A guitar, which is a hollow-bodied stringed instrument with a neck, produces sound when the strings' vibrations resonate through its body.
There are three basic types of guitar: the electric guitar, the acoustic guitar, and the classical guitar.
The electric guitar converts the sound of the vibrating strings into electronic current. These electronic signals are then altered and produce the desired pitch and vibration before they are fed to amplifiers. Because an electric guitar uses these "pickups," the body does not need to be resonant as it does with the other types of guitar. An electric guitar is used for all different kinds of music, such as country, pop, jazz, rock and roll, and heavy metal.
The acoustic guitar is shaped much like the classical guitar (described below) in terms of its appearance and shape. This type of guitar does not use amplifiers for its sound traditionally, although they can be added. An acoustic guitar uses steel strings for a louder and brighter sound than the nylon strings of the classical guitar. The acoustic guitar also uses heavier woods than does the classical guitar, including maple, mahogany, and spruce. This is because the steel strings on the acoustic guitar produce more tension than the nylon strings of the classical guitar do. This type of guitar is usually used in country, folk and blues music. It can also be used in different types of rock music. Oftentimes, acoustic guitars can also have built-in electronics so that their sound can be amplified louder than they would have been traditionally.
Finally, the classical guitar is also known as the "Spanish guitar." It's the most common of the three types of guitar. Its body is hollow, as with the acoustic guitar. The hole in the center acts to resonate the sound produced by the strings when they are plucked and strummed. It uses six strings, which are usually made of nylon. They are less taut than are the steel strings of the acoustic guitar. Usually, this type of guitar is played without amplifiers. The sound can be "amplified" simply, however, by just placing the guitar in front of a microphone. The classical guitar is usually used in Latin, flamenco and classical music.
All three types of guitars (classical, acoustic and electric) can be used by one person alone or by playing with other guitar players. However, electric guitars are much louder than classical or acoustic guitars, and are generally not mixed with acoustic or classical guitars. However, it's often true that rock bands, for example, play electric guitars with accompaniment such as drums, trumpets or other louder instrumentation that can't be easily overpowered by the electric guitar's volume.
Kevin Sinclair is the publisher and editor of MusicianHome.com, a site that provides information and articles for musicians at all stages of their development.
It might amaze you but there are left-handed electric guitars that have special use as well. Since this is not the ordinary guitar, you need to use it the different way that you are using the ordinary guitars. With this left-handed electric guitar, you will hold the free board using your right hand and you will be doing the strumming with your left hand. If you are use to using the right-handed electric guitar then this will not be hard for you to learn playing this kind of instrument. All you need to have is the time to train yourself and you will surely find yourself in tuned with the said instrument. This is also a good choice as you will be different to other guitarist that will make you stand out.
The first thing that you need to consider before buying this kind of guitar is to look unto the designs or the styles that you think you will like. Since the use of guitars is now common, there are also varieties of choices when it comes to the type and kinds of left –handed guitar. Looking unto the known shops that offer instrument is advisable for you to visit. By doing so, you can also try to check if you like the sounds of the guitar that you have chosen. It is better that you do not just consider the looks of the guitar but its quality sound as well.
If you are interested to buy a left-handed guitar then you might consider the ask opinion to some people who owned this kind of instrument. They can somehow give you advice about the things that you need to consider.
Online market can also help you pick out the best choice as you can see different designs. Trough the use of internet you can easily open your doors for variety of choices. Left-handed guitar can make you up to date in terms of instruments and your kind of music as well.
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Question by cgghtb f: electric guitar???????????????
im going to start to play guitar.
electric guitar.
im looking for the shecter that synyster gates plays but its like 699 dollars
i need lessons so im not buying rite away.
is there ne way 2 get it cheaper?
and where r some good guitar rentals/ lesson places?
thanx<
Brian G. Wert
well i live in new jersey sooo.....
Best answer:
Answer by mrsdebdav27 Craigs List
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments! Album review: Electric Wizard’s ‘Black Masses’
Electric Wizard are the progenitors of stoner metal, playing a style of metal with heavily layered distortion guitar and drone bass. The droning bass is meant to train your mind to focus on a single thing at a time, so it’s easy to get indulged in the music and not pay attention to your surroundings. Ever since Electric Wizard’s early success it’s created an entire genre of metal based on this ... Read more on The Recorder
Types of Guitars - Acoustic Electric Guitars, Electric Guitars, Classical Guitars, Hollow-body Guitars, Steel Guitars
Acoustic electric Guitars: this is a term used to describe acoustic guitars that have pickups installed in them so they can be plugged into amplifiers or PA systems. The majority of acoustic guitars you see on stage are acoustic electric guitars. Structurally, they are identical to traditional acoustic guitars.
Electric Guitars: these types of guitars made out of a solid piece of wood and rely exclusively on their electronic pickup systems and amplifiers for their volume. Their unique sound lends itself best to rock and roll, but they have also substantially shaped the sound of country music in the last 50 years. (Think "twang")
Classical Guitars: also called "nylon-string", classical guitars are used almost exclusively in the classical and folk idioms, but can also be found on more popular recordings. Carlos Santana makes a lot of use of the classical guitar in his
recordings. Slightly smaller than a traditional acoustic, they feature slightly wider necks and strings that are made of nylon rather than steel, to give them a very gentle, warm sound. The best Classical guitars are usually from Spain.
Hollow-body Guitars: These are simply traditional electric guitars that have chambers cut in the body to allow for more sonic resonance. They come in many different sizes and are favored primarily by players of blues and jazz music.
Steel Guitars: These are the farthest breed apart from traditional guitars so far. While any guitarist can pick up any guitar
from the above list and play, a steel guitar requires special training to play. The guitar is played flat on its back, and the strings are elevated approximately half an inch above the fretboard. This allows the strings to be played using a "tone bar" that takes the place of the fingers on a fretboard and gives the steel guitar its classic "crying sound". This is the archetypal guitar sound.
Question by JessiXbby: Electric Guitar?
Is playing the electric guitar hard? Do you need to learn how to play regular guitar in order to play electric? Plz and thank you!
Best answer:
Answer by cope123 no its not hard like our guitar teacher at school tells us "guitar is easy to learn but hard to master" and no u ain't gotta start on a acoustic first but its recommend to like toughen your fingers up
Learn Electric Guitar Lesson - How to Create Melodies and Riffs to Your Guitar Playing
Learn Phrasing
Phrasing is just like you are delivering a speech. You know when to pause or raising your voice and to soften it. In guitar playing it is just the same. It's all about the feelings and emotions. How you communicate to your audience and how you deliver your message to them. That's what guitar playing is all about.
Create melodies and riffs
When playing the scales in ascending and descending order always try to create melodies for example, pick three notes over the scale and play it twice in triplets and then move over into the next notes. You can also use hammer on and pull off. Be creative and learn new rhythmic pattern within the scale. This will make the scale more interesting and it will add a great motivation to your playing.
Do some phrasing whenever you play chord progression. You can also include slides, hammer on and pull offs. The three low strings E, A and D are great for creating heavy riffs together with palm muting. You can combine down picking with alternate picking, playing it with an open string and power chords will definitely a killer.
Beginner Electric Guitar Lesson - 6 Steps to Get the Perfect Tone on Your Amplifier
With this beginner electric guitar lesson, we're going to talk about finding that perfect tone on your amplifier that will match your instrument and your sound. Apart from buying a guitar and choosing the amplifier, the tone that you create with those elements can make or break your sound.
Too often you hear guitarists that either lose all the definition in their lead riffs from heavy-intensive sounds or guys that bust open your ears from piercing highs. We can try to avoid damaging your listeners by using these 6 simple steps to find that tone "sweet spot" on your guitar's amplifier.
1. Think about the genres you want to play. The first filter you need to run your tone concepts through is the genre that you'll choose to play. For example, country-style guitars use more high and low tones while less mid range for more twang in the sound. Pop rock guitars like an even balance between the frequencies and maybe a tiny boost to the mid-range.
2. Turn your Low, Mid, and High tone knobs to zero. When you're determining just about anything with music, the first thing you should do is start with a clean slate. An important part of this beginner electric guitar lesson is not being afraid to start over with your sound because it's not all that complicated to get it back or make it even better.
3. Strum a chord. Let that tone ring true so you can really understand what it means to have a blank tone. After you hear what a dead tone sounds like, you're more likely to appreciate the tone that you create in comparison.
4. While striking single notes and chords, slowly raise and lower the Low tone knob. This is where you attempt to find your first sweet spot on the amplifier. If you continue to strike your lowest string while increasing the low tone, you'll hear the bass of the sound gradually swell. When you feel that you've hit the perfect amount, just stop.
5. Repeat step four, but with the Mid and High tone knobs. Do the same thing as the previous step in this beginner electric guitar lesson and you'll notice things starting to really come together. Make sure to continuously listen to the tone of different strings. Try to achieve a very round and balanced tone that represents all frequencies.
6. Do some final tweaking. If you need to, turn a couple of the knobs just a bit more to see what you can accomplish. At this point, you probably have a pretty good tone that might only need minor adjustments.
Let's talk about guitar distortion before we wrap things up.
Deciding on the perfect guitar distortion is whole other can of worms that should really be approached with some thought. It's a very integral part of your overall tone and can be saved for another discussion.
At this point, work diligently on finding the best distortion and tone with the steps in this beginner electric guitar lesson, and if you've exhausted all combinations, then it may be time to acquire other methods to change your tone with pedals or rack items.
Electric Guitar Lesson - Are You Good Enough To Be In A Band?
A common goal that crops up all the time when I'm teaching guitar is the goal of joining the band. And let's face it...it's a great goal. Being in a band will help you learn many musical skills that you just can't learn by yourself. Not to mention it's a fantastic way to stay motivated with your own guitar practice.
But here's the thing. Often guitarists are waiting to get "good enough" before they join a band. They want to get to a certain level of playing before they take the steps needed to be part of a band. Can you see some a problem with that?
On the surface it might appear sensible to "fully-prepare" yourself. But for many guitarists, delaying being in a band is a form of procrastination. And I feel that this procrastination is often caused by fear or self-esteem issues.
You Get Good Enough By Doing
Often guitar players don't realize that the way you get good enough to be in a band is to join or form a band. The truth is that you don't really learn how to be in a band until you join one. It's like riding a bike. You don't start really learning to ride a bike until you start practicing riding a bike!
The really cool thing is that being in a band will give you real-life feedback as to what you need to work on. You'll find out weaknesses that you never knew you had! And this helps you to grow as a musician and guitarist.
For Example: When I had been playing about 2 years I joined a speed metal band which was playing a combination of covers and originals. Once I joined I realized that I just didn't have the chops to play some of the songs. (We were playing some covers by Slayer, which at the time were way beyond me).
So what did I do? I practiced my butt off. And the great thing is that within a few months I was able to play all the songs that I needed to learn. And I doubt I would have progressed so quickly if I were just practicing in my room.
Some Simple Steps To Take
If you still feel that you're not good enough yet, then how about doing these steps...
Step 1: Define Good.
Have you actually defined what "good enough" is? If not, you need to do that now...otherwise you could procrastinate forever. For Example: Maybe you could say to yourself when you can play five songs from start to finish you are good enough. Make a commitment to yourself that once you learn the songs, you will start looking for a band to join.
Step 2: Start Jamming
I recommend starting to jam with other musicians ASAP. The cool thing about jams is that they are very low pressure. And because of this you can gain valuable experience playing with other musicians in a relaxed environment. Another good thing about jamming is that you'll realize that absolutely everyone is a work in progress. What I mean is that everyone has things about their playing that they need to improve. No one is perfect.
Step 3: Look For Music Performance Courses.
If you live in a big city there are bound to be some music performance courses. These are usually run by experienced musicians, and are designed to give people real-life experience of playing in a band. These sorts of courses are a fantastic way to build confidence.
Electric Guitar Lesson - Are You Good Enough To Be In A Band?
common goal that crops up all the time when I'm teaching guitar is the goal of joining the band. And let's face it…it's a great goal. Being in a band will help you learn many musical skills that you just can't learn by yourself. Not to mention it's a fantastic way to stay motivated with your own guitar practice.
But here's the thing. Often guitarists are waiting to get "good enough" before they join a band. They want to get to a certain level of playing before they take the steps needed to be part of a band. Can you see some a problem with that?
On the surface it might appear sensible to "fully-prepare" yourself. But for many guitarists, delaying being in a band is a form of procrastination. And I feel that this procrastination is often caused by fear or self-esteem issues.
You Get Good Enough By Doing
Often guitar players don't realize that the way you get good enough to be in a band is to join or form a band. The truth is that you don't really learn how to be in a band until you join one. It's like riding a bike. You don't start really learning to ride a bike until you start practicing riding a bike!
If you want to know more about this articles, You can go and them at
B.C. Rich Warlock Electric Guitar, Black The Warlock features an aggressive body style, dual B.C. Rich humbucker pickups, and a 24-fret neck. The body is built from agathi...
A combo package of four complete guitar video courses each packed with numberous guitar lessons designed for guitarists who are ready to take their playing to next level...and beyond!
These lessons are for beginner, intermediate and advanced guitarists. You'll learn how to play electric guitar with 15 year music teaching veteran Al Bermudez, who's intelligible and comprehensive lessons are easy to understand.
Starting with beginner guitar lessons this guitar course will teach you everything you need to know to begin playing lead guitar from the most basic beginning principles, to the most subtle advanced nuances, and will transform you into a complete guitarist who can make their guitar sing.
With this series you'll learn to play electric guitar in a natural progression. Each theory, principle and/or technique taught in one lesson is applied in the next, so what you learn is constantly being reinforced and becoming ingrained into you musical consciousness: there for you to call upon whenever you need it.
And the best part is, you can do all this without having the ability to read music!
That's because our online electric guitar lessons (also available on DVD) includes guitar TABs. Guitar TABs are an intuitive music notating system that shows you exactly where the notes are on the guitar, unlike conventional standard music notion (also included) that merely tells you which notes to play.
In a nutshell, if you're learning to play guitar and want to become a lead guitarist, Ultimate Guitar Lessons Complete Pack clearly and precisely shows you how to get the most out of your guitar and play like you never thought possible.
Learning to Play Guitar
Fine tune your guitar technique for speed, control and accuracy!
Just as a tune up makes car more responsive, tuning up how you play the guitar gives you the confidence to reach out and play faster runs, skip from string to string, and add special effects that really makes your playing shine.
Here you'll learn to play guitar with proper left and right hand positioning. You will be able to play quicker with less fatigue, while at the same time increasing your accuracy and improving your tone.
Included in this specialized series of lesson are exercises that'll help you increase your finger independence and your familiarity with the neck of the guitar.
Completing these beginner guitar lessons, you'll know how to play electric guitar using such eye-popping and ear-pleasing techniques such as string bending, hammer on and pull offs, string skipping and more, up and down the entire length of your guitar's neck.
Learning to play guitar using the techniques in these lessons will set you apart from the pack. You'll make your guitar a more expressive instrument with the use of tremolo, vibrato, muting and other articulations that many other electric guitar lessons on DVD simply ignore.
Guitar Scales
Knowing the scales on the guitar is a must for anyone learning to play guitar. Many guitarists try to skip over learn the scales in various positions only to get "box in" when it's their turn to solo.
Playing "box" patterns that are often taught in beginner guitar lessons is not unlike painting with just a couple of colors, where as having the various scales at your disposal gives you an unlimited palate of colors to choose from at your fingertips.
With these scale studies, you'll learn to play electric guitar using the entire neck of your guitar. Not only will you be able to solo from the lowest notes to the highest notes on your guitar, you'll be able start your solo virtually anywhere on the fingerboard.
In addition to the major and minor scales, these electric guitar lessons also cover the pentatonic scale and its various inversions, as well as the chromatic scale with all of its valuable "in between" notes.
Mastering these scales will make your solos more melodic and have you playing comfortably anywhere on the neck of your guitar.
How to Play Lead Guitar
These are master class lessons that dive into the details of how to construct a musically viable, crowd pleasing solo.
Designed for the intermediate level guitarist who is looking to expand upon their beginner guitar lessons, or the advanced guitar player wanting to review the basics and learn some new killer licks, these lessons contain sound principles that you'll use every time you pick up your guitar.
Everything is covered from how to breakdown the chord changes you'll be playing over, to which scales work best for to create the mood you desire.
Then you'll learn how to construct your own solos from the beginning; you'll learn how to play electric guitar with the elements of phrasing, how to end your solos with maximum impact, and even how to adding a little flash that will have everyone saying, "Wow, that was cool!"
You'll play electric guitar solos with the easy confidence of a seasoned pro, and pick up more than 500 tasty guitar licks along the way.
Concepts for Guitar Soloing
Learning to play guitar in the style of the masters is made easy with Concepts for Guitar Soloing Vol. 2.
Continuing to pull the thread with the elements that you learn in vol. 1, these electric guitar lessons show you even more advanced principles for constructing solos while expanding your musical horizon in a variety of styles, including rock, blues and even funk.
You'll also increase your musical vocabulary and your repertoire with even more hot licks, along with a few trade secrets that you won't find anywhere else. This is where you'll learn to play electric guitar in a whole different realm: the professional arena.
Once upon a time, you'd have to take years of private lessons to get all the training, concepts and licks that we combined into the definitive comprehensive guitar soloing package that has given thousand of guitarist the ability to play how they always wanted to play.
If you want to know more about this articles, You can go and them at Electric Guitar lessons
Question by Girly_girl114: Electric guitar?
I really want to learn how to play the electric guitar. But I can't find a teacher in my area. So how can I learn??
When you first pick up the electric guitar and are unsure exactly what to do with it, one of the first things you will generally learn are some simple chords.
So, just what is a chord, anyway?
Technically, a chord is a set of harmonically related notes, played simultaneously. To be less academic about it, a chord is what happens when you strum several strings together to create a pleasing sound.
The first chords you will learn here are known as Open Chords. These chords take advantage of the open strings.
There is another type of chord known as a Barre Chord. These chords involve pressing one or more fingers down across several strings. Because barre chords involve no open strings, the same shapes can be moved up and down the neck to create a chord in any key. In theory they are not any more complex to play than an open chord. However, they do require more strength in the fingering hand, which can make them frustrating for very new guitarists. This is only a problem for beginner guitarists, after a brief time learning electric guitar you will quickly have enough strength not to be bothered by having to barre a chord.
Chords are named after their root note. The root note is just what musicians the note around which the chord is built. They come in two basic varieties, major and minor. A major chord can be said to have a "strong", "bright" and "happy" sound, while a minor chord has a comparitively "darker" or more "melancholy" sound.
To start with here, for your first chords, we will play 3 different major open chords. For help reading the chord charts, see my post on how to read chord charts. And now, without any further ado, here are the chords:
To play an Open E, place your index finger on the G string at the first fret, place your middle finger on the A string at the second fret, and place your ring finger on the D string at the second fret. Then play every string and let the chord ring out. You've just played an open E!
To play an Open A, place your middle finger on the D string at the second fret, place your ring finger on the G string at the second fret, and place your pinky on B string at the second fret. Then play every string except for the low E.
To play an Open D, place your index finger on the G string at the second fret, place your middle finger on the high E string at the second fret, and place your ring finger on the B string at the third fret. Then sound the 4 high strings, leaving the low E and the A strings unplayed.
That's it, you now know three chords on the electric guitar! If they feel a bit awkward at first, that's okay. Keep playing through them so that they feel a bit more natural, and stay tuned for more posts on how to use these three chords to play a song.
Gibson's Top 50 guitarists of all time – 50 to 41
The Gibson guitar company is compiling a list of the top 50 guitarists of all time. They've got their list from some fairly inscrutable process involving votes from their website's readers, and from their own team of judges. They are releasing their results ten at a time, so here are guitarists #50 to #41- I've included a little bit of information about each guitarist.
One of the most influential guitarists of all time, who managed to combine raucous blues-rock riffing with european classical inspired phrases in a way that nobody had attempted before. His raw panache, affinity for the harmonic minor scale and love for the Fender Stratocaster inspired many guitarists throughout the years, including a young Yngwie Malmsteen. A truly prolific and prodigious performer, he is probably most widely known for writing the instantly recognisable riff to Smoke on the Water, as well as for his much-publicised disputes with his bandmates.
49. (tie) Kurt Cobain (Nirvana)
Though not a master technician by any stretch, and an extremely unlikely guitar hero, for a brief time in the early 1990s this guy probably did more to prompt young kids to learn guitar than anybody else on the planet. His band Nirvana was the flagship band of the grunge movement, which combined punk and alternative attitude with much of the riffmanship of hard rock and early heavy metal. He was known for playing heavily modified, discontinued Fender guitars, and an ever changing variety of amps and effects.
47. (tie) Robert Fripp (King Crimson, solo)
Robert Fripp is not the pioneer of progressive rock guitar, but over the years he has probably become it's principal exponent. A left-hander who plays right-handed guitars, he is notable for being one of the few famous guitarists to emerge from the late 60s and early 70s without a significant blues influence in his playing. His crossing of avant-garde jazz and european classical ideas with rock instrumentation became a key part of progressive rock and jazz fusion.
47. (tie) Andrés Segovia
A spanish classical guitarist born in the nineteenth century, he influenced classical guitar both as a performer and as a transcriptionist, teacher and arranger. The video recording of him playing live at the Alhambra are an excellent introduction to his work.
A blues guitarist and singer from Arkansas, whose work with Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters managed to influence Jimmy Page, Robbie Robertson, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Keith Richards and Joe Perry. At 78 years old, and despite health complications, he is still touring.
42. (tie) Clarence White (Nashville West, Muleskinner, The Kentucky Colonels, The Byrds)
Clarence White was a bluegrass guitarist who moved to Los Angeles to find work as a session player. By joining The Byrds he became one of the key influences in marrying country music to rock.
42. (tie) Rory Gallagher (Taste, solo)
An Irish blues-rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, who formed the band Taste in the 1960s and performed solo for decades after. Along with Van Morrison and Phil Lynott, he was among the first Irish musicians to become famous by performing blues-based rock. Such was his influence on the genre that David Coverdale invited him to replace Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple, although he chose instead to pursue his solo career.
42. (tie) John Frusciante (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
After replacing Hilel Slovak as the guitarist for funk-rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, he found himself launched into mainstream celebrity after their breakthrough album Blood Sugar Sex Magic. Drug problems saw him replaced for some years by Jane's Addiction's Dave Navarro, though he has since returned to the band.
42. (tie) Richard Thompson
An electric folk player from the 60s who still performs today. A performer in his own right, he has also written songs for artists as diverse as Dave Gilmour, Bonnie Raitt and The Corrs. 41. David Gilmour (Pink Floyd, solo)
A progressive rock guitarist who has influenced players for decades ever since joining Pink Floyd in the early days of the band when led by fellow guitarist Syd Barrett. While he is often cited for his innovative use of effects and adventurous song ideas, the lead guitar playing which he is most noted for is deeply rooted in the blues.
So why learn to play guitar?
For many of us, our decision to learn guitar is not something we ever thought about too hard. It was almost as though it was made for us.. we just knew that it was something we had to do. For other people though, it's something they will need to find some logical reasons to do it. Here are some of the best reasons why you would want to learn to play electric guitar.
It will make you smarter
Studies have shown that kids who learn musical instruments do better in school. An interview with over 1000 CEOs and congressmen found that over 90% said that playing a musical instrument helped them "develop character and leadership skills". It's not to see why.. learning a musical instrument will improve your concentration, your hand eye coordination, and makes you think for yourself.
It's a good way to connect with other people
Playing guitar can seem like it might be a solitary activity.. and when you just feel like chilling out on your own, it can be. But it also provides so many chances to meet new people, and make friends that last a lifetime! Playing in a band, jamming at jam sessions, having a bash at an open mic night all get you out of the house, socialising and having fun. Even when you leave the guitar at home, simply being a guitar player will give you something in common with other guitarists, and players of other instruments besides. I don't know of a single guitarist who doesn't owe some of their strongest friendships to the instrument.
A guitar is an excellent songwriting tool
If you want to write your own music, you will find it much easier to do if you have the grasp of an instrument. And the best instruments for this are guitar, and piano/keyboards. Both instruments allow you to play both chords, riffs, and single note melodies. They also let you easily sing over the top of what you are playing.
It's a great way to blow off steam
Playing guitar can relax you – in those times when you are too tense or angry to relax, it can also be extremely cathartic. Way back in the 17th century (some 250 years before Leo Fender built his first guitar amplifier) the poet/playwright William Congreve knew this already, writing that "Musick has charms to soothe a savage Breast, To soften rocks, or bend a knotted Oak."
Learning Electric Guitar will help you play acoustic and bass guitar
The electric guitar and acoustic guitar are basically the same instrument. There are differences, of course. Acoustic guitars tend to have heavier strings, and less upper fret access. They also don't really get the same sweet singing tone of an electric guitar plugged into an overdriven amp. However, you can play the same notes and chords on the same strings and frets, provided they're both tuned the same. A bass guitar is also similar to an electric guitar. Basically, if you take the bottom 4 strings of an electric guitar, tune them an octave down, and put them on a much longer neck, then you will have a bass guitar. The left hand technique is much the same. Bass guitarists often use fingers instead of a pick, however knowing the guitar will make the bass easy to approach.
It will challenge you
Playing guitar is difficult. Even when you become good, there is always something new to tackle. Learning to play guitar involves finger strength, wrist strength, a great deal of coordination, a good ear, a little bit of reading, and a head for what you're playing. And somehow you have to combine all of those things to create something that communicates a thought or a feeling, and that speaks to people. Every new chord, every new song, every new piece of theory and every new approach to constructing melodies and phrases that you master is a real and substantial achievement. This is part of what makes playing guitar such a deeply rewarding pursuit – the satisfaction that you feel when the work you put in turns into results.
It will give you a creative outlet
Playing guitar lets you express creative energy and emotion. It gives you a way to share it with an audience – or not, if you'd rather not. Either way, it's a wonderful tool for self expression, and for creative experimentation and for pursuing musical ideas.
A guitar is easy to transport
You can carry a guitar with one hand. An electric guitar fits easily in even a small car, in either the back seat, the passenger seat or the boot, with plenty of room to spare. It can be packed in a case with all the cables and accesories you need packed in there as well. You can walk down the street with it, or catch public transport with one. There are even guys who strap them to their back and ride a motorcycle with one. Try that with your piano or your drumkit!
It's so much fun!
A friend of mine likes to remark that playing guitar "is the most fun you can have with your clothes on" – although, I guess, that's not always strictly necessary. It's hard to explain just what it is about playing guitar that can make you feel so damn great. But it's a great activity that you can enjoy throughout your life, and that will comfort you in the bad times and keep you happy in the good. There's something about it that just puts a smile on your face. Give it a try!
Buying a gift for a guitarist
Birthdays, anniversaries, christmas time – these are all times when you might need or want to buy a gift for someone. What better thing to get a guitarist than a guitar related gift? It's a good idea, but there's just so much out there you could choose from. Here are some ideas to get you started.
Picks and strings: These make a great gift idea, for a number of reasons. Firstly, because they're fairly affordable. And secondly, because guitarists can always use more of them! Even the guitarist who has everything will wear out his picks and strings and need to replace them periodically. Make sure you get the right type though! Strings need to be replaced by strings of the same gauge, otherwise the guitar will need a new setup for a new string gauge. Picks will also need to be a similar material and thickness to what the guitarist is used to. If you don't want to ruin the surprise of the gift by asking what they use currently, you can always ask their partner or somebody who lives with the guitarist to see if they can have a look at the packaging of the strings or set of picks that they last bought
Tuning a Guitar – What should you tune to?
An electric guitar really does sound a lot better when it's in tune. Even the nicest, priciest, most gorgeous fourteen thousand dollar special edition Les Paul will sound terrible if the tuning is out. If you're not sure exactly what you should tune to, here's a guide.
Standard tuning on a guitar is – going from the lowest pitch strings to the highest – E, A, D, G, B, E. This is the "normal" way to tune a guitar, and if you see a song written with no guide for what to tune to, this is what you should assume you tune to. Refer to the picture on the left for a guide.
You will often hear of tunings referred to as "C standard", "E flat standard" etc. This means that every string has been lowered from standard tuning by the same number of steps, so that the low string is set to the note in the name of the tuning. Because each string has been lowered by the same amount, the guitar can be played exactly the same as a standard tuning guitar, it will just sound at a lower pitch.
Open tunings are tunings that will play a chord when you simply strike all the open strings. They are popular with slide players, because you can get a new chord just by moving.
Drop tunings are guitars tuned to standard tuning, with the lowest string "dropped" an extra whole step. "Drop D" is a standard tuning except with the lowest string tuned down to D. Drop C is a standard tuning with every string lowered a whole step, except for the lowest string which is lowered two whole steps to C, etc. Drop tunings are popular with a lot of guitarists, who like how they allow you to play a power chord by playing the bottom three strings all on the same fret.
Tuning to Concert Pitch
Until a little over a century ago, there was no standard in western music for the correct pitch for each note. Different instruments could be perfectly in tune with themselves, and then be woefully out of tune when played together. To allow instruments to play together, some standards of pitch were introduced over the centuries, however these could vary wildly between region to region, and even in the same city.
In 1939, an international conference set a standard that the A above Middle C should be set at 440 Hz, and this is now known as Concert Pitch.
So what does this mean for you as a guitarist? Well, if you're just going to be playing alone, not a lot actually; it will be enough that your guitar is in tune with itself. But if you are going to be playing along with a band, or with a recording, then you will want your guitar to be in tune not just with itself, but with everyone else too. If you are using an electronic tuner then you can pretty much rely on it to tune you to concert pitch. If you are tuning by ear to another instrument, be aware that it might not be in concert pitch! Some pianos are tuned slightly flat, not being able to be take the strain of being tuned all the way to concert pitch, due to age or design. If you tune to one of these, and then try to jam with some dudes who have tuned using an electronic tuner then things might sound a little sour. You have to be just as careful if you are tuning by ear to a recording. Many recordings are not in concert pitch too – bands like Pantera often tuned slightly flat of the notes on purpose because they liked the sound – many older bands often didn't have an electronic tuner available, and just tuned to a note from an electronic organ or from the bass guitar. Some even had the pitch of the recording changed by altering the speed of the magnetic tape they recorded to, sometimes by accident, and sometimes on purpose. Chuck Berry was famously sped up a great deal, because the record company wanted to "make him sound younger".
So does this mean you will always want to tune to concert pitch? Most of the time you will probably want to. But when you are going to be playing along to recordings or with instruments that are tuned to a different pitch, then you will want to be in tune with them. Some electronic tuners can be set to a pitch sharp or flat from concert pitch.. otherwise you can tune by ear to a note from the recording, or to one of the other instruments. If there is a fixed-tune instrument in the band, such as a piano or keyboard, then tune to a note from that.
Charvel Guitars
I'm a big fan of Charvel and Jackson guitars myself. I first became interested in them when finding out that a lot of my favourite players, such as Eddie Van Halen, Warren Demartini, Randy Rhoads, Vinnie Vincent, Richie Sambora, George Lynch, Jake E. Lee and even Billy Gibbons were, and often still are, players of the brand.
Charvel are one of the most important and influential innovators in the history of guitar making. Starting off as a repair, parts and customisation shop, Wayne Charvel was one of the first luthiers to provide exotic and adventurous finishes for guitarists not satisfied with the plain sunbursts and solid colours offered by the major manufacturers at the time. Wayne Charvel was a hotrod enthusiast, and brought the hotrod flames over to guitars, customising some of ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons' fender guitars with a hotrod flame finish. The original charvel shop also sold high quality parts, at a time when the big makers had definitely let their standards drop.
But it's as the originators of the "superstrat" that Charvel really had their biggest impact on the electric guitar. A young Eddie Van Halen bought a stratocaster style neck and body from the Charvel guitar shop, and put a humbucker in the bridge, using a nail to fix it to the body, and painting it white with black stripes. When, under Grover Jackson, Charvel started making their own guitars, this guitar was the template that they took for their superstrat. This guitar had a similar body shape to a Fender Stratocaster, but had a humbucker in the bridge, and very soon were made with Kahler and Floyd Rose tremolo systems, allowing for excellent tuning stability. The necks were made especially well, allowing fast playing and excellent access to the upper frets. They also featured rear routed electronics cavities, instead of the pickguards contained on the traditional stratocaster, making for a better tone with no plastic right underneath the strings, not to mention a more tasteful and streamlined appearance.
Charvel also introduced the compound radius neck. This is a neck that with a lower radius near the headstock than near the body.. meaning that the neck felt rouder at the nut, making chord work and riffs much easier to play. Up high though, the neck was flat and wide, making it easier to play leads and to bend notes.
The original Charvels are known as "San Dimas" Charvels, named for the neck plates which contained the words San Dimas, though only the companies PO Box was in San Dimas, while the actual production was in Glendora, California. The first runs of japanese Charvels were also exceptional quality instruments.. these being known as the "model" series guitars because they were named Charvel Model 1, Charvel Model 5 etc. These are some of the most original and innovative guitars made, offering superb tone and breathtaking styling, along with extremely high quality parts and manufacture.
Unfortunately, while the original non-american guitars were as good as the San Dimas Charvels, the company started cutting costs aggressively and making some absolutely abysmal instruments. By the end of the eighties, Charvel had gone from being a custom luthiery workshop into an extremely well recognised brand, with their guitars featured on the album covers and in the music videos of many of the defining bands of the era. As happens way too often, once a guitar brand becomes well known and sought after, it becomes possible for them to produce substandard instruments and sell them purely on the strength of the name on the headstock. This certainly happened with Charvel.. by the time the grunge revolution hit music and superstrats were no longer fashionable, the brand no longer had its reputation for quality to rely on. Charvel guitars are now owned by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, and are produced in the USA again, with many of the original Charvel employees working on them. The original 80s instruments are also still available on the second hand market, and more than 20 years later remain excellent instruments.
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