Whether or not you already know a musical instrument, you might be thinking about taking one up. Perhaps you want to enhance your musical skills and take on a new challenge, and perhaps you simply want to get involved in the world of music in some (even limited) way. If you’re at either of these stages, you might be considering a number of instruments, but the chances are good that you’re considering a popular one, like guitar, piano, and drums.

While there are many types of keyboard instruments just as there are guitars, we might suggest that the acoustic guitar can make an excellent choice. Why? Well, we’re about to get into that. Here are four reasons you might want to make an acoustic guitar the next instrument on your to-do list.

Reason #1: Guitars are very handy.

No, an acoustic guitar is not a good tool to hammer in that nail so you can hang a picture up, but as far as musical instruments go, an acoustic guitar can be quite handy. They’re usually light and easy to carry around, and it only takes a bit of tuning to make sure that the guitar is ready to play. In most cases, you can pack your guitar along with you and bring it out quickly if you want to entertain your friends with a song around the campfire. Even though acoustic guitars look kind of large, they’re hollow, which means they’re not as difficult to bring or pack as you might think. With a good amount of skill on the acoustic guitar, you can also play a variety of different songs – in fact, many songs these days are actually written for the acoustic guitar.

Reason #2: No plugs required.

The electric guitar produces such a dynamic sound that it often blows an acoustic guitar out of the water, but that sound comes with a price: equipment and setup time. An electric guitar can sound great on a stage or in a studio, but if you simply want to bring your instrument with you and bring it out at any given time, then you’re going to want to stick with an acoustic guitar. There’s also the fact that buying less equipment means you’ll have more money left over to spend on other things – like guitar lessons, if you’re feeling ambitious. There are indeed electric acoustic guitars that allow you to “plug in” acoustics, but generally an acoustic guitar means just that – it’s playing its own sounds. No wind up, no plug-ins, no batteries.

Reason #3: Cool factor.

In many cases, taking out the acoustic guitar and playing it in public can actually make you look a little…well, try-hard. As in, trying too hard to impress people. Why is this? It’s because you can’t deny the “cool factor” of an acoustic guitar: you’re playing an instrument that produces a bright, bold sound, and you’re doing it by picking up a piece of wood attached to some strings. That’s pretty cool. It’s so cool that it’s becoming a bit of a cliche. You can look cool, however, with an acoustic guitar without having to become a try-hard. Just play it when you enjoy it and you won’t ever be one of those “try-hards.”

Reason #4: It’s easy to learn.

The acoustic guitar can require a lot of skill, but it doesn’t take long for you to learn some basic chord progressions and play simpler songs. You don’t have to be an expert to start sounding like you really know what you’re doing, and that’s what’s great about an acoustic guitar: it can be a highly accessible instrument. You’ll want to learn music theory, of course, but you can get some more immediate rewards for practicing your guitar by focusing on some basic chord strumming.