2. History
On the right is a bowl harp
which is now known as the
original predecessor to the
guitar. Since then it is believed
that the ancestor of the guitar
started with instruments now
known as tanburs (below).
Usually, these were made with
tortoise shells for the body
which was to amplify sound,
and a long bent stick for a neck,
and for strings often animal guts
or silk strands were used.
3. Types of guitars
● Acoustic guitars
● Classical guitars
● Electric guitars
● Bass guitars
● 7 string guitars
● 12 string guitars
● Double neck and multiple neck guitars
● Custom shop guitars
● Celebrity specially designed guitars
● Harp guitars
● Archtop guitars
● Blues and jazz guitars
● Hollowbody guitars
4. Facts
● The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a
pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings,
generally 6 in number, are attached.
● Acoustic guitars with hollow bodies have been in use for over a thousand
years. There are 3 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 through the body of the guitar. The classical guitar
is often played as a solo instrument using a finger-picking technique.
● Electric guitars rely on an amplifier that can electronically manipulate tone.
Early amplified guitars employed a hollow body, but a solid body was found
more suitable. Guitars are recognised as a primary instrument in genres
such as blues, bluegrass, country, flamenco, jazz, metal, reggae, rock, soul
and pop.
● Before the development of the electric guitar, a guitar was defined as being
an instrument having “a long fretted neck, flat wooden soundboards, 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.
5. Acoustic and Electric
● The steel string acoustic guitar
is a modern form of guitar
descended from the classic
guitar, but strung with steel
strings for a brighter, louder
sound. An acoustic guitar
produces a dynamic sound
through the vibration of strings,
which are played with a
plectrum or with fingers. The
guitar body is hollow, and it
resonates the sound after the
tension that is applied on the
strings is released. The sound
intensity and amplitude
depends on the exertion of
pressure on the strings.
● The idea of using electricity to create
louder string instruments already
existed by the end of the 19th century.
But it was only during the 1920s and
1930s that engineers, makers, and
musicians began to solve some of the
challenges of electronic amplification.
● Around 1931 George Beauchamp,
working with Adolph Rickenbacker,
produced an electromagnetic pickup in
which a current passed through a coil
of wire wrapped around a magnet,
creating a field which amplified the
strings' vibrations. Introduced on a lap-
steel known as the Frying Pan, the
pickup made this guitar the first
commercially viable electric.
6. Famous guitars
The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric
guitar that was first sold in 1952. The Les Paul
was designed by Ted McCarty in collaboration
with popular guitarist Les Paul, whom Gibson
enlisted to endorse the new model. It is one of the
best-known electric guitar types in the world,
along with Fender's Telecaster and Stratocaster.
Guns N’ Roses’ former guitarist Slash is probably
best known for three things: his messy mop of
black hair, signature top hat and sunburst Gibson
Les Pauls. In fact his Les-Paul-through-a-
Marshall-stack sound is responsible for some of
the most popular guitar riffs of all-time: “Welcome
To The Jungle” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine,”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_SfmrJSgaI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJFx6VOdCoE
The Fender Stratocaster is a model of
electric guitar designed in 1954 by Leo
Fender. The Fender Musical Instruments
Corporation has manufactured the
Stratocaster continuously from 1954 to the
present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with
an extended top "horn" shape for balance.
Along with the Gibson Les Paul, it is one of
the most often copied electric guitar
shapes. By the mid 70's, Jeff Beck
increasingly employed the Stratocaster. He
favoured two models:an early '50s sunburst
and a 1960 yellow mustard version
7. Famous guitars
The Gibson Les Paul is a solid body electric
guitar that was first sold in 1952. The Les Paul
was designed by Ted McCarty in collaboration
with popular guitarist Les Paul, whom Gibson
enlisted to endorse the new model. It is one of the
best-known electric guitar types in the world,
along with Fender's Telecaster and Stratocaster.
Guns N’ Roses’ former guitarist Slash is probably
best known for three things: his messy mop of
black hair, signature top hat and sunburst Gibson
Les Pauls. In fact his Les-Paul-through-a-
Marshall-stack sound is responsible for some of
the most popular guitar riffs of all-time: “Welcome
To The Jungle” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine,”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_SfmrJSgaI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJFx6VOdCoE
The Fender Stratocaster is a model of
electric guitar designed in 1954 by Leo
Fender. The Fender Musical Instruments
Corporation has manufactured the
Stratocaster continuously from 1954 to the
present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with
an extended top "horn" shape for balance.
Along with the Gibson Les Paul, it is one of
the most often copied electric guitar
shapes. By the mid 70's, Jeff Beck
increasingly employed the Stratocaster. He
favoured two models:an early '50s sunburst
and a 1960 yellow mustard version
