All About Guitars

A Guitar is a musical instrument, usually with six strings. This six-stringed guitar finds its origin in Spain. It can be played by handpicking or by finger-picks or plectrum. Plastic plectrums find wide usage today. However, the tonal quality is higher when tortoise shell picks are used.

guitars can broadly be divided into two categories: acoustic and Electric.

Acoustic guitars:

Acoustic guitars are generally crafted from wood, be it the low cost laminates or the pure hard wood like spruce, or a combination of both. acoustic guitars are hollow-bodied and do not need an external amplifier. However, their utility is hampered in bands and orchestras which call for mandatory Electric amplification. Amplification can be done through piezo and magnetic pick-ups.

There are many types of acoustic guitars. Among them, classical and steel string guitars are the most popular. The classical guitar is adorned with nylon strings. The strings are plucked with the fingers or finger-nails. Besides pure classical music all kinds of modern music too can be played on it. The music repertoire of the classical guitar is vast and varied. The roots of the classical guitar can be traced back to the lute, the vihuela and the renaissance guitar.

The steel strings of a steel-string acoustic guitar offer a brighter and louder sound. It is essentially larger than the classical guitar to accommodate the tension of the steel strings. A plectrum is a must for playing a steel-string guitar.

Electric guitars:

Unlike the case of an acoustic guitar, pick-ups are a must in electric guitars. Pick-ups convert the mechanical energy to electrical energy. A proper and compatible pick-up is a must for good tonal quality. Pick-ups which have found popularity among most musicians are either electromagnetic or piezoelectric.

The modern day electric guitar is made of solid wood like maple and mahogany. Some plastic material and aluminum alloys are used to give a sleek finish. Jazz, blues and rock-and-roll are the popular versions of music played on an electric guitar.

Lloyd Loar was one of the earliest inventors of the electric guitar but the first commercial guitar was made by Stromberg-Voisinet in 1928. In recent times, the electric guitar has revolutionized the music industry, especially rock music. The American culture is incomplete without the electric guitar.

The thin neck of an electric guitar allows the musician to comfortably hold and play the strings of the guitar. Being lightweight is another advantage of the electric guitar. Sophisticated equipment complements the electric guitar and a variety of effects can be produced like tapping and effects pedals. Modern electronics has a say in the tremendous sound effects that an electric guitar can produce.

Electric guitars can be of many types: solid body, hollow body and metal body. A solid body electric guitar is carved from hardwood and sports a lacquer finish. Pick-ups are used to reproduce sounds, which then pass through an amplifier and are heard from a speaker. Les Paul was one of the earliest inventors of this form of the guitar.

The hollow body electric guitar has a lighter weight and greater resonance. The pick-ups are lined up on the body of the guitar and it has one or two sound holes.

Metal body guitars were first manufactured in the 1950`s, but did not gain much popularity because of their inherent weight problem. Holes were dug into some of their variants which hampered the sound effects of the electric guitar.

Conclusion:

So, all we can infer is that acoustic guitars are a classical musician`s delight whereas an electric guitar is the soul and life of a band.

Roberto Sedycias

Left handed people can become Guitar players but there are some adjustments you need to make to your guitar and your outlook. First if you think that you “should” be right handed because that is how guitars are designed, think again. If the hand that keeps telling you it wants to perform actions is your left hand, you are better off listening to it. This is your active hand, which makes your right hand passive. So in a way, your left hand tells your right hand what to do. Paul McCartney is one guitar player who tried to make his right hand do the picking and it did not work. He only started to get anywhere with playing the guitar after he changed the strings around and started picking with his left hand. There are lots of left handed guitar players who have mastered their instrument and gained fame and fortune. I have already mentioned Paul McCartney, and there are many others like Curt Cobain, Tony Iommi, Jimi Hendrix and Slim Whitman.

Dick Dale, “King Of The Surf Guitar” is one notable exception to this rule. The first guitar he learnt to play on was a normal right handed guitar. So he forced his hands to learn to play without changing the order of the strings on the guitar. Even after he was able to buy custom made left handed guitars, he still played with the strings in the right hand positions because that is what he was used to. Bobby Womack and Albert King also play like this.

So what changes need to be made to a guitar to make it suitable for playing left handed? Well, when you hold a guitar in playing position the sixth string – the E string which is the thickest guitar string needs to be on top of the guitar, that is closest to your shoulder. To achieve this the order of the strings needs to be reversed. If you hold a right handed guitar in front of you and look straight at it, the sixth string is on your right hand side. To string the guitar for left handed playing, the first string should be on the right hand side.

Also, the two parts of the guitar that actually hold the strings on – the bridge and the nut need to be changed around. If you look closely at these parts you will see that they have slots cut in them to hold the strings. Naturally the nut and bridge will need to be turned upside down to fit the strings in the reverse order.

Now for the question of buying left handed guitars. Many guitarists complain that left handed guitars cost around double the price of right handed guitars, so you will need to do some serious shopping. Tokai and Vintage make serviceable mid-range left handed guitars for a reasonable price,. Fender make all the ‘basic’ model Telecasters and Stratocasters for leftys, and Gibson make left handed versions of all their flagship guitars.

Now let us look at another challenge for left handed guitarists – chord charts. If you do a search on the web you will find a range of printed left handed chord charts and chord generators. A good on to start with is “Left Handed Guitar Chord Chart”, by Robert Tarchara. There are also books that are written especially for left handed guitar players:
Mel Bay Left-Handed Guitar Chords, by William Bay, 2005
Guitar Case guide to Left-Handed Chords, by Rikky Rooksby, 2001
Guitar Case guide to Left-handed Scales, by Rikky Rooksby, 2006

Fortunately there are many left handed guitar players who have been willing to share the knowledge and experience on line. Some can be found on forums, others have set up their own websites. Among other tips they can help with where and how to buy left handed guitars.

Ricky Sharples

There are a few things to consider when doing this…

• How much money do you want to spend?
• Do you think the Guitar you are buying will be the 1st and last you buy?
• What styles of music do you or would you like to play

How much money do you want to spend?

If you’re not to sure on any of the questions above and you don’t care much either way then read no further. Head for the beginner (cheaper) guitars in Your local music shop.

The good thing is that most cheap guitars are made with universally cheap parts. So from brand to brand the pickups may be the same make/model as well as the wood, tuning keys and so on. In some cases the label and colour could be the only difference.

Here in Australia you’ll be looking at about $80 -$100 for a standard Classical Nylon String guitar depending on the size. They come in a standard ¼, ½, ¾ and full size. The bigger the guitar the slightly more expensive it is. Acoustic Steel String guitars range from $100 – $200 in the beginners range. When I say “beginners” I mean a person that has never played before and can’t distinguish the subtle differences in tone and feel from a well crafted guitar to a factory model. Last of all there is an Electric Steel String guitar. There are plenty of beginner packages around starting at about $250 to $350. This usually includes a small practice amp (10-15 watts), not very loud or a great sound but good enough to hear what you’re practicing.

Do you think the guitar you are buying will be the 1st and last you buy?

If you have a lot of money and buy one of the more popular name brands for example Fender, Les Paul, or Maton then you’re fairly assured you’re going to get a quality product. An expensive guitar will not make you learn quicker, you’ll be paying for quality of the craftsmanship, the years of experience that maker has in that product, the tone, feel and more. You’ll learn the same speed on a cheapy and at least after a while of practicing on that one you’ll know where to spend Your hard earned money.

Another thing to consider is… I hate to say it but you just might decide the guitar is not for you.

What styles of music do you or would you like to play?
If you like hard rock or heavy metal then don’t get a classical nylon guitar, this will only take you so far before you’ll need to buy an electric to practice the styles and technique you like. Think about what you want to play and get the guitar to suit.

So which guitar is best to start on?
Starting on any of the 3 guitars (Nylon, Acoustic or Electric) will not vary the way you play the guitar. They’re all built on the same principles (strings, frets, etc) and you have to learn the same fundamental basics when starting.

Choose the one that your budget will allow or the type you like the look and feel of.

Which guitar is easiest to start on?
The Electric! Each guitar has their good and bad points. Nylon string acoustic guitars (classical) are easy to press down on with your fretting hand but have a wider neck, this makes them harder to play some chords because of the extra stretch. Acoustic steel string guitars have a thinner neck but the strings are steel and thick. This makes it difficult press the strings down on the frets. Some people say that this is good for your fingers and toughens them up, this is true and if your want to start of learning this when then go ahead. But remember not to get discouraged if it takes you longer to learn some thing, you’ll be playing a more difficult guitar. Electric steel string guitars have steel strings but not as thick or heavy as the acoustic so they won’t hurt your fingers as much, they also have a thinner neck. So ultimately the electric wins, easy to fret and a thinner neck. Its drawback is that you have to cart an amp around to hear it.

More Lessons & Articles: www.guitartutoronline.com

Danny Poole

Bar chords are the first advanced step for the Guitar player. You have some kind of understanding of how to Play open guitar chords and you have practiced till your fingertips are hardened enough not to hurt any more. So the next step is to learn the basic open chord shapes that move up the guitar neck to make bar chords and to start on the next stage of educating your left hand and arm in the art of guitar playing.

When you learn bar chords you will see that there are some basic chords that you have already learnt how to Play that can be moved up the fretboard to form chords in more keys. The way we move open chords up the fretboard is by placing the first finger on the left hand across the guitar’s neck and using the other fingers to complete the chord shape.

When you first try to play bar chords you will notice the change in sound. You have made all the guitar strings shorter, so they do not have the same amount of sustain and reverberation. The next thing you notice is that bar chords are painful. The pain should lessen as you practice but if it doesn’t there are some things about your guitar playing you will need to look at.

First, if there is any adjustment needed to the way you press down on the strings with your left hand, you will need to relax your hand and experiment a little. Hold the chord shape but do not exert the pressure needed to make a clean sound. Now see if there is any tension in your arm. Just check to see if you can feel it. Go all the way up and down the arm fro the shoulder to the fingertips and relax any little areas of tension. This might result in some change in how you are holding your hand on the strings. As you try this checking for tension, also take note of if you hold your breath and clench your jaw. If you do either of those things, let the tension drop away in those areas.

Other areas that might need attention when you are looking for the easiest way to play bar chords are the height of your guitar‘s action and the need for hand exercises. You can do an online search for balls or other gizmos that you can use to help build finger strength, or for hand and finger strengthening exercises. But before you get too far into exercises, if your guitar’s action is high you will need to press hard to make bar chords. acoustic guitars have a relatively high action so the strings do not buzz. If you feel that your action might be too high you can adjust it by filing down the slots in your bridge so that the strings sit lower. If you make the strings too low you will need to buy another bridge bone.

If you are able to switch between acoustic and electric guitars you can clear up the question about your guitar’s action because electric guitars have a lower action than acoustics. There are also tricks that you can use to avoid the pain of guitar chords, like using the open D fingering to move up the frets instead of using the open E shape to make a bar chord. This limits your chords to the top three strings. Also you can try loosening the tension on your strings or fooling around with open tunings, but do not go meddling with your guitar unless you are really sure you have some medical condition that stops you from playing bar chords. For now just assume that your hand will stop hurting once you have practiced enough.

Ricky Sharples

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