To play guitar, it's not enough to own only a guitar -- there are essential guitar accessories.

Guitar Strap

You will have a much easier time holding your guitar as a beginner, if you use a guitar strap. This crucial accessory helps you hold your guitar in the right position, and will encourage you to stand when you play -- something most any beginning guitar player wants to learn. And with all the cool choices of color and design, you can surely find a guitar strap that exemplifies your unique personality.

Strings

Read this as "spare strings". Here's the thing -- guitar strings break, and especially at the hands of beginners. As guitar accessories go, this is the one without which you cannot play guitar, so be sure to always have spare strings on hand. The brand I recommend is Elixir (Oh, yeah!).

Electronic Tuner

These don't cost a lot and are worth what you do pay. Most beginning musicians will not be able to tune a guitar by ear. And many intermediate guitar players cannot. You will be very glad, if you include a little electronic tuner among your guitar accessories.

Capo

You see the item in the photo above that looks like a clamp of some sort?  That's a capo.  It enables average guitarists to play tougher songs by "moving" the end of the fretboard to a point where basic chords can be used.

In other words, my capo is the only reason I can play Coldplay's Yellow, and Sunny Afternoon by The Kinks.

Guitar Stand

Keeping your guitar on a stand will do two important things -- it will protect your guitar, and it will keep your guitar on your mind, encouraging you to play more.

Picks

One does not play guitar owning just one pick.  You need different weights to find the volume where you like to play, and you need spares for one simple reason.  Picks break. My favorite pick is the Dunlop Gator Grip -- easy to hold onto when my fingers get sweaty.

My favorite guitar accessories are my capo and my picks.  I wonder what will be your favorites.