If you choose to learn guitar, you need to first choose what kind of guitar you want to learn. The most common forms are acoustic, electric or bass. Acoustic and Electric are going to utilize the same techniques and be played similarly. Both use chords to play the instrument and both can be played with your fingers or a guitar pick. The chords on each are going to be the same on the other, but they will sound different. Electric guitars use an amplifier, while acoustic guitars do not. For a beginner, an electric guitar will be slightly easier to play, because the strings are thinner, and do not require the same finger strength that an acoustic needs to be played. Acoustic and electric are used to enhance the overall sound of the song by playing melody or harmony (or both!), while bass is part of the rhythm section.
Bass guitar is played quite differently than acoustic and electric. It is arguably the easiest for beginners to learn as it does not require the use of chords, and when they are played, they can come across as muddy sounding. Almost all bass players use their fingers to play, and there are so many different styles you can play. There are only four strings on a bass compared to the standard six strings on an acoustic or electric, and the strings are thicker in order to produce the deeper tones. The issue a lot of people have with bass guitars are that they are much larger than acoustic and electric guitars, so it requires either larger hands or quicker movements. Bass, typically in conjunction with drums, make up the rhythm section of a band. They are focused on creating the beat of a song and are not playing the noticeable parts of a song (unless it is a prominent bass line). It’s usually quieter compared to an electric or acoustic because the notes are much lower. However, it is equally important and can be just as fun!
Included below is a video detailing how the different types of guitars sound, and gives some recommendations for beginner guitars.