’ll want an acoustic, un-amplified guitar, like a steel-string acoustic guitar or a Spanish guitar. Spanish guitars (also-known-as classical guitars) have a warmer and softer tone to them, while steel-string acoustic guitars have that classic and sparkling pop and rock sound. Either kind of guitar will work beautifully for our purposes, but if you’re poor on space while travelling to your campfire-destination (or just don’t want to have to carry a full-sized guitar), then you might prefer to go for a more compact travel guitar. The downside of a travel guitar is that the body is smaller, and since the body is basically the resonance chamber of an acoustic guitar, it also means that travel guitars tend to be a bit quieter. Some travel guitars are also crazy-compact, so can feel a bit less comfortable when you play sitting down – which is one of the conditions of being a campfire-guitarist.
Useful Tips for Campfire Guitarists

How Do You Carry & Store Your Guitar?

You’ve probably already realised that, if you’ve forked out your hard-earned cash for a good campfire-grade guitar, then you’re going to want to keep it in good nick. In the very least, it’s worth investing in a padded and maybe even reinforced gig bag or going full-on with a hardshell case. This won’t just protect your guitar from shocks and knocks, but protect it from high temperature levels and water (just in case you’re, say… sitting around a fire on a beach near the waves). If you leave your guitar in a hot car for the day (never recommended) then the heat will actually cause the wood of your instrument to expand, which is a natural process, but when the wood shrinks again, it can create cracks in the soundboard and also warp the shape of the neck, so your guitar will never sound and feel quite the same anymore. If you are going camping, try to keep your guitar in as cool and safe a spot as possible. You can definitely keep your guitar in the car overnight, that’ll be fine. I actually never travel without my oldest acoustic guitar.

What Other Gear Do You Need?

Always make sure to take a complete set of new strings just in case you break one mid-serenade. String breakage when sitting near a campfire is actually more common than you’d think, mainly because moving from the higher temperature near the fire to cooler temperatures will make the strings loose then suddenly tight – a good recipe for a broken string.
If you do need to change your strings, then you’ll also need to tune them up. Keeping a tuner in your back pocket or having a good tuning app on your phone isn’t a bad idea for any guitarist, including campfire guitarists.
It can also be really fun to take along a couple of small and easy-to-play percussion instruments, so your adoring public can shake or hit something to feel part of the show and add some rhythm and beats to the music you’re so generously providing.
To finish, you’re going to need a capo. How could you not need a capo?!

Useful Tips for Campfire Guitarists

How Do You Kick Off Your Campfire Gig?

Here, it’s wise to start slow with a couple of well-known classics that everyone will know the words to. Don’t expect too much at first though. Your audience will need a little time to warm up before they really start belting out the words, so it’s better to build things up a bit. Maybe tell some fun little anecdotes in between each number and improvise a bit here and there. If the crowd has loosened up; the sun has dipped under the horizon; and the flames are rising up to the heavens, then it’s time to really go nuts!

Being a Campfire Guitarist is All About Preparation

Taking along a tidy stack of songbooks is probably not all that practical, and it’s also not the quickest way to dig out the chords for that song that someone just requested. These days, however, you probably do have access to a phone or a tablet, so you can keep your campfire setlist ready to go, complete with some notes here and there so you can quickly remember the lyrics and chord progression and keep the party going. There are also some super-handy apps out there, including Ultimate Guitar and Chordify. Just remember: the golden oldies will always work. Then there are the songs that include passages where the lyrics go ‘La la la la laaaaaaaa’ – ripe for a sing-along. Start laid-back and then keep some bangers in your pocket to bring out later on and, above all, never fear failure – it’s your friend. Your inner critic will always be way more harsh on you than the holiday crowd you pull in. If you miss a chord or mess up a chorus, they’ll only love you all the more for being human.

Useful Tips for Campfire Guitarists

The Essential Campfire Chords

Of course, you don’t need to be a chord encyclopedia to play around the campfire and, as I’ve already hinted, this isn’t the moment to show off your virtuoso shredding skills. All you need is a few open chords and you pretty much have all the knowledge you need to have a good raucous sing-along.

Because a lot of really well-known songs actually share the same simple chords and, because a lot of holiday-makers aren’t necessarily music buffs, any beginner guitarist can become a campfire hero and go a long way by learning the chords included in the blog Guitar Chords for Beginners. The chord apps that I’ve already mentioned will also be a great help and include really clear chord diagrams, as you can see in the image above. The point is, you don’t have to overstretch yourself. However, throwing in an iconic riff or hook will never do any harm (but it’s by no means mandatory).

When Should You Stop?

Hey, this is your night! You decide when you play and when you stop. Have you had enough or notice a group of knackered faces gathered around the fire, then it might be time to stop. Announce your closer and, after that, if they demand an encore then give them just one more. But once you’re done, you’re done. So, pack away your guitar and grab a well-earned drink!