Different Strings

The great guitarist Jimi Hendrix once said, “Whoever says money can't buy happiness has obviously never played a guitar!!. Very true indeed! It is sheer pleasure that is derived from playing a guitar. A guitarist completely forgets all worldly possessions, pain, thirst, hunger, hurt, and basically all desire when he plays his instrument.

          The guitar has evolved greatly since its earlier known predecessor, the Latin Guitar, to the modern electric guitar. The modern version of the Latin guitar is the acoustic guitar, which is further divided into 3 categories: the classical guitar, the steel-string acoustic guitar (which is most common and is probably is being played by your room mate right now); and the Archtop guitar.

          The guitar usually has 6 strings, which might go up to 13, depending on the requirement of the musician.

          Acoustic guitars can be classified into many types and many have been designed to cater to specific needs of certain genres of music.

          Classical and flamenco guitars employ widely spaced strings, and shorter necks, which are essential for the finger tapping playing style that classical music and flamenco require.

         Archtop guitars are instruments that are carved in a curve rather than a flat shape, imparting the look and feel similar to that of a violin. Archtop guitars usually have a sound hole in the shape of an 'F' and was adopted by many Jazz musicians.

          A very unusual looking guitar would be the Selmer-Maccaferri 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.

  

      The twelve-string guitar is widely used in folk music, blues, and rock and roll.

      Other guitars include Russian guitars, which come with seven strings, and were widely used by19^th and 20^th century Russian artists. Another type worth mentioning is the Acoustic Bass, which is similar to the electric bass in tuning. The Guitarrón is a Mexican 6 string acoustic bass used in mariachi bands. The Harp guitar has additional 'harp' strings strung over the normal guitar strings.

      Now, let’s come to the modern electric guitar. Sound amplification is done through an external amplifier and not much is audible without one. Magnetic or piezoelectric pick-ups convert the string vibration into current and transmit it to the amplifier via cables or radio signals. Piezoelectric pickups are usually for a more acoustic guitar-like sound. The electric guitar is used extensively in jazz, blues, R & B, and rock and roll.