Guitars - probably the most popular instrument for children, especially boys. After the Friday evening Top of the Pops, any youngster who is interested, will see themselves as part of Busted, or The Darkness, or if they are really energetic, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, depending on the type of music that appeals to them.
So how do we start?
Guitars come in all shapes and sizes, but for the purpose of this article we will simplify these into three categories:
1) Acoustic
2) Semi acoustic
3) Electric solid guitars
Which one do we
want ?
This depends on what style of playing we want to take up.
Generally speaking an Acoustic guitar would be the ideal first guitar to learn on.
Once the budding guitarist has had a feel for playing, he or she can then branch into the type of music they would like to play.
Spanish - Classical - folk
These styles would require an Acoustic Guitar.
We would think it highly unlikely that the average youngster would opt to play Spanish guitar music
and if yours does then stop right here and try to find a Spanish guitar tutor who will be able to give you the advice that you will need, on which instrument to purchase, as a true Spanish guitar could only be purchased from a shop specialising in this type of Instrument.
If playing a classical guitar appeals, then finding a good teacher is a must.
The teacher would give you good advice on what guitar to buy, but because of the nature of classical playing, the actual instrument is very important. You will need to go to a music shop that either specialises in guitars, or has a large range of acoustic guitars. When choosing a classical guitar the tone is important. A good fretboard is also important, as this will make playing the guitar easier, depending on the make.
A good music shop will employ musicians to sell the instruments, so get them to play the guitars and take note of how comfortable they appear to play and listen to the sound produced, if in doubt a good teacher will put themselves out to help you choose the instrument that suits you, and your pocket.
Country and folk basically covers a wide range of acoustic guitars and choosing one will come down to personal choice.
This category will cover anyone who wants to play a guitar without having to 'plug it in'.
Which one?
Well the advice is much the same as the classical, hear it played, the tones will vary much more than with the classical guitar as you can get 'Jumbos' that give a fuller sound or you can buy smaller guitars that have a more subtle tone.
An important feature is once again the fret board, only now you will have a choice.
Classical guitars tend to have a standard fretboard; whereas the other styles vary somewhat.
Hold the guitar and put your hand around the neck and see if you can reach all the strings and press them down. Look side on to the neck, the strings should be close to the frets right up to where the fret board joins the body, if the gap widens dramatically don't buy. The majority of guitars these days have a “truss rod”, set into the neck that can be adjusted, although this should already have been done to get the optimum setting.
Semi-Acoustic
These versatile guitars can be used in a variety of musical styles from country to hard rock. They can be played without ‘going electric’ for the purpose of practising but then can bring all the different sounds to life when ‘plugged in’.
Semi - Acoustics have probably the largest range of all the types of guitars, from large Acoustics with pickups built in to turn them electric, to guitars with bodies no thicker than 3”.
Some of the really beautiful guitars are semi - acoustics.
Likewise they can also be the most expensive.
Electric Solids
For the player who wants to form or join a band, and doesn’t want to spend a lot of money in case it does’t work out, the electric solid would be the best choice.
Some music shops sell a ‘start up pack’ containing a solid guitar and a small 5watt practise amp with all the necessary leads to get going. If you are on a limited budget these are good value.
If however you are serious about your band then you would need an amplifier with a greater wattage. This is really once again a personal preference.
The amplifier shown here is a Marshall 50 watt valve guitar amp, which would fit in the boot of a small car, but would be loud enough for a medium size hall or pub.
We have deliberately not quoted prices as you could buy a guitar for £60 or a gold plated limited edition Gibson or Gretch for around £1500. The choice is yours.
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The Guitar in
Popular Music |
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The guitar, as a mainly rhythm instrument has been a feature
of dance bands since their conception in the thirties and went from acoustic to electric in the late forties when, because they could amplify their sound, it enabled them to perform solos. |
A Brief History of
the Electric Guitar |
| The Electric guitar was devised and made popular in the
States by Les Paul, who also incidentally started multi track recording with echo chambers as early as the late 40's. and later Chet Atkins in the 50's and 60's
The popularity of the electric guitar in the UK probably started with Hank Marvin and the Shadows in the late fifties and early sixties. This was quickly followed by the 'Mersey sound'. The standard group set up around this time was 3 guitars and drums -
Lead guitar, rhythm guitar and bass guitar.
This carried on with groups, (now starting to be called 'bands') through the sixties when organs and pianos started to appear and guitarists became multi purpose, playing both rhythm and lead to keep the number in the band to the four or five which was the general standard at the time, although brass sections started to appear with bands like Georgy Fame and the blue flames, Earth, Wind and Fire and Chicago to name but a few.
There also came a small number of bands with only three playing members, the guitarist being a virtuoso, players such as, Jimmy Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Pete Townsend, and later Brian May of Queen.
The electric guitar is now the most featured instrument in pop music.
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