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ABOUT GUITARS CLASSICAL & ACOUSTIC ABOUT GUITARS 2 ELECTRICS, A/e, 12 STRINGS, BASS ABOUT GUITARS 3 GUITAR & MUSIC HISTORY |
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ABOUT GUITARS 3
CHARLES E.
WATSON
GUITAR
INSTRUCTOR
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DIAGRAM OF CLASSICAL GUITAR PARTS
DIAGRAM OF ACOUSTIC GUITAR PARTS
DIAGRAM OF ELECTRIC/ACOUSTIC GUITAR PICKUPS
ACOUSTIC/ELECTRIC CONTROL PANEL COMMON PLACEMENT
The
headstock is located at the end of the guitar neck. It is fitted with the
machine head for pitch adjusting. Traditional layout of tuners is "3+3"
which means 3 top tuners and 3 bottom ones. Some electric guitars feature
6 in-line tuners or even 4+2. Nut The nut is
a small strip of ivory, bone, plastic, brass, graphite, or other
medium-hard material that braces the strings at the joint where the
headstock meets the fretboard. It is grooved to hold the strings in place,
and it is one of the endpoints of the strings' tension. The material used
also affects the sound of the guitar. Fretboard Also called
the fingerboard, the fretboard is a long plank of wood embedded with metal
frets that comprises the top of the neck. It is flat on classical guitars
and slightly curved crosswise on acoustic and electric guitars. The
curvature of the fretboard is measured by the fretboard radius, which is
the radius of a hypothetical circle of which the fretboard's surface
constitutes a segment. The smaller the fretboard radius, the more
noticeably curved the fretboard is. Pinching a string against the
fretboard effectively shortens the vibrating length of the string,
producing a higher tone (a string, unfingered, will vibrate from the
saddle to the nut; once fingered, it will vibrate only along the distance
between the saddle and the fret directly before the finger). Fretboards
are most commonly made of rosewood, ebony, and maple. Frets Frets are
metal strips (usually nickel alloy) embedded along the fretboard which are
placed in points along the length of string that divide it mathematically.
When strings are pressed down behind them, frets shorten the strings'
vibrating lengths to produce different pitches- each one spaced a
half-step apart on the 12 tone scale. For more on fret spacing, see the
Strings and Tuning section below. Frets are usually the first
permanent part to wear out on a heavily played electric guitar. They can
be re-shaped to a certain extent and can be replaced as needed. Frets also
indicate fractions of the length of a string (the string midpoint is at
the 12th fret; one-third the length of the string reaches from the nut to
the 7th fret, the 7th fret to the 19th, and the 19th to the saddle;
one-quarter reaches from nut to fifth to twelfth to twenty-fourth to
saddle). This feature is important in playing harmonics. Frets are
available in several different gauges, depending on the type of guitar and
the player's style. Guitars
have frets on the fingerboard to fix the positions of notes and scales,
which gives them equal temperament. Consequently, the ratio of the widths
of two consecutive frets is the twelfth root of two
Truss rod The truss
rod is an adjustable metal rod that runs along the inside of the neck,
adjusted by a hex nut or an allen-key bolt usually located either at the
headstock (under a cover) or just inside the body of the guitar,
underneath the fretboard (accessible through the sound hole). The truss
rod counteracts the immense amount of tension the strings place on the
neck, bringing the neck back to a straighter position. The truss rod can
be adjusted to compensate for changes in the neck wood due to changes in
humidity or to compensate for changes in the tension of strings.
Tightening the rod will curve the neck back and loosening it will return
it forward. Adjusting the truss rod affects the intonation of a guitar as
well as affecting the action (the height of the strings from the
fingerboard). Some truss rod systems, called "double action" truss
systems, will tighten both ways, allowing the neck to be pushed both
forward and backward (most truss rods can only be loosened so much, beyond
which the bolt will just come loose and the neck will no longer be pulled
backward). Classical guitars do not have truss rods, as the nylon strings
do not put enough tension on the neck for one to be needed. Inlays Inlays are
visual elements set into the exterior wood on a guitar. The typical
locations for inlay are on the fretboard, headstock, and around the
soundhole (called a rosette on acoustic guitars). Inlays range from simple
plastic dots on the fretboard to fantastic works of art covering the
entire exterior surface of a guitar (front and back). Some people put
Lights inside these to create an awesome stage affect when the lights go
out. Fretboard
inlays are most commonly shaped like dots, diamond shapes, parallelograms,
or large blocks in between the frets. Dots are usually inlaid into the
upper edge of the fretboard in the same positions, small enough to be
visible only to the player. Some manufacturers go beyond these simple
shapes and use more creative designs such as lightning bolts or letters
and numbers. The simpler inlays are often done in plastic on guitars of
recent vintage, but many older, and newer, high-end instruments have
inlays made of mother of pearl, abalone, ivory, colored wood or any number
of exotic materials. On some low-end guitars, they are just painted. Many
classical guitars have no inlays at all; the player himself sometimes will
make them with a marker pen or correction fluid. The most
popular fretboard inlay scheme involves single inlays on the 3rd, 5th,
7th, 9th, 15th, 17th, 19th, and 21st frets, and double inlays on the 12th,
sometimes 7th, and (if present) 24th fret. Pros of such scheme include its
symmetry about the 12th fret and symmetry of every half (0-12 and 12-24)
about the 7th and 19th frets. However, playing these frets, for example,
on E string would yield notes E, G, A, B, C# that barely make a complete
musical mode by themselves. A less
popular fretboard inlay scheme involves inlays on 3rd, 5th, 7th, 10th,
12th, 15th, 17th, 19th, 22nd and 24th frets. Playing these frets, for
example, on E string yields notes E, G, A, B, D that fit perfectly into E
minor pentatonic. Such a scheme is very close to piano keys coloring
(which involves black coloring for sharps that pentatonic consists of) and
of some use on classic guitars. Beyond the
fretboard inlay, the headstock and soundhole are also commonly inlaid. The
manufacturer's logo is commonly inlaid into the headstock. Sometimes a
small design such as a bird or other character or an abstract shape also
accompanies the logo. The soundhole designs found on acoustic guitars vary
from simple concentric circles to delicate fretwork. Many high-end guitars
have more elaborate decorative inlay schemes. Often the edges of the
guitar around the neck and body and down the middle of the back are
inlaid. The fretboard commonly has a large inlay running across several
frets or the entire length of the fretboard, such as a long vine creeping
across the fretboard. Most acoustic guitars have an inlay that borders the
sides of the fretboard, and some electrics (namely Fender Stratocasters)
have a black inlay running on the back of the neck, from about the body to
the middle of the neck, commonly referred to as a skunk stripe. Some very
limited edition high-end or custom-made guitars have artistic inlay
designs that span the entire front (or even the back) of the guitar. These
designs use a variety of different materials and are created using
techniques borrowed from furniture making. While these designs are often
just very elaborate decorations, they are sometimes works of art that even
depict a particular theme or a scene. Although these guitars are often
constructed from the most exclusive materials, they are generally
considered to be collector's items and not intended to be played. Large
guitar manufacturers often issue these guitars to celebrate a significant
historical milestone. Neck A guitar's
frets, fretboard, tuners, headstock, and truss rod, all attached to a long
wooden extension, collectively comprise its neck. The wood used to make
the fretboard will usually differ from the wood in the rest of the neck.
The bending stress on the neck is considerable, particularly when heavier
gauge strings are used (see Strings and tuning), and the ability of the
neck to resist bending (see Truss rod) is important to the guitar's
ability to hold a constant pitch during tuning or when strings are
fretted. The rigidity of the neck with respect to the body of the guitar
is one determinant of a good instrument versus a poor one. Conversely, the
ability to change the pitch of the note slightly by deliberately bending
the neck forcibly with the fretting arm is a technique occasionally used,
particularly in the blues genre and those derived from it, such as rock
and roll. The shape of the neck can also vary, from a gentle "C" curve to
a more pronounced "V" curve. Neck joint This is the
point at which the neck is either bolted or glued to the body of the
guitar. Almost all acoustic guitars, with the primary exception of Taylors,
have glued (or set) necks, while electric guitars are constructed using
both types. Set necks usually feature dovetail joints, which offer
stability and sustain. Other commonly used neck joints include
mortise-and-tenon joints (such as those used by CF Martin & Co. guitars),
and Spanish Heel style neck joints (commonly found in classical guitars).
Bolt-on necks, though they are historically associated with cheaper
instruments, do offer greater flexibility in the guitar's set-up, and
allow easier access for neck joint maintenance and repairs. Some very
high-end instruments may not have a neck joint at all, having the neck and
sides built as one piece and the body built around it. Body
(acoustic guitar) The body of
the instrument is a major determinant of the overall sound for acoustic
guitars. The guitar top, or soundboard, is a finely crafted and engineered
element often made of spruce, red cedar or mahogany. This thin (often 2 or
3 mm thick) piece of wood, strengthened by different types of internal
bracing, is considered to be the most prominent factor in determining the
sound quality of a guitar. The majority of the sound is caused by
vibration of the guitar top as the energy of the vibrating strings is
transferred to it. Different patterns of wood bracing have been used
through the years by luthiers; to not only strengthen the top against
collapsing under the tremendous stress exerted by the tensioned strings
(Torres, Hauser, Ramirez, Fleta being among the most influential designers
of their time), but also to affect the resonation of the top. The back and
sides are made out of a variety of woods such as mahogany, Indian rosewood
and highly regarded Brazilian rosewood (Dalbergia nigra). Each one
is chosen for their aesthetic effect and structural strength, and can also
play a significant role in determining the instrument's timbre. These are
also strengthened with internal bracing, decorated with inlays and
purfling, and subjected to a lot of abuse. The body of
an acoustic guitar is a resonating chamber which projects the vibrations
of the body through a sound hole, allowing the acoustic guitar to
be heard without amplification. The sound hole is normally a round hole in
the top of the guitar, though some may have different shapes or multiple
holes. Body
(electric guitar) Most
electric guitar bodies are made of wood. This wood is rarely one solid
piece, as laminating hardwoods in the proper way can produce a body of
exceptional strength and superior tone. The most common woods used for
electric guitar body construction include maple, basswood, ash, poplar,
alder, and mahogany. Many bodies will consist of good sounding but
inexpensive woods, like ash, with a "top", or thin layer of another, more
attractive wood (such as maple with a natural "flame" pattern) glued to
the top of the basic wood. Guitars constructed like this are often called
"flame tops". The body is usually carved or routed to accept the other
elements, such as the bridge, pickup, neck, and other electronic
components. Many higher-end electrics have a nitro-cellulose lacquer
finish on the top, which promotes resonance. Pickups The
electric guitar is usually not very loud when its played without an
amplifier. Pickups are electronic devices attached to a guitar that detect
(or "pick up") string vibrations and allow the sound of the string to be
amplified. Pickups are usually placed right underneath the guitar strings.
The most common type of pickups contain magnets that are tightly wrapped
in copper wire. This allows the pickups to measure the movement of the
steel guitar string within the magnetic field above the pickup. Some
acoustic guitars also have microphones or pickups built into them for
stage work. Pickups work on a similar principle to a generator in that the
vibration of the strings causes a small current to be created in the coils
surrounding the magnets. This signal is later amplified by an amplifier.
However, a new type of pickup, called a Q-Tuner pickup, has been developed
that measures the magnetic flux density of multiple magnets located in the
pickup. These pickups produce a better tone and pick up harmonic
frequencies better than standard pickups, but they cost more and are more
difficult to wire. Traditional
electric pickups are either single-coil or double-coil. Double-coil
pickups are also known as humbuckers for their noise-cancelling ability.
The type and model of pickups used can have large effects on the tone of
the guitar. Typically, humbuckers are used by guitarists seeking a heavier
sound. Some guitars need a battery to power their pickups and/or pre-amp;
these guitars are referred to as having "active electronics", as opposed
to the typical "passive" circuits. Guitar
Synthesizers may have specialist 'cluster' pickups, effectively giving
each string its own pickup. 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 pre-amplification and
signal processing, or even for assistance in tuning. In many cases the
electronics have some sort of magnetic shielding to prevent pickup of
external interference and noise. Purfling
and Binding This is the
decorative edge found around the body of an acoustic guitar. Its purpose
is not merely decorative, however. Because of the construction methods,
the edges of the body are typically the weakest point of the acoustic
guitar. There is not much wood there, as the sides have to be thin to
allow for bending, and the top and back have to be thin to allow the
string vibrations to resonate. Trying to connect two thin pieces of wood
at a 90 degree angle is an engineering challenge. So to help, the purfling
is used. The corners are overbuilt, using a triangular piece of scored
wood (called a kerfed lining) on the interior of the instrument to allow
it to follow the contours, and is glued in place. During final
construction, a small section of the outside corners is carved or routed
out and then filled in with the purfling or binding material. In mass
produced guitars, the binding or purfling is almost exclusively high
quality plastic. Once the purfling is glued in place, it is an integral
part of the guitar, and contributes greatly to the durability of the
instrument, since plastic tends not to split as wood does upon impact. Bridge 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 both
electric and acoustic guitars, the bridge holds the strings in place. From
there, the variations are astounding. 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 which allows the player to modulate the pitch moving the bridge up and
down. The whammy bar is sometimes incorrectly referred to as a "tremolo
bar"; unlike the change in pitch that the whammy bar produces, a tremolo
is a quick oscillation of the volume. Some bridges allow for alternate
tunings at the touch of a button. Pickguard Also known
as a scratchplate. This is usually a piece of plastic or other laminated
material that protects the finish of the top of the guitar. In some
electric guitars, the pickups and most of the electronics are mounted on
the pickguard. On acoustic guitars and many electric guitars, the
pickguard is mounted directly to the guitar top, while on guitars with
carved tops (e.g. the Gibson Les Paul), the pickguard is elevated. The
Pickguard is more often than not used in styles such as flamenco, which
tends to use the guitar as a percussion instrument at times, rather than
for instance, a classical guitar. Strings Guitars
usually have six strings, although there are variations on this, the most
common being a twelve-string guitar; the seven string guitar; the ukulele,
which has four strings; and the bass guitar, which usually has four
strings but also exists in five, six, eight, and twelve-string versions.
There are also more exotic models involving multiple necks and pickups. The weight
of a string is determined by its diameter and is normally measured in
thousandths of an inch. The larger the diameter the heavier the
string is (with thinner strings being lighter). Heavier strings
require more tension for the same pitch and are consequently harder to
hold on to the fretboard. Heavier strings will also produce a louder note
and for this reason steel-strung acoustic guitars will normally be strung
heavier than electric guitars. On electric guitars, heavier strings may
also produce a thicker tone, leading to their use by rhythm guitarists in
rock music. Tuning A variety
of different tunings are used. The most common by far, known as "standard
tuning" (EADGBE), is as follows: sixth
(lowest tone) string: E (a minor thirteenth below middle C—82.4Hz)
fifth
string: a (a minor tenth below middle C—110Hz) fourth
string: d (a minor seventh below middle C—146.8Hz) third
string: g (a perfect fourth below middle C—196.0Hz) second
string: b' (a minor second below middle C—246.92Hz) first
(highest tone) string: e' (a major third above middle C—329.6Hz)
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. There are also a variety of commonly used alternate
tunings. |
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ABOUT THE GUITAR Broadly speaking, guitars can be divided into 2 categories: Acoustic and electric guitar Acoustic guitars: Unlike the electric guitar, the traditional guitar is not dependent on any external device for amplification. The shape and resonance of the guitar itself creates acoustic amplification. However, the un-amplified guitar is not a loud instrument, that is, it cannot compete with other instruments commonly found in bands and orchestras, in terms of sheer audible volume. Many acoustic guitars are available today with built-in electronics to enable amplification. There are several subcategories within the acoustic guitar group: classical and flamenco guitars, both of which use nylon and composite strings, and steel string guitars, which includes the flat top, or "folk" guitar, the closely related twelve string guitar, and the arch top guitar. A recent arrival in the acoustic guitar group is the acoustic bass guitar, similar in tuning to the electric bass.
Electric
guitars: Electric guitars can have solid, semi-hollow or hollow
bodies, and produce little or very low sound without amplification.
Electromagnetic pickups (single and double coil) convert the vibration of
the steel strings into electric signals which are fed to an amplifier
through a cable or radio device. The sound is frequently modified by other
electronic devices or natural distortion of valves (vacuum tubes) in the
amplifier. The electric guitar is used extensively in blues and rock and
roll, and was commercialized by Gibson together with Les Paul and
independently by Leo Fender. The lower fretboard action (the height of the
strings from the fingerboard) and its electrical amplification lend the
electric guitar to some techniques which are harder (or impossible) to
execute on acoustic guitars. These techniques include tapping, extensive
use of legato through pull-offs and hammer-ons (a.k.a. slurs in the
traditional Classical genre), pinch harmonics, volume swells and use of a
Tremolo arm or effects pedals.
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BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GUITAR AND GUITAR MUSIC Brief History of the
Guitar The word guitar may also be a Persian loanword to Iberian Arabic. The word qitara is an Arabic name for various members of the lute family that preceded the Western guitar. The name guitar was introduced into Spanish when guitars were brought into Iberia by the Moors after the 10th century. The Spanish vihuela appears to be an intermediate form between the ancestral guitar and the modern guitar, with lute-style tuning and a small, but guitar-like body. It is not clear whether this represents a transitional form or simply a design that combined features from the two families of instruments. The Ancient Iranian lute, called tar in farsi also is found in the word guitar. The tar is thousands of years old, and could be found in 2, 3, 5, 6 string variations. The electric guitar was invented by Adolph Rickenbacher, with the help of George Beauchamp and Paul Berth, in 1931. Rickenbacher was the inventor of the horseshoe-magnet pickup. However, it was Danelectro that first produced electric guitars for the wider public. Danelectro also pioneered tube amp technology. Brief History of Guitar
Timeline Brief
History of Guitar Music Tarrega began the tradition of playing with the fingernails. Up until this point the instrument itself was small and narrow. Manual Torres worked with the design and construction of the guitar. He increased the size and experimented with anything that would improve the sound, and was especially interested in volume. He was the first maker to use "fan" bracing underneath the top. He once built a Guitar with a spruce top and paper mache back and sides to prove his theory that it was the top that produced most of the volume. He was the father of the modern guitar. Some well known composers who played the guitar are Carl Maria Von Weber, Rossini and his wife, Verdi, and for many years Franz Schubert did his composing on his guitar which hung over his bed. He didn't have a piano at the time. Berlioz also composed the guitar. Segovia performed, transcribed, taught and discovered a tremendous amount of music. He also encouraged many composers to write for the guitar. He was the first person to perform in a concert hall... Before Segovia, people believed this could not be done. Although Segovia did all these things, the real debt that we owe to him is that of making the guitar truly a world instrument. By traveling and performing throughout the world, he brought respect and recognition to the instrument. Nylon strings were a big improvement over gut strings. They replaced gut in 1946. Today there are many concerts of guitar music. There are many societies and magazines devoted to the guitar. THE ACOUSTIC STEEL STRING GUITAR The acoustic steel string guitar we have today is basically a descendent of a particularly American branch of the instrument family...the lineage engendered by the Martin family in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Christian Frederick Martin, in 1833, began to develop all of the things that we now consider to be parts of the folk guitar, the steel string guitar.Martin defined an entire category of guitar, the steel-string flat-top, from which other makers have derived their own lines. Steel-string guitars tend to look alike because the basic sound-hole shapes and sizes work well with all types of woods and other design factors. BRIEF HISTORY OF THE BASS GUITAR In the 1940s, Rickenbacker began making the first electric double basses...(prior to this time the acoustic stand-up bass was used). Guitarist Smiley Burnette, the bassist with Gene Autry’s band was one of the first players to use it, and it continues to be used by bassists playing salsa and Latin-jazz. It was Leo Fender however, who can truly lay claim as inventor of the electric bass. In 1950, he designed his first electric bass guitar, The Precision Bass, which was introduced commercially a year later, rendering the upright bass obsolete in pop music. Even more impressive, this first rendition of the electric bass was so near perfection that it is produced to date with very little change. The fact that the design of the instrument has changed so little since its initial appearance makes it easy to overlook just how innovative Fender was. This was the first electric guitar with two cutaways, and many six-string electric guitars of the day didn’t even feature one cutaway. Fender had the insight to use two and also to extend the upper horn over the neck of the bass in order to achieve better balance and make his new instrument more playable. Fender also chose to use a 34” scale length as was dictated by the physics of the instrument, which is tuned to E, A, D, and G, like the bottom four strings of a guitar, but one octave lower. The Precision model was so-named due to its fretted fingerboard, which allowed the player to play in tune “with precision.” This design revolutionized bass playing, as well as making the singing bassist possible as playing the double bass while singing was almost impossible, particularly with the microphones of the time. The electric bass allowed mobility and a virtuosity that was new to bass players, and a whole new school of bass guitarist began to evolve. John Entwistle, Stanley Clark, Marcus Miller, and Jaco Pastorius have been just a few of the hundreds of key players to watch. Pastorious being the one that was almost single-handedly responsible for the popularity of the fretless bass as he played a Fender Jazz with the frets removed. Fender
introduced the Jazz bass in 1960 as an alternative to the Precision. It is
a more Their first model was the 4000, which was joined several years later by the twin pick-up 4001. It is the 4001 which has since become one of the most popular and most recognizable of all basses. The Gibson guitar company produced their answer to the Fender Precision in 1953, as well as several other fine models such as the EB-0, 1, 2 and 3, and the Thunderbird, their bass equivalent to their Firebird guitars launched in 1963. John Entwistle used the Thunderbird extensively with the Who in the ‘70s.... Fender produced still another classic bass model in the mid-70s for a company called Musicman. This was the Stingray, which was among the first bass to have active electronics on board. Fender designed several other models before his retirement and eventual death in 1991, including five- and six-string models ahead of their time. Although the increased higher range has become a highly desired trait in a bass model today, none of Fender’s original designs in this area attained as much popularity or had as much impact on how other company’s designed the instrument as the Precision, the Jazz and the Stingray.
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ABOUT GUITARS
CLASSICAL & ACOUSTIC
ABOUT
GUITARS 2 ELECTRICS, A/e, 12 STRINGS, BASS
ABOUT
GUITARS 3 GUITAR & MUSIC HISTORY |
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To
schedule guitar lessons, please call the music schools where I teach.
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LESSONS |
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ABOUT GUITAR LESSONS
![\sqrt[12]{2}](70b8b8fc763c20423a65bd934e378085.gif){kind=small}
,
whose numeric value is about 1.059463. The twelfth fret divides the string
in two exact halves and the 24th fret (if present) divides the string in
half yet again. Every twelve frets represents one octave.
