Feed: Guitar Forum and Resources. Buying, Playing, Electric and Acoustic - AggScore: 50.7

Lady Gaga's new single, "Born This Way"

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Lady Gaga's new single, "Born This Way" Just Released


The 53rd Grammy® Awards on February 13th will determine which of music's and iTunes 2010 top sellers will take home the Awards for their respective categories. Download the GRAMMY® Nominated albums and songs from Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Eminem, Justin, Bieber, Cee Lo Green, Lady Antebellum, Arcade Fire, and on and on.

The Beatles' LOVE, the soundtrack to the Cirque du Soleil show and groundbreaking remix album is now available, with two iTunes exclusive songs and iTunes LP. Original Beatles Producer George Martin and his son Giles worked with the entire archive of Beatles' music to create this Grammy® Award Winning album.

iTunes brings you The Beatles

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Well it finally happened and Apple and Apple become friends. At last we can have all the Fab Four and everything they recorded available for legal download.
With a 14 album box set, 16 albums total, and the entire stream of Live at the Washington Coliseum, 1964, iTunes brings you The Beatles.

Each album comes with iTunes LP, which features lyrics, photos, and more. The Beatles Box Set includes the band's entire catalog, plus mini-documentary features on each album, and the bands' first performance in the US.



At last you can get the Fab Four and their whole Box Set through iTunes.
The Beatles Box Set - The Beatles
Or start off small with the awesome Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles

The Beatles. The band that changed everything, now on iTunes!

The guitar

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The guitar is a musical instrument of the chordophone family, being a stringed instrument played by plucking, either with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number but sometimes more, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with either nylon or steel strings. Some modern guitars are made of polycarbonate materials. Guitars are made and repaired by luthiers. There are two primary families of guitars: acoustic and electric.

Acoustic guitars (and similar instruments) with hollow bodies, have been in use for over a thousand years. There are three main types of modern acoustic guitar: the classical guitar (nylon-string guitar), the steel-string acoustic guitar, and the archtop guitar. The tone of an acoustic guitar is produced by the vibration of the strings, which is amplified by the body of the guitar, which acts as a resonating chamber. The classical guitar is often played as a solo instrument using a comprehensive fingerpicking technique. Electric guitars, introduced in the 1930s, rely on an amplifier that can electronically manipulate tone. Early amplified guitars employed a hollow body, but a solid body was found more suitable. Electric guitars have had a continuing profound influence on popular culture. Guitars are recognized as a primary instrument in genres such as blues, bluegrass, country, flamenco, jazz, jota, mariachi, reggae, rock, soul, and many forms of pop.


Before the development of the electric guitar and the use of synthetic materials, a guitar was defined as being an instrument having "a long, fretted neck, flat wooden soundboard, ribs, and a flat back, most often with incurved sides". The term is used to refer to a number of related instruments that were developed and used across Europe beginning in the 12th century and, later, in the Americas. These instruments are descended from ones that existed in ancient central Asia and India. For this reason guitars are distantly related to modern instruments from these regions, including the tanbur, the setar, and the sitar. The oldest known iconographic representation of an instrument displaying the essential features of a guitar is a 3,300 year old stone carving of a Hittite bard.

The modern word " guitar ", and its antecedents, have been applied to a wide variety of cordophones since ancient times and as such is the cause of confusion. The English word "guitar" , the German "gitarre" , and the French "guitare" , were adopted from the Spanish guitarra , which comes from the Andalusian Arabic qitara itself derived from the Latin word cithara , which in turn came from the earlier Greek word kithara ( ), a descendant of Old Persian sihtar ( ) ( Tar means string in Persian).

Although the word guitar is descended from the Roman word cithara , the modern guitar itself is not generally believed to have descended from the roman instrument. It is often claimed the modern guitar has it roots in in the arrival of the four-string oud, introduced by the invading Moors into Iberia in the 8th century. Another frequently suggested influence is the six-string Scandinavian lut (lute), which gained in popularity in areas of Viking incursions across medieval Europe. Often depicted in carvings c. 800 AD, the Norse hero Gunther (also known as Gunnar), played a lute with his toes as he lay dying in a snake-pit, in the legend of Siegfried.

Two four string medieval "guitars" that were in use by 1200 were the immediate ancestors of the modern guitar: the guitarra moresca (Moorish guitar) and guitarra latina (Latin guitar). The guitarra moresca is an instrument that displays strong Moorish influences; it had a rounded back, wide fingerboard, and several soundholes. The guitarra latina had a single soundhole and a narrower neck. By the 14th century the qualifiers "moresca" and "latina" had largely been dropped and these two four course instruments were usually simply referred to as guitars.

The Spanish vihuela or (in Italian) " viola da mano ", a guitar-like instrument of the 15th and 16th centuries, is widely considered to have been a seminal influence in the development of the modern guitar. It had six courses (usually), lute-like tuning in fourths and a guitar-like body, although early representations reveal an instrument with a sharply-cut waist. It was also larger than the contemporary four course guitars. By the late 15th century some vihuelas were played with a bow, leading to the development of the viol. By the sixteenth century the vihuela's construction had more in common with the modern guitar, with its curved one-piece ribs, than with the viols, and more like a larger version of the contemporary four-course guitars. The vihuela enjoyed only a short period of popularity in Spain and Italy during an era dominated elsewhere in Europe by the lute; the last surviving published music for the instrument appeared in 1576. Meanwhile the five-course baroque guitar, which was documented in Spain from the middle of the 16th century, enjoyed popularity, especially in Spain, Italy and France from the late 16th century to the mid 18th century. Confusingly, in Portugal, the word vihuela referred to the guitar, whereas guitarra meant the "Portuguese guitar", a variety of cittern. Types of guitars

The guitar player (c. 1672), by Johannes Vermeer

Guitars can be divided into two broad categories, acoustic and electric: Acoustic guitars

There are several notable subcategories within the acoustic guitar group: classical and flamenco guitars; steel-string guitars, which include the flat-topped, or "folk," guitar; twelve-string guitars; and the arched-top guitar. The acoustic guitar group also includes unamplified guitars designed to play in different registers, such as the acoustic bass guitar, which has a similar tuning to that of the electric bass guitar. Renaissance and Baroque guitars

These are the gracile ancestors of the modern classical guitar. They are substantially smaller and more delicate than the classical guitar, and generate a much quieter sound. The strings are paired in courses as in a modern 12-string guitar, but they only have four or five courses of strings rather than six. They were more often used as rhythm instruments in ensembles than as solo instruments, and can often be seen in that role in early music performances. (Gaspar Sanz' Instrucción de Música sobre la Guitarra Española of 1674 constitutes the majority of the surviving solo corpus for the era.) Renaissance and Baroque guitars are easily distinguished because the Renaissance guitar is very plain and the Baroque guitar is very ornate, with ivory or wood inlays all over the neck and body, and a paper-cutout inverted "wedding cake" inside the hole. Classical guitars

Eminent South American guitarist, Agustin Barrios These are typically strung with nylon strings, plucked with the fingers, played in a seated position and are used to play a diversity of musical styles including classical music. The classical guitar's wide, flat neck allows the musician to play scales, arpeggios, and certain chord forms more easily and with less adjacent string interference than on other styles of guitar. Flamenco guitars are very similar in construction, but are associated with a more percussive tone. In Mexico, the popular mariachi band includes a range of guitars, from the tiny requinto to the guitarrón, a guitar larger than a cello, which is tuned in the bass register. In Colombia, the traditional quartet includes a range of instruments too, from the small bandola (sometimes known as the Deleuze-Guattari, for use when traveling or in confined rooms or spaces), to the slightly larger tiple, to the full sized classical guitar. The requinto also appears in other Latin-American countries as a complementary member of the guitar family, with its smaller size and scale, permitting more projection for the playing of single-lined melodies. Modern dimensions of the classical instrument were established by the Spaniard Antonio de Torres Jurado (1817-1892). Extended-range classical guitar

An Extended-range classical guitar is a classical guitar with more than 6 strings, usually up to 13. Flamenco guitars

The flamenco guitar is similar to the classical guitar, but of lighter construction, with a cypress body and spruce top. Tuning pegs like those of a violin are traditional, although many modern flamenco guitars have machine heads. A distinguishing feature of all flamenco guitars is the tapping plates ( golpeadores ) glued to the table, to protect them against the taps with the fingernails that are an essential feature of the flamenco style. Many modern soloists (following the lead of Paco de Lucía) play what is called a flamenca negra, a hybrid of the flamenco and classical guitar constructions Flat-top (steel-string) guitars

Similar to the classical guitar, however, within the varied sizes of the steel-stringed guitar the body size is usually significantly larger than a classical guitar, and has a narrower, reinforced neck and stronger structural design. The robust X-bracing typical of the steel-string was developed in the 1840s by German-American luthiers of whom C. F. Martin is the best known. Originally used on gut-strung instruments, the strength of the system allowed the guitar to withstand the additional tension of steel strings when this fortunate combination arose in the early 20th century. The steel strings produce a brighter tone, and according to many players, a louder sound. The acoustic guitar is used in many kinds of music including folk, country, bluegrass, pop, jazz, and blues. Many variations are possible from the roughly classical-sized OO and Parlour to the large Dreadnought and Jumbo. Ovation makes a modern variation, with a rounded back/side assembly molded from artificial materials. Archtop guitars

These are steel-string instruments in which the top (and often the back) of the instrument are carved from a solid billet in a curved rather than a flat shape; this violin-like construction is usually credited to the American Orville Gibson (1856-1918). Lloyd Loar of the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co introduced the violin-inspired f-hole design now usually associated with archtop guitars, after designing a style of mandolin of the same type. The typical archtop guitar has a large, deep, hollow body whose form is much like that of a mandolin or violin family instrument. Nowadays, most archtops are equipped with magnetic pickups and are therefore both acoustic and electric. F-hole archtop guitars were immediately adopted upon their release by both jazz and country musicians and have remained particularly popular in jazz music, usually with flatwound strings. Selmer-Maccaferri guitars

These are usually played by those who follow the style of Django Reinhardt. It is an unusual-looking instrument, distinguished by a fairly large body with squarish bouts, and either a "D"-shaped or longitudinal oval soundhole. The strings are gathered at the tail like an archtop guitar, but the top is formed from thin spruce (like a flat-top or classical) forced into a shallow dome. It also has a wide fingerboard and slotted head like a nylon-string guitar. The loud volume and penetrating tone make it suitable for single-note soloing and it is frequently employed as a lead instrument in gypsy swing. An 8-string baritone tricone resonator guitar. Resonator , resophonic or Dobro guitars

All three principal types of resonator guitars were invented by the Slovak-American John Dopyera (1893-1988) for the National and Dobro ( Do pyera Bro thers) companies. Similar to the flat top guitar in appearance, but with a body that may be made of brass, nickel-silver, or steel as well as wood, the sound of the resonator guitar is produced by one or more aluminum resonator cones mounted in the middle of the top. The physical principle of the guitar is therefore similar to the loudspeaker. The original purpose of the resonator was to produce a very loud sound; this purpose has been largely superseded by electrical amplification, but the resonator guitar is still played because of its distinctive tone. Resonator guitars may have either one or three resonator cones. The method of transmitting sound resonance to the cone is either a "biscuit" bridge, made of a small piece of hardwood at the vertex of the cone (Nationals), or a "spider" bridge, made of metal and mounted around the rim of the (inverted) cone (Dobros). Three-cone resonators always use a specialized metal bridge. The type of resonator guitar with a neck with a square cross-section called "square neck" or "Hawaiian" is usually played face up, on the lap of the seated player, and often with a metal or glass slide. The round neck resonator guitars are normally played in the same fashion as other guitars, although slides are also often used, especially in blues. 12-string guitars

The twelve-string guitar usually has steel strings and is widely used in folk music, blues, and rock and roll. Rather than having only six strings, the 12-string guitar has six courses made up of two strings each, like a mandolin or lute. The highest two courses are tuned in unison, while the others are tuned in octaves. The 12-string guitar is also made in electric forms. Russian guitars

These seven-string acoustic guitars were the norm for Russian guitarists throughout the 19th and well into the 20th centuries. The Russian guitar is traditionally tuned to open G major. Acoustic bass guitars

Prime and bass acoustic guitars These have steel strings or gut strings and often the same tuning as an electric bass guitar. Guitarrón

The guitarrón is a very large, deep-bodied Mexican 6-string acoustic bass played in mariachi bands. It is fretless with heavy gauge nylon strings, and is usually played by doubling notes at the octave, which is facilitated by the unusual tuning of A D G C E A. Tenor guitars

A number of classical guitarists call the Niibori prime guitar a "Tenor Guitar" on the grounds that it sits in pitch between the alto and the bass. Elsewhere [ citation needed ] the name is taken for a 4-string guitar with a scale length of 23" (585 mm) about the same as a Terz Guitar. The tenor guitar is tuned in fifths, C G D A, as is the tenor banjo and the cello. It is generally accepted [ citation needed ] that the tenor guitar was created to allow a tenor banjo player to follow the fashion as it evolved from Dixieland Jazz towards the more progressive Jazz that featured guitar. It allows a tenor banjo player to provide a guitar-based rhythm section with little to learn. A small minority of players (such as Nick Reynolds of the Kingston Trio) close tuned the instrument to D G B E to produce a deep instrument that could be played with the 4-note chord shapes found on the top 4 strings of the guitar or ukulele. The deep pitch warrants the wide-spaced chords that the banjo tuning permits, and the close tuned tenor does not have the same full, clear sound. Harp guitars

Harp Guitars are difficult to classify as there are many variations within this type of guitar. They are typically rare and uncommon in the popular music scene. Most consist of a regular guitar, plus additional 'harp' strings strung above the six normal strings. The instrument is usually acoustic and the harp strings are usually tuned to lower notes than the guitar strings, for an added bass range. Normally there is neither fingerboard nor frets behind the harp strings. Some harp guitars also feature much higher pitch strings strung below the traditional guitar strings. The number of harp strings varies greatly, depending on the type of guitar and also the player's personal preference (as they have often been made to the player's specification). The Pikasso guitar; 4 necks, 2 sound holes, 42 strings] and also the Oracle Harp Sympitar; 24 strings (with 12 sympathetic strings protruding through the neck) are modern examples. Extended-range guitars

For well over a century guitars featuring seven, eight, nine, ten or more strings have been used by a minority of guitarists as a means of increasing the range of pitch available to the player. Usually, it is bass strings that are added. Classical guitars with an extended range are useful for playing lute repertoire, some of which was written for lutes with more than six courses. A typical example is the modern 11 string archguitar , invented and played by Peter Blanchette. Guitar battente

The battente is smaller than a classical guitar, usually played with four or five metal strings. It is mainly used in Calabria (a region in southern Italy) to accompany the voice. Electric guitars

Main article: Electric guitar Glen Campbell playing a Fender electric guitar with three single-coil pickups
This Fender Stratocaster has features common to many electric guitars: multiple pickups, a vibrato unit/tremolo bar, and volume and tone knobs.

Pickups are transducers attached to a guitar that detect (or "pick up") string vibrations and convert the mechanical energy of the string into electrical energy. The resultant electrical signal can then be electronically amplified. The most common type of pickup is electromagnetic in design. These contain magnets that are tightly wrapped in a coil, or coils, of copper wire. Such pickups are usually placed right underneath the guitar strings. Electromagnetic pickups work on the same principles and in a similar manner to an electrical generator. The vibration of the strings causes a small voltage to be created in the coils surrounding the magnets; this signal voltage is later amplified.

Traditional electromagnetic pickups are either single-coil or double-coil. Single-coil pickups are susceptible to noise induced from electric fields, usually mains-frequency (60 or 50 hertz) hum. The introduction of the double-coil humbucker in the mid-1950s did away with this problem through the use of two coils, one of which is wired in a reverse polarity orientation.

The types and models of pickups used can greatly affect the tone of the guitar. Typically, humbuckers, which are two magnet coil assemblies attached to each other are traditionally associated with a heavier sound. Single-coil pickups, one magnet wrapped in copper wire, are used by guitarists seeking a brighter, twangier sound with greater dynamic range.

Modern pickups are tailored to the sound desired. A commonly applied approximation used in selection of a pickup is that less wire (lower DC resistance) = brighter sound, more wire = "fat" tone. Other options include specialized switching that produces coil-splitting, in/out of phase and other effects. Guitar circuits are either active, needing a battery to power their circuit, or, as in most cases, equipped with a passive circuit.

Fender Stratocaster type guitars generally utilize three single-coil pickups, while most Gibson Les Paul types use humbucker pickups.

Piezoelectric, or piezo, pickups represent another class of pickup. These employ piezoelectricity to generate the musical signal and are popular in hybrid electro-acoustic guitars. A crystal is located under each string, usually in the saddle. When the string vibrates, the shape of the crystal is distorted, and the stresses associated with this change produce tiny voltages across the crystal that can be amplified and manipulated.

Some piezo-equipped guitars use what is known as a hexaphonic pickup. "Hex" is a prefix meaning six. In a hexaphonic pickup separate outputs are obtained from discrete piezoelectric pickups for each of the six strings. This arrangement allows the signal to be easily modified by on-board modelling electronics, as in the Line 6 Variax brand of electric guitars; the guitars allow for a variety of different sounds to be obtained by digitally manipulating the signal. This allows a guitar to mimic many vintage models of guitar, as well as output alternate tunings without the need to adjust the strings.

Another use for hexaphonic pickups is to send the output signals to a MIDI interpretation device, which determines the note pitch, duration, attack and decay characteristics and so forth. The MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) interpreter then sends the note information to a sound bank device. The resulting sound can closely mimic numerous types of instruments. Electronics

On guitars that have them, these components and the wires that connect them allow the player to control some aspects of the sound like volume or tone. These at their simplest consist of passive components such as potentiometers and capacitors, but may also include specialized integrated circuits or other active components requiring batteries for power, for preamplification and signal processing, or even for assistance in tuning. In many cases the electronics have some sort of shielding to prevent pickup of external interference and noise. Lining, Binding, and Purfling

The top, back and ribs of an acoustic guitar body are very thin (1 2 mm), so a flexible piece of wood called lining is glued into the corners where the rib meets the top and back. This interior reinforcement provides 5 to 20 mm of solid gluing area for these corner joints. Solid linings are often used in classical guitars, while kerfed lining is most often found in steel string acoustics. Kerfed lining is also called kerfing (because it is scored, or kerfed to allow it to bend with the shape of the rib).

During final construction, a small section of the outside corners is carved or routed out and filled with binding material on the outside corners and decorative strips of material next to the binding, which are called purfling. This binding serves to seal off the end grain of the top and back. Purfling can also appear on the back of an acoustic guitar, marking the edge joints of the two or three sections of the back.

Binding and purfling materials are generally made of either wood or plastic. Bridge

Main article: Bridge (instrument)

The main purpose of the bridge on an acoustic guitar is to transfer the vibration from the strings to the soundboard, which vibrates the air inside of the guitar, thereby amplifying the sound produced by the strings.

On all electric, acoustic and original guitars, the bridge holds the strings in place on the body. There are many varied bridge designs. There may be some mechanism for raising or lowering the bridge to adjust the distance between the strings and the fretboard (action), and/or fine-tuning the intonation of the instrument. Some are spring-loaded and feature a "whammy bar", a removable arm that lets the player modulate the pitch by moving the bridge back and forth. The whammy bar is sometimes also referred to as a "tremolo bar" (see Tremolo for further discussion of this term the effect of rapidly changing pitch produced by a whammy bar is more correctly called "vibrato"). Some bridges also allow for alternate tunings at the touch of a button.

On almost all modern electric guitars, the bridge is adjustable for each string so that intonation stays correct up and down the neck. If the open string is in tune but sharp or flat when frets are pressed, the bridge can be adjusted with a screwdriver or hex key to remedy the problem. In general, flat notes are corrected by moving the bridge forward and sharp notes by moving it backwards. On an instrument correctly adjusted for intonation, the actual length of each string from the nut to the bridge saddle is slightly but measurably longer than the scale length of the instrument. This additional length is called compensation, which flattens all notes a bit to compensate for the sharping of all fretted notes caused by stretching the string during fretting. Saddle

The saddle of a guitar refers to the structure on or parallel to the bridge. The saddle is most commonly found on acoustic guitars, but some models of hollow-bodied electric guitars have it. Its basic purpose is to hold the strings above the bridge and guitar, and to mute the vibration of the string so the strings do not buzz and/or damage themselves or the bridge. It is comparable in size and function to the nut, and variations in its design are not uncommon. Pickguard

Main article: Pickguard

Also known as a scratchplate. This is usually a piece of laminated plastic or other material that protects the finish of the top of the guitar from damage due to the use of a plectrum or fingernails. Electric guitars sometimes mount pickups and electronics on the pickguard. It is a common feature on steel-string acoustic guitars. Vigorous performance styles such as flamenco, which can involve the use of the guitar as a percussion instrument, call for a scratchplate to be fitted to nylon-string instruments. Whammy Bar (Tremolo Arm)

Main article: Tremolo arm

Many electric guitars are fitted with a vibrato and pitch bend device known as a "tremolo bar (or arm)", "sissy bar", "wang bar", "slam handle", "whammy handle", and "whammy bar". The latter two terms led stompbox manufacturers to use the term 'whammy' in coming up with a pitch raising effect introduced by popular guitar effects pedal brand Digitech.

The tremolo arm is common enough that there is a technical term, hard tail , for a guitar without one.

Leo Fender, who did much to create the electric guitar, also created much confusion over the meaning of the terms "tremolo" and "vibrato" by the naming the "tremolo" unit on many of his guitars and also the "vibrato" unit on his "Vibrolux" amps. In general, vibrato is a variation in pitch, whereas tremolo is a variation in volume, so the tremolo bar is actually a vibrato bar and the "Vibrolux" amps actually had a tremolo effect. However, following Fender's example, electric guitarists traditionally reverse these meanings when speaking of hardware devices and the effects they produce. See vibrato unit for a more detailed discussion, and tremolo arm for more of the history.

Another type of pitch bender is the B-Bender, a spring and lever device mounted in an internal cavity of a solid body electric, guitar that allows the guitarist to bend just the B string of the guitar using a lever connected to the strap handle of the guitar. The resulting pitch bend is evocative of the sound of the pedal steel guitar. Guitar strap

A guitar strap is a strip of fabric with a leather or synthetic leather piece on each end. It is made to hold a guitar via the shoulders, at an adjustable length to suit the position favoured by the guitarist.

Guitars have varying accommodations for attaching a strap. The most common are strap buttons, also called strap pins, which are flanged steel posts anchored to the guitar with screws. Two strap buttons come pre-attached to virtually all electric guitars, and many steel-string acoustic guitars. Strap buttons are sometimes replaced with "strap locks" which connect the guitar to the strap more securely.

The lower strap button is usually located at the bottom (bridge end) of the body. The upper strap button is usually located near or at the top (neck end) of the body: on the upper body curve, at the tip of the upper "horn" (on a double cutaway), or at the neck joint (heel). Some electrics, especially those with odd-shaped bodies, have one or both strap buttons on the back of the body. Some Steinberger electric guitars, owing to their minimalist and lightweight design, have both strap buttons at the bottom of the body. Rarely, on some acoustics, the upper strap button is located on the headstock.

Some acoustic and classical guitars only have a single strap button at the bottom of the body the other end must be tied onto the headstock, above the nut and below the machine heads.

Some acoustic and classical guitars come with no strap buttons at all. In this case, one or two strap buttons can usually be added to the guitar, or a "classical guitar strap" (also called a "guitar harness" or "neck strap") can be used, which supports the guitar by hooking into the sound hole. Self-tuning guitars

Main article: Musical tuning

Self-tuning guitars are computerized guitars programmed to tune themselves. The Gibson Robot Guitar, released in 2007, is often mistaken as the first of this kind, but was preceded by the Transperformance system by at least 20 years. Gibson has also released a second, self-tuning model called the Dark Fire. [ citation needed ] Tuning

Main article: Guitar tuning See also: Stringed instrument tunings

The guitar is a transposing instrument. Its pitch sounds one octave lower than it is notated on a score.

A variety of different tunings may be used. The most common tuning, known as "Standard Tuning," has the strings tuned from a low E, to a high E, traversing a two octave range EADGBE. When all strings are played open the resulting chord is an Em7/add11.

A guitar using this tuning can tune to itself using the fact, with a single exception, that the 5th fret on one string is the same note as the next open string; that is, a 5th-fret note on the sixth string is the same note as the open fifth string. The exception is the interval between the second and third strings, in which the 4th-fret note on the third string is equivalent to the open second string.

Standard tuning has evolved to provide a good compromise between simple fingering for many chords and the ability to play common scales with minimal left hand movement. Uniquely, the guitar's tuning allows for repeatable patterns, which also facilitates the ease of playing common scales. There are also a variety of commonly used alternate tunings. Most of these are open tunings, i.e., the unfretted strings produce a simple chord, such as a G Major chord. Many open tunings, where all of the strings are tuned to a similar note or chord, are popular for slide guitar playing. Alternate tunings are used for two main reasons: the ease of playing and the variation in tone that can be achieved.

Many guitarists use a long established, centuries-old tuning variation where the lowest string is 'dropped' down a whole tone. Known as Drop-D (or dropped D) tuning it is, from low to high, DADGBE. This allows for open string tonic and dominant basses in the keys of D and D minor. It also enables simple fifths (powerchords) to be more easily played. Eddie Van Halen sometimes uses a device known as a 'D Tuna,' which he patented. It is a small lever, attached to the fine tuner of the 6th string on a Floyd Rose tremolo, which allows him to easily drop that string from E to D. Many contemporary rock bands retune all strings by several semi-tones, making, for example, Drop-C or Drop-B tunings, However this terminology is inconsistent with that of "drop-D" as "drop-D" refers to dropping a single string to the named pitch. Often these new tunings are also simply referred to as the "Standard" of the note in question e.g. "D Standard" (DGcfad').

Some guitarists tune in straight fourths, avoiding the major third between the third and second strings. While this makes playing major and minor triads slightly more difficult, it facilitated playing chords with more complicated extended structures. [ citation needed ] One proponent of the straight fourth tuning (EADGCF) is Stanley Jordan.

As with all stringed instruments a large number of scordatura are possible on the guitar. A common form of scordatura involves tuning the 3rd string to F to mimic the standard tuning of the lute, especially when playing renaissance repertoire originally written for the lute. Guitar accessories

Though a guitar may be played on its own, there are a variety of common accessories used for holding and playing the guitar. Capotasto

Main article: Capo

A capo (short for capotasto ) is used to change the pitch of open strings. Capos are clipped onto the fret board with the aid of spring tension, or in some models, elastic tension. To raise the guitar's pitch by one semitone, the player would clip the capo onto the fret board just below the first fret. Its use allows players to play in different keys without having to change the chord formations they use. Because of the ease with which they allow guitar players to change keys, they are sometimes referred to as "cheaters" or the "hillbilly crutch." Classical performers are known to use them to enable modern instruments to match the pitch of historical instruments such as the renaissance lute. Slides

Main article: Slide Guitar

A slide, (neck of a bottle, knife blade or round metal bar) used in blues and rock to create a glissando or 'Hawaiian' effect. The necks of bottles were often used in blues and country music. Modern slides are constructed of glass, plastic, ceramic, chrome, brass or steel, depending on the weight and tone desired. An instrument that is played exclusively in this manner, (using a metal bar) is called a steel guitar or pedal steel. Slide playing to this day is very popular in blues music and country music. Some slide players use a so called Dobro guitar.

Some performers that have become famous for playing slide are Robert Johnson, Elmore James, Ry Cooder, George Harrison, Bonnie Raitt, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Duane Allman, Muddy Waters, Rory Gallagher, and George Thorogood. Plectrum

Main article: Guitar pick A variety of guitar picks

A "guitar pick" or "plectrum" is a small piece of hard material generally held between the thumb and first finger of the picking hand and is used to "pick" the strings. Though most classical players pick with a combination of fingernails and fleshy fingertips, the pick is most often used for electric and steel-string acoustic guitars. Though today they are mainly plastic, variations do exist, such as bone, wood, steel or tortoise shell. Tortoise shell was the most commonly used material in the early days of pick-making, but as tortoises and turtles became endangered, the practice of using their shells for picks or anything else was banned. Tortoise-shell picks made before the ban are often coveted for a supposedly superior tone and ease of use, and their scarcity has made them valuable.

Picks come in many shapes and sizes. Picks vary from the small jazz pick to the large bass pick. The thickness of the pick often determines its use. A thinner pick (between .2 and .5 mm) is usually used for strumming or rhythm playing, whereas thicker picks (between .7 and 1.5+ mm) are usually used for single-note lines or lead playing. The distinctive guitar sound of Billy Gibbons is attributed to using a quarter or peso as a pick. Similarly, Brian May is known to use a sixpence coin as a pick. David Persons is known for using old credit cards, cut to the correct size, as plectrums.

Thumb picks and finger picks that attach to the finger tips are sometimes employed in finger-picking styles on steel strings. These allow the fingers and thumb to operate independently, whereas a flat pick requires the thumb and one or two fingers to manipulate.

2010 Guitar Workshop Weekend

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  Top Guitar Pickers and Players featured at Twin Falls Resort ... - ... Robert Shafer and Jim Ritchey is a special event at Twin Falls Resort State Park in March. The internationally-recognized players are featured instructors for the 2010 Guitar Workshop Weekend at Twin Falls March 26-28.
  

Tips on Buying an Acoustic Guitar

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Many people are fond of learning how to play different kinds of instruments. One of the most popular instrument people like to learn is the guitar. A guitar has been one of the most popular instruments over a period of decades and still continues to be a hot favorite among music lovers. While the electric guitar has become popular it has still not been able to match the popularity of an acoustic guitar. Most of the people like the acoustic guitars for the non-metal sound that it has.

If you are one of those who would love to learn how to play the acoustic guitar then I am pretty sure you would want to buy one for yourself. Before setting out to purchase an acoustic guitar for yourself you first need to know the different types of acoustic guitars which are available in the market and then chose one which suits you.

With the wide variety of choice that is existent these days, it is a tough task to find a suitable acoustic guitar for ourselves. While the guitars that are available for exorbitant prices touching thousands of dollars, you need to know that you can actually pick up a good guitar for as low as $100. It is very understandable that the handmade guitars are much more expensive than the factory made guitars.

Depending on the material used and the fact that we have choices between the handmade and factory made guitars the choice of guitars just seem to boggle one's mind. However it should be clearly understood that you don't have to spend an exorbitant amount of money for you to be able to get a good acoustic guitar for yourself. It is no doubt a big temptation to buy an expensive guitar when you see it in the showroom; however that is a luxury and not a necessity.

A ground rule for anyone wanting to buy an acoustic guitar would be to try out lots of guitars which have been manufactured by different kinds of wood. All the different wood used in the guitar is bound to have a unique sound of its own. After trying a few guitars you would be able to figure out as to which material sounds best to you.

Another thing you would want to keep in mind while trying out different guitars would be to see how comfortable it is for you to hold the guitar while you play it. If you find the guitar too heavy or bulky for you, then you know you would have to check for more models before you can finalize on the one which you would like.

One more point that I would like to stress on would be that once you test the weight of the guitar and the way it sounds you need to check if you are able to wrap your hand around the neck of the guitar. There is no point in buying a guitar which has a big neck because if you cannot wrap your hand around it you won't be able to play it. So remember these tips when you set out to buy your acoustic guitar.

2010 Final Four Tickets - Session 1 (Butler vs Michigan State, West Virginia vs Duke) - Semifinals

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2010 Final Four Tickets - Session 1 (Butler vs Michigan State, West Virginia vs Duke) - Semifinals
After a weekend of some major upsets, the Final Four college teams in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament head to Indianapolis, IN this weekend April 3rd and 5th to battle it out for the top spot.

Game 1 will have Butler taking on Michigan State and game 2 will have West Virginia taking on Duke. The winners of each game will square off in the national title game which is set for next Monday.

Zoom H2 Handy Portable Stereo Recorder

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Choosing the right microphones

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If you are going to have a recording studio where you record voice or you plan on doing some singing live, you are going to need to have some good vocal microphones. The only problem is that choosing the right ones can definitely be a bit confusing with all the different microphone choices that are out there today.

There are various configurations, brands, and price ranges to consider, so finding the right option can take some time. Here is a look at some of the steps you can follow to find the perfect option for your needs.

First of all, when you're choosing vocal microphones, it's a great idea to go with options that have a dynamic pickup. These options have a special diaphragm that has a moving coil that is attached, which processes the sound waves. These microphones are quite sturdy and do an excellent job processing voices.

It's a good idea to take some time to experiment with the various options that are available. Consider the voices that will be using the mics and see which mics actually work the best with different types of voices. Some microphones may sound great for one person's voice, but a different option may sound better with another person's voice. Matching the mic to the singer is a great idea.

Check out the cardioid pattern microphones as well when considering vocal microphones. These mics emphasize the warm bass undertones in the voice of a singer. It provides a sound that is rich and warm. One of these microphones should be places rather close to the singer, and they can make vocals sound incredible.

Consider whether or not you'll want to go with wired or wireless microphones as well. Both have pros and cons, so think carefully about your specific needs. Although wired mics may be great in the studio, they may not be as helpful in live performances. Keep this in mind when trying to choose mics for vocals.

Of course, your budget should be considered as well when trying to pick out the right mics for doing vocals. There are many great options that are available for prices that are reasonable. Know your budget before you begin shopping so you don't go over budget. Whether you have a lot to spend, or you are on a tight budget, there are some high quality options to choose from.

Vocal microphones come in many different options, and you'll definitely need to choose very carefully when you are making your purchase. With these easy steps in mind, you'll be able to make a wise choice that will work well with your current vocal needs.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robbie_Bishop

Great place to check out is Guitar Forum

Chord inversions

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Chord inversions are one of those things that often seem a lot more complex then they really are. A lot of guitar players push off learning how to play chord inversions on guitar because they think it is too complicated for them. In this lesson I will try and break down what chord inversions are and show you how to play a few of them. And once you understand what chords inversions are you will be able to figure out all sorts of them on your own.

Here it goes:

What is a chord inversion?
Unless you know chord inversions, which for this lesson I am assuming you don’t, the chords you are used to playing are all in “root position”. This means that the tonic of the chord is the lowest not (the bass note) of the chord. So, for example, in an Cmaj7 chord the bass note of the chord is C. But whenever a note other than the root (tonic) is the bass note, then the chord is an inversion. Make sense?

As you know, most chords are played with three or four notes on guitar. That means that besides the tonic, there are at least two to three other notes that can bee in the bass position. (For example a C major chord is C, E, G. Besides C there are two other notes that can be first. Cmaj7 is C, E, G, B. Besides C there are 3 other notes).

How to make chord inversions
There are three common chord inversions and they’re called first inversion, second inversion and third inversion. In first inversion the 3rd of the chord is the bass note. (It’s called first inversion because the 3rd of the chord is the first note after the tonic). In second inversion the 5th of the chord is in the bass. (Called second inversion because the 5th is the second chord tone after the tonic). And third inversion has the 7th as the bass. (Called third inversion because….well, you get the idea). Not so bad too far, is it?

The drop-two voicing
Before we look at how the three chord inversions are, this would be a good time to make sure you know what “drop-two” chord voicings are because we are going to use them to build or chord inversions to make them easy to play on guitar. So take a moment to read my post on drop-two chord voicings and them come back to this post and continue where you left of. If you already know what a drop 2 chord voicing is then just keep reading.

Playing chord inversions on guitar
Ok, back to the three Cmaj7 chord inversions. Ok. So the notes of Cmaj7 chord are C, E, G, B. So here is the standard Cmaj7 chord in root position with a drop-two voicing applied:

Now let's see the first inversion. So let’s take the root note and send it to the back of the line. So the chord spelling for first inversion would now be: E, G, B, C. But that note grouping will be hard to play on guitar, so let’s also give it the drop-two voicing. So the new note order would be E, B, C, G.

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Guitar tuning

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The guitar is a transposing instrument. Its pitch sounds one octave lower than it is notated on a score.

A variety of different tunings may be used. The most common tuning, known as "Standard Tuning," has the strings tuned from a low E, to a high E, traversing a two octave range – EADGBE.

The pitches are as follows:
String Scientific pitch Helmholtz pitch Interval from middle C Frequency
first E4 e' major third above 329.63 Hz
second B3 b minor second below 246.94 Hz
third G3 g perfect fourth below 196.00 Hz
fourth D3 d minor seventh below 146.83 Hz
fifth A2 A minor tenth below 110 Hz
sixth E2 E minor thirteenth below 82.41 Hz

The table below shows pitch names found over the six strings of a guitar in standard tuning, from the nut (zero), to the twelfth fret.










A guitar using this tuning can tune to itself using the fact, with a single exception, that the 5th fret on one string is the same note as the next open string; that is, a 5th-fret note on the sixth string is the same note as the open fifth string. The exception is the interval between the second and third strings, in which the 4th-fret note on the third string is equivalent to the open second string.

Standard tuning has evolved to provide a good compromise between simple fingering for many chords and the ability to play common scales with minimal left hand movement. Uniquely, the guitar's tuning allows for repeatable patterns which also facilitates the ease in which common scales can be played.[19] There are also a variety of commonly used alternate tunings – most of which are open tunings that create entire chord voicings without fretting any strings. Many open tunings, where all of the strings are tuned to a similar note or chord, are popular for slide guitar playing. Alternate tunings are used for two main reasons: the ease of playing and the variation in tone that can be achieved.

Many guitarists use a long established, centuries-old tuning variation where the lowest string is 'dropped' down a whole tone. Known as Drop-D (or dropped D) tuning it is, from low to high, DADGBE. This allows for open string tonic and dominant basses in the keys of D and D minor. It also enables simple fifths (powerchords) to be more easily played. Eddie Van Halen sometimes uses a device known as a 'D Tuna,' the patent for which he owns. It is a small lever, attached to the fine tuner of the 6th string on a Floyd Rose tremolo, which allows him to easily drop that string's tuning to a D. Many contemporary rock bands detune all strings by several semi-tones, making, for example, Drop-C or Drop-B tunings, However this terminology is inconsistent with that of "drop-D" as "drop-D" refers to dropping a single string to the named pitch. Often these new tunings are also simply referred to as the "Standard" of the note in question e.g. – "D Standard" (DGcfad').

Some guitarists tune in straight fourths, avoiding the major third between the third and second strings. While this makes playing major and minor triads slightly more difficult, it facilitated playing chords with more complicated extended structures[citation needed]. One proponent of the straight fourth tuning (EADGCF) is Stanley Jordan.

As with all stringed instruments a large number of scordatura are possible on the guitar. A common form of scordatura involves tuning the 3rd string to F♯ to mimic the standard tuning of the lute, especially when playing renaissance repertoire originally written for the lute.

What Is A Power chord Really?

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In music, a power chord (also fifth chord) is a note plus the note a fifth above, usually played on electric guitar. Theorists are divided on whether the term chord is appropriate, with some requiring the third of the chord for it to be considered an actual chord. Therefore, some would consider it to be a dyad or simply interval. However this usage is accepted among guitar players. In other words, it's a chord with no 3rd.


A power chord is neither major or minor because the intervals between the notes are perfect fifths, and when inverted, perfect fourths. In order for a chord to be considered major or minor the notes in the chord itself must be related by a major or minor interval. However, power chords can 'sound' major or minor to our ears because our brain fills in those missing thirds where it expects them. When the power chord's root is based on a note diatonic in the scale of the song, our ear expects a chord with same root. In addition, such chords are usually played with octave doubling, which makes a different sound than just a 5th.

Power chords are used where a distorted, "overdriven" tone is used, because including the third tends to result in unpleasant harmonics and an indistinct root note when combined with the additional overtones added by an amplifier or distortion pedal. They have the added advantage of being relatively easy to play (see "Fingering" below).

Although the use of the term "power chord" has, to some extent, spilled over into the vocabulary of other instrumentalists, namely keyboard and synthesizer players, it remains essentially a part of rock guitar culture and is most strongly associated with the overdriven electric guitar styles of hard rock, heavy metal, punk rock, and similar genres. When the same interval is found in traditional and classical music, the harmonic interpretation will be much more varied, not necessarily implying a triad with the third degree omitted.

Power chords are sometimes notated 5, as in C5 (C power chord), in which case it specifically refers to playing the root and fifth of the chord, in this case C and G, possibly inverted, and possibly with octave doublings.

What Is A Guitar Chord Really?

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A guitar chord is a chord, a collection of tones usually sounded together at once, played on a guitar.

Chord voicings designed for the guitar can be optimized for many different purposes and playing styles. Guitar chords can be composed of notes played on only a few strings at a time, whether occurring on adjacent strings or not, or on all the strings.

The instrument is generally very capable and versatile for chording purposes, but it does exhibit some differences with other instruments. Most guitars only have six strings, which means that for the very largest of chord-voicings it's often necessary to drop or omit one or more tones from the chord; this is typically the root or fifth. The layout of notes on the fretboard sometimes demands that the notes in a chord do not run in tonal order, or makes possible a chord which is composed of more than one note of exactly the same pitch. Many chords can be played with exactly the same notes in more than one place on the fretboard.

Guitars can vary both in the number of strings they have, and in the way they're tuned. Most guitars used in popular music have six-strings and are tuned (from the lowest pitched string to the highest): E-A-D-G-B-E. The internal intervals present among adjacent strings in this tuning can be written 5-5-5-4-5 (being mostly perfect fourth intervals plus one major third interval near the middle). Conventionally, the string with the highest pitch (the thinnest) is called the first string, and the string having the lowest pitch is called the sixth.

What Guitar Books To Buy?

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So many books and material out there, but be careful when you invest because some are better than others. You can't go wrong with some publishers like Hal Leonard. They seem to get it right and have an Amazing selection.
Best Selling Hal Leonard books
Some of these books come with a CD and some don't but they cost even less without the CD even though they are the same title. I recommend the The Hal Leonard Acoustic Guitar Method: A Complete Guide with Step-by-Step Lessons and 45 Great Acoustic Songs

I've purchased this one myself and it is the perfect book for beginners and has a great choice in there. So what you buy is crucial because it's like you have a great teacher or a teacher that sucks in what you study bookwise. So one day you can play like Johnny Guitar and be the toast of the town.

Now the Complete Guide comes in 3 Volumes so if you don't want to have to get the 2nd and third later then there is the Complete Series with CD as well.

Of course this is for the Acoustic Guitar and for any beginners out there I recommend learning on the Acoustic first before the Electric just because it will make you a better player in the long run due to the wider neck of the Acoustic.

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