Guitar strings are going to need changing eventually. Whether the string coils unravel, the notes played become out-of-tune more often, or the strings are just grimy and filthy, changing your guitar strings is a simple skill that every guitarist can master.

If you're a consistent performing guitarist, you might break guitar strings often and understand that changing strings or restringing needs to be quick and simple. Here are the simple steps in order to change your guitar strings.

* Put a generous amount of slack in the string from the headstock.

Turn the tuning peg of the string to be changed in the "flat" direction until the string is loose and able to be removed from the guitar. Be careful because the string end can be quite sharp.

* Remove the cut end of the guitar string from the fastener attached to the tuning peg.

Carefully unravel the guitar string out of the hole and from around the tuning peg.

* Slide the string out the tailpiece of the guitar.

Guitar tailpieces are all made differently, but the main idea is to remove the string from the body. Some strings can be changed by simply sliding them out while others, mostly acoustic guitars, require pegs to be pried out of the body.

* Now is a good time to clean your guitar if you so desire.

There's some controversy about removing all six strings at once, but if you choose to do so, rub down the fret board with a damp cloth and then some olive oil.

* Pull the string through the hole of the tuning peg and loop back around underneath the string.

Position the tuning peg hole so the openings face each end of the guitar and thread the string through. Give the string enough slack so that you can pull it upwards about 2" off the guitar's fret board. After looping the string around one side of the peg and under the initial string entrance, bend the string upwards from underneath itself.

* Tune the guitar and stretch the string out a little by pulling gently from the mid point towards the headstock.

Slowly and carefully tune the string up to the desired pitch. Then, stretch the strings a little and repeat the tuning and stretching process until retuning is no longer needed.

* Cut the excess string at the tuning peg and repeat for the remaining strings

Use a sharp pair of wire cutters to cut off the excess guitar string pieces at the tuning peg end of the guitar. Then, change the remaining guitar strings.

After you're forced to change your guitar strings a couple times, the process should become second nature. Always remember to clip the excess strings with wire cutters to prevent damage to the paint from the dangling string ends.