The Tyde are an American indie rock group. Tracing their roots to early 1990s LA indie band Further , formed by Darren Rademaker and brother Brent. The Tyde cite Felt , the Beach Boys and the Byrds as major influences. They are not to be confused with band from the Iowa in the late 1960s called the TYDE, known for songs such as "Psychedelic Pill" and "Lost".
150-574: The initial line-up featured Darren Rademaker (vocals, guitars ), Darren's ex-wife Anh Do Rademaker ( keyboards ) and brother Brent Rademaker ( bass , vocals) as well as Ben Knight (guitar), Christopher Gunst, Brent's partner in Beachwood Sparks , ( drums ) and Dave Scher (guitars). Gunst was replaced by Ric Menck of Velvet Crush after debut album Once while Scher became simply an "additional musician" for second album Twice . Both 2001s Once and its follow-up, 2003s Twice , showcase
300-402: A "bass") is similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a longer neck and scale length , and four to six strings. The four-string bass, by far the most common, is usually tuned the same as the double bass , which corresponds to pitches one octave lower than the four lowest pitched strings of a guitar (E, A, D, and G). The bass guitar is a transposing instrument , as it
450-413: A 12-string guitar, allowing him to incorporate chiming 12-string elements in standard six-string playing. In 1982 Uli Jon Roth developed the "Sky Guitar", with a vastly extended number of frets, which was the first guitar to venture into the upper registers of the violin. Roth's seven-string and "Mighty Wing" guitar features a wider octave range. The bass guitar (also called an "electric bass", or simply
600-402: A chordophone, and clay plaques from Babylonia show people playing a lute-like instrument which is similar to the guitar. Several scholars cite varying influences as antecedents to the modern guitar. Although the development of the earliest "guitar" is lost to the history of medieval Spain, two instruments are commonly claimed as influential predecessors: the four-string oud and its precursor,
750-437: A combination of acrylic nails and a thumbpick to improve tone and decrease nail wear and chance of breaking or chipping. Notable guitarists to adopt this hardware are Ani DiFranco , Doyle Dykes , Don Ross , and Richard Smith . Nylon string guitars are most frequently played fingerstyle. The term " Classical guitar " can refer to any kind of art music played fingerstyle on a nylon string guitar, or more narrowly to music of
900-479: A completely different technique, not just a "style" of playing, especially for the guitarist's picking/plucking hand. The term is often used synonymously with fingerpicking except in classical guitar circles, although fingerpicking can also refer to a specific tradition of folk , blues and country guitar playing in the US. The terms "fingerstyle" and "fingerpicking" are also applied to similar string instruments such as
1050-440: A filler strip running down the length and behind the neck, used for strength or to fill the cavity through which the truss rod was installed in the neck. In acoustic guitars, string vibration is transmitted through the bridge and saddle to the body via sound board . The sound board is typically made of tonewoods such as spruce or cedar. Timbers for tonewoods are chosen for both strength and ability to transfer mechanical energy from
1200-404: A good deal of ostinato patterns, and the use of alternative tunings ( scordatura ) such as open D , open G , drop D and open C . The application or "cross-contamination" of traditional forms of music within the style of American primitive guitar is also very common. Examples of traditions that John Fahey and Robbie Basho would employ in their compositions include, but are not limited to,
1350-427: A guitar with one finger (the bar). Known for its portamento capabilities, gliding smoothly over every pitch between notes, the instrument can produce a sinuous crying sound and deep vibrato emulating the human singing voice. Typically, the strings are plucked (not strummed) by the fingers of the dominant hand, while the steel tone bar is pressed lightly against the strings and moved by the opposite hand. The instrument
1500-683: A key role in the development of blues and rock music , both as an accompaniment instrument (playing riffs and chords ) and performing guitar solos , and in many rock subgenres, notably heavy metal music and punk rock . The electric guitar has had a major influence on popular culture . The guitar is used in a wide variety of musical genres worldwide. It is recognized as a primary instrument in genres such as blues , bluegrass , country , flamenco , folk , jazz , jota , ska , mariachi , metal , punk , funk , reggae , rock , grunge , soul , acoustic music , disco , new wave , new age , adult contemporary music , and pop , occasionally used as
1650-447: A popular recording artist of the late 1920s and early 1930s. In the 1960s, a new generation of guitarists returned to these roots and began to transcribe piano tunes for solo guitar. One of the best known and most talented of these players was Dave Van Ronk , who arranged St. Louis Tickle for solo guitar. In 1971, guitarists David Laibman and Eric Schoenberg arranged and recorded Scott Joplin rags and other complex piano arrangements for
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#17328015732491800-610: A recording of Davy's Anji that appears on Sounds of Silence , and as a result was copied by many subsequent folk guitarists. By the 1970s Americans such as Duck Baker and Eric Schoenberg were arranging solo guitar versions of Celtic dance tunes, slow airs, bagpipe music, and harp pieces by Turlough O'Carolan and earlier harper-composers. Renbourn and Jansch's complex sounds were also highly influential on Mike Oldfield 's early music. The style also had an impact within British folk rock , where particularly Richard Thompson , used
1950-402: A right-handed guitar strung in reverse (the treble strings and bass strings reversed). The problem with doing this is that it reverses the guitar's saddle angle. The saddle is the strip of material on top of the bridge where the strings rest. It is normally slanted slightly, making the bass strings longer than the treble strings. In part, the reason for this is the difference in the thickness of
2100-649: A sample in hip-hop , dubstep , or trap music . The modern word guitar and its antecedents have been applied to a wide variety of chordophones since classical times, sometimes causing confusion. The English word guitar , the German Gitarre , and the French guitare were all adopted from the Spanish guitarra , which comes from the Andalusian Arabic قيثارة ( qīthārah ) and
2250-413: 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 they are associated with a more percussive tone. In Portugal,
2400-428: A slight vibrato technique from pushing the string down harder and softer. "Scalloped" fretboards, where the wood of the fretboard itself is "scooped out" between the frets, allow a dramatic vibrato effect. Fine frets, much flatter, allow a very low string-action , but require that other conditions, such as curvature of the neck, be well-maintained to prevent buzz. The truss rod is a thin, strong metal rod that runs along
2550-761: A soloist. His predecessor in Grappelli's band, John Etheridge (b. 1948) is also an occasional fingerstyle player. The solid-body electric guitar is rarely played fingerstyle, although it presents no major technical challenges. Slide guitarists often employ fingerstyle, which applies equally to the electric guitar, for instance Duane Allman and Ry Cooder . Blues guitarists have long used fingerstyle: some exponents include Jorma Kaukonen , Hubert Sumlin , Albert King , Albert Collins , John Lee Hooker , Muddy Waters , Derek Trucks , John Mayer , Joe Bonamassa , Sandor Enyedi and Buckethead . Exponents of fingerstyle rock guitar include: Mark Knopfler , Jeff Beck (formerly
2700-496: A sound closer to that of an acoustic guitar with the flip of a switch or knob, rather than switching guitars. Those that combine piezoelectric pickups and magnetic pickups are sometimes known as hybrid guitars. Hybrids of acoustic and electric guitars are also common. There are also more exotic varieties, such as guitars with two , three, or rarely four necks, all manner of alternate string arrangements, fretless fingerboards (used almost exclusively on bass guitars, meant to emulate
2850-418: A versatile guitarist of the three and sometimes four fingers playing style (thumb, index, middle and ring); he plays several different African styles, including soukous or West African music. He often flavours his playing with jazzy improvisations, regular fingerpicking patterns and chord melody sequences. Even when the guitar is tuned in a manner that helps the guitarist to perform a certain type of chord, it
3000-475: A wider audience in the 1950s. Fingerstyle jazz guitar has several proponents: the pianistic Jeff Linsky (b. 1952), freely improvises polyphonically while employing a classical guitar technique. Earl Klugh (b. 1953) and Tuck Andress have also performed fingerstyle jazz on the solo guitar. Briton Martin Taylor (b. 1956), a former Stephane Grappelli sideman, switched to fingerstyle on relaunching his career as
3150-471: Is G-major (D–G–D–G–B–D), called "taropatch", though there is a family of major-seventh tunings called "wahine" (Hawaiian for "woman"), as well as tunings designed to get particular effects. Basic slack-key style, like mainland folk-based fingerstyle, establishes an alternating bass pattern with the thumb and plays the melody line with the fingers on the higher strings. The repertory is rooted in traditional, post-Contact Hawaiian song and dance, but since 1946 (when
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#17328015732493300-423: Is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with some exceptions ) and typically has six or twelve strings . It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strings against frets with the fingers of the opposite hand. A guitar pick may also be used to strike the strings. The sound of
3450-459: Is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar . The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles. Instead of altering the pitch of the strings in the normal manner (by pressing the string against frets ), a slide is placed on the string to vary its vibrating length, and pitch. This slide can then be moved along
3600-402: Is a subset of fingerstyle guitar. It originated with John Fahey , whose recordings from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s inspired many guitarists such as Leo Kottke , who made his debut recording of 6- and 12-String Guitar on Fahey's Takoma label in 1969. American primitive guitar can be characterized by the use of folk music or folk-like material, driving alternating-bass fingerpicking with
3750-418: Is able to run up to 6 lines from his guitar to a mixing desk, providing a full "band sound" – bass drum, snare, bass, guitar – as an accompaniment to his vocals. The six string guitar was brought to Africa by traders and missionaries (although there are indigenous guitar-like instruments such as the ngoni and the gimbri or sintir of Gnawa music ). Its uptake varies considerably between regions, and there
3900-444: Is both a playing style and a genre of music. It falls under the "fingerstyle" heading because it is plucked by the fingers, but it is generally used to play a specific type of folk, country-jazz and/or blues music. In this technique, the thumb maintains a steady rhythm, usually playing "ostinato bass" or "alternating bass" patterns on the lower three strings, while the index, or index and middle fingers pick out melody and fill-in notes on
4050-436: Is expected to know his or her way around the instrument. In addition to fretboard inlay, the headstock and soundhole surround are also frequently inlaid. The manufacturer's logo or a small design is often inlaid into the headstock. Rosette designs vary from simple concentric circles to delicate fretwork mimicking the historic rosette of lutes. Bindings that edge the finger and soundboards are sometimes inlaid. Some instruments have
4200-404: 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"(incompletely sawn through), to allow it to bend with
4350-427: Is less common on electric guitar . The timbre of fingerpicked notes is described as "result[ing] in a more piano -like attack ," and less like pizzicato . Because individual digits play notes on the guitar rather than the hand working as a single unit (which is the case when a guitarist is holding a single pick), a guitarist playing fingerstyle can perform several musical elements simultaneously. One definition of
4500-413: Is notated in bass clef an octave higher than it sounds (as is the double bass) to avoid excessive ledger lines being required below the staff . Like the electric guitar, the bass guitar has pickups and it is plugged into an amplifier and speaker for live performances. Modern guitars can be constructed to suit both left- and right-handed players. Typically the dominant hand is used to pluck or strum
4650-570: Is now based in the US. Tony Cox (b. 1954) is a Zimbabwean guitarist and composer based in Cape Town , South Africa . A master of the Fingerpicking style of guitar playing, he has won the SAMA (South African Music Awards) for best instrumental album twice. His music incorporates many different styles including classical, blues, rock and jazz, while keeping an African flavour. Tinderwet is
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4800-561: Is often played in chord-melody style, where the guitarist plays a series of chords with the melody line on top. Fingerstyle, plectrum, or hybrid picking are equally suited to this style. Some players alternate between fingerstyle and plectrum playing, " palming " the plectrum when it is not in use. Early blues and ragtime guitarists often used fingerstyle. True fingerstyle jazz guitar dates back to early swing era acoustic players like Eddie Lang (1902–1933) Lonnie Johnson (1899–1970) and Carl Kress (1907–1965), Dick McDonough (1904–1938) and
4950-456: Is often undesirable for all six strings to sound. When strumming with a plectrum, a guitarist must "damp" (mute) unwanted strings with the fretting hand; when a slide or steel is employed, this fretting hand damping is no longer possible, so it becomes necessary to replace plectrum strumming with plucking of individual strings. For this reason, slide guitar and steel guitar playing are very often fingerstyle. Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar
5100-415: Is performed/composed most often in standard tuning (EADGBE). However, altered tunings such as dropped D are common. Fingerings for both hands are often given in detail in classical guitar music notation, although players are also free to add to or depart from them as part of their own interpretation. Fretting hand fingers are given as numbers, plucking hand fingers are given as letters In guitar scores ,
5250-462: Is played while sitting, placed horizontally across the player's knees or otherwise supported. The horizontal playing style is called "Hawaiian style". The twelve-string guitar usually has steel strings, and it 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
5400-414: Is related to classical technique, but with more emphasis on rhythmic drive and volume, and less on dynamic contrast and tone production. Flamenco guitarists prefer keys such as A and E that allow the use of open strings, and typically employ capos where a departure is required. Some specialized techniques include: Bossa nova is most commonly performed on the nylon-string classical guitar , played with
5550-411: Is strengthened by differing types of internal bracing . Many luthiers consider the top the dominant factor in determining the sound quality. The majority of the instrument's sound is heard through the vibration of the guitar top as the energy of the vibrating strings is transferred to it. The body of an acoustic guitar has a sound hole through which sound projects. The sound hole is usually a round hole in
5700-402: Is the neck-through-body construction. These are designed so that everything from the machine heads down to the bridge is located on the same piece of wood. The sides (also known as wings) of the guitar are then glued to this central piece. Some luthiers prefer this method of construction as they claim it allows better sustain of each note. Some instruments may not have a neck joint at all, having
5850-530: Is the point at which the neck is either bolted or glued to the body of the guitar. Almost all acoustic steel-string guitars, with the primary exception of Taylors, have glued (otherwise known as set) necks, while electric guitars are constructed using both types. Most classical guitars have a neck and headblock carved from one piece of wood, known as a "Spanish heel". Commonly used set neck joints include mortise and tenon joints (such as those used by C. F. Martin & Co.), dovetail joints (also used by C. F. Martin on
6000-413: Is the technique of playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking (plucking individual notes with a single plectrum , commonly called a "pick"). The term "fingerstyle" is something of a misnomer, since it is present in several different genres and styles of music—but mostly, because it involves
6150-460: Is the use of "preset right-hand pattern[s]" while fingerpicking, with the left hand fingering standard chords . The most common pattern, sometimes broadly referred to as Travis picking after Merle Travis , and popularized by Chet Atkins , Scotty Moore , James Burton , Marcel Dadi , James Taylor , John Prine , Colter Wall and Tommy Emmanuel , is as follows: The thumb (T) alternates between bass notes , often on two different strings, while
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6300-688: Is the usual technique on the banjo. A distinctive style to emerge from Britain in the early 1960s, which combined elements of American folk, blues , jazz and ragtime with British traditional music , was what became known as 'folk baroque'. Pioneered by musicians of the Second British folk revival began their careers in the short-lived skiffle craze of the later 1950s and often used American blues, folk and jazz styles, occasionally using open D and G tunings. However, performers like Davy Graham and Martin Carthy attempted to apply these styles to
6450-448: Is therefore no single African acoustic guitar style. In some cases, the styles and techniques of other instruments have been applied to the guitar; for instance, a technique where the strings are plucked with the thumb and one finger imitates the two-thumbed plucking of the kora and mbira . The pioneer of Congolese fingerstyle acoustic guitar music was Jean Bosco Mwenda , also known as Mwenda wa Bayeke (1930–1990). His song "Masanga"
6600-424: Is too wide and the normal position of the thumb used in classical guitar technique do not make that possible. Scores (contrary to tablatures ) do not systematically indicate the string to be plucked (although often the choice is obvious). When an indication of the string is required the strings are designated 1 to 6 (from the 1st the high E to the 6th the low E) with figures 1 to 6 inside circles. The positions (that
6750-536: 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
6900-548: Is used extensively in jazz , blues , R & B , and rock and roll . The first successful magnetic pickup for a guitar was invented by George Beauchamp , and incorporated into the 1931 Ro-Pat-In (later Rickenbacker ) "Frying Pan" lap steel; other manufacturers, notably Gibson , soon began to install pickups in archtop models. After World War II the completely solid-body electric was popularized by Gibson in collaboration with Les Paul , and independently by Leo Fender of Fender Music . The lower fretboard action (the height of
7050-920: Is usually credited to the American Orville Gibson . Lloyd Loar of the Gibson Mandolin-Guitar Mfg. Co introduced the violin-inspired F-shaped 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 a violin-family instrument. Nowadays, most archtops are equipped with magnetic pickups, and they 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 . All three principal types of resonator guitars were invented by
7200-405: Is where on the fretboard the first finger of the left hand is placed) are also not systematically indicated, but when they are (mostly in the case of the execution of barrés ) these are indicated with Roman numerals from the position I (index finger of the left hand placed on the 1st fret: F–B ♭ –E ♭ –A ♭ –C–F) to the position XII (the index finger of the left hand placed on
7350-507: The guitarra latina (Latin guitar) and the so-called guitarra morisca (Moorish guitar). The guitarra morisca had a rounded back, a wide fingerboard, and several sound holes. The guitarra Latina had a single sound hole and a narrower neck. By the 14th century the qualifiers "moresca" or "morisca" and "latina" had been dropped, and these two chordophones were simply referred to as guitars. The Spanish vihuela , called in Italian
7500-421: The viola da mano , a guitar-like instrument of the 15th and 16th centuries, is widely considered to have been the single most important influence in the development of the baroque 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
7650-513: The Argentinian Oscar Alemán (1909–1980). Django Reinhardt (1910–1953) used a classical/flamenco technique on unaccompanied pieces such as his composition Tears . Fingerstyle jazz on the electric guitar was pioneered by George van Eps (1913–1998) who was respected for his polyphonic approach, sometimes using a seven string guitar . Wes Montgomery (1925–1968) was known for using the fleshy part of his thumb to provide
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#17328015732497800-415: The banjo . Music arranged for fingerstyle playing can include chords , arpeggios (the notes of a chord played one after the other, as opposed to simultaneously) and other elements such as artificial harmonics , hammering on and pulling off notes with the fretting hand, using the body of the guitar percussively (by tapping rhythms on the body), and many other techniques. Often, the guitarist will play
7950-461: The classical guitar (Spanish guitar); the steel-string acoustic guitar or electric guitar ; and the Hawaiian guitar (played across the player's lap). Traditional acoustic guitars include the flat top guitar (typically with a large sound hole) or the archtop guitar , which is sometimes called a " jazz guitar ". The tone of an acoustic guitar is produced by the strings' vibration, amplified by
8100-413: The classical period , as opposed to baroque or romantic music . The major feature of classical-fingerstyle technique is that it enables solo rendition of harmony and polyphonic music in much the same manner as the piano can. The technique is intended to maximize the degree of control over the musical dynamics, texture, articulation and timbral characteristics of the guitar. The sitting position of
8250-522: The fingerpicking technique of Merle Travis and others to play wide variety of material including jazz. This style is distinguished by having a steadier and "busier" (several beats to the bar) bass line than the chord melody approach of Montgomery and Pass making it suited to up-tempo material. Fingerstyle has always been predominant in Latin American guitar playing, which Laurindo Almeida (1917–1995) and Charlie Byrd (1925–1999) brought to
8400-424: 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
8550-456: The melody is played on the bass strings, usually low E, A, and D while rhythm strumming continues above, on the treble strings , G, B, and high E. This often occurs during the break . Travis picking derives its name from Merle Travis . The foundation of Travis picking revolves around the combination of alternate-bass fingerpicking and syncopated melodies. This style is commonly played on steel string acoustic guitars. Pattern picking
8700-406: The melody notes, interspersed with the melody's accompanying chords and the deep bassline (or bass notes) simultaneously. Some fingerpicking guitarists also intersperse percussive tapping along with the melody, chords and bassline. Fingerstyle is a standard technique on the classical or nylon string guitar , but is considered more of a specialized technique on steel string guitars . Fingerpicking
8850-410: The 12th fret: E–A–D–G–B–E; the 12th fret is placed where the body begins) or higher up to position XIX (the classical guitar most often having 19 frets, with the 19th fret being most often split and not being usable to fret the 3rd and 4th strings). To achieve tremolo effects and rapid, fluent scale passages, and varied arpeggios the player must practice alternation, that is, never plucking a string with
9000-546: The 16th 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 relatively 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,
9150-420: The 1960s and 1970s; they are less prone to unwanted acoustic feedback . As with acoustic guitars, there are a number of types of electric guitars, including hollowbody guitars , archtop guitars (used in jazz guitar , blues and rockabilly ) and solid-body guitars , which are widely used in rock music . The loud, amplified sound and sonic power of the electric guitar played through a guitar amp have played
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#17328015732499300-498: The D-28 and similar models) and Spanish heel neck joints, which are named after the shoe they resemble and commonly found in classical guitars. All three types offer stability. 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. Another type of neck, only available for solid-body electric guitars,
9450-553: The D–A–D–G–A–D tuning, though with a hybrid picking style to produce a similar but distinctive effect. In 1976, William Ackerman started Windham Hill Records , which carried on the Takoma tradition of original compositions on solo steel string guitar . However, instead of the folk and blues oriented music of Takoma, including Fahey's American primitive guitar, the early Windham Hill artists (and others influenced by them) abandoned
9600-538: The European lute ; the former was brought to Iberia by the Moors in the 8th century. It has often been assumed that the guitar is a development of the lute, or of the ancient Greek kithara. However, many scholars consider the lute an offshoot or separate line of development which did not influence the evolution of the guitar in any significant way. At least two instruments called "guitars" were in use in Spain by 1200:
9750-505: The LP The New Ragtime Guitar on Folkways Records . This was followed by a Stefan Grossman method book with the same title. A year later Grossman and ED Denson founded Kicking Mule Records , a company that recorded scores of LPs of solo ragtime guitar by artists including Grossman, Ton van Bergeyk, Leo Wijnkamp, Duck Baker , Peter Finger , Lasse Johansson, Tom Ball and Dale Miller. Meanwhile, Reverend Gary Davis
9900-565: The Latin cithara , which in turn came from the Ancient Greek κιθάρα which is of uncertain ultimate origin. Kithara appears in the Bible four times (1 Cor. 14:7, Rev. 5:8, 14:2, and 15:2), and is usually translated into English as harp . The origins of the modern guitar are not known. Before the development of the electric guitar and the use of synthetic materials, a guitar
10050-461: The Middle Ages. By the 16th century, most of the forms of guitar had fallen off, to never be seen again. However, midway through the 16th century, the five-course guitar was established. It was not a straightforward process. There were two types of five-course guitars, differing in the location of the major third and in the interval pattern. The fifth course can be inferred because the instrument
10200-557: 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
10350-458: The Spanish guitar in Italy. Even later, in the same century, Gaspar Sanz wrote that other nations such as Italy or France added to the Spanish guitar. All of these nations even imitated the five-course guitar by "recreating" their own. Finally, c. 1850 , the form and structure of the modern guitar were developed by different Spanish makers such as Manuel de Soto y Solares and, perhaps
10500-511: The Tyde and his new group Frausdots . Gunst's new group, Mystic Chords of Memory , also features Ben Knight on guitar. Three's Co. , the Tyde's third album, was released in 2006 (April/UK; July/Japan; August/US) and features guest appearances from Mickey Madden of Maroon 5 and Conor Deasy of the Thrills . Their fourth album, Darren 4 , was released in 2016. Guitar The guitar
10650-482: The United States. Electric guitars , first patented in 1937, use a pickup and amplifier that made the instrument loud enough to be heard, but also enabled manufacturing guitars with a solid block of wood needing a resonant chamber. A wide array of electronic effects units became possible including reverb and distortion (or "overdrive") . Solid-body guitars began to dominate the guitar market during
10800-440: The abundant nature of sub-categories and its unique tonal & functional property. Acoustic guitars form 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
10950-708: The acoustic bass guitar, which has a similar tuning to that of the electric bass guitar. Renaissance and Baroque guitars are the ancestors of the modern classical and flamenco guitar . They are substantially smaller, more delicate in construction, and generate less volume. 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 single strings normally used now. 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 's Instrucción de Música sobre la Guitarra Española of 1674 contains his whole output for
11100-507: The band's love of surfing . The former featuring the song "North County Times", about time spent in surfers' paradise Encinitas , while the latter features a cartoon of a surfer heading out to the waves as well as the track "New D" featuring the lyrics "ain't gonna fight 'em anymore, leave those bastard people on the shore, surf a wave on a single-fin board". Brent Rademaker also played bass in Beachwood Sparks with former Further and Tyde member Christopher Gunst. He now shares his time between
11250-457: The bass line while strumming chordal or melodic motives with his fingers. This style, while unorthodox, was widely regarded as an innovative method for enhancing the warm tone associated with jazz guitar. Montgomery's influence extends to modern polyphonic jazz improvisational methods. Joe Pass (1929–1994) switched to fingerstyle mid career, making the Virtuoso series of albums. Little known to
11400-430: The constant 17.817—an approximation to 1/(1-1/ 2 12 {\displaystyle {\sqrt[{12}]{2}}} ). If the nth fret is a distance x from the bridge, then the distance from the (n+1)th fret to the bridge is x-(x/17.817). Frets are available in several different gauges and can be fitted according to player preference. Among these are "jumbo" frets, which have a much thicker gauge, allowing for use of
11550-526: The early 1970s the next generation of British artists added new tunings and techniques, reflected in the work of artists like Nick Drake , Tim Buckley and particularly John Martyn , whose Solid Air (1972) set the bar for subsequent British acoustic guitarists. Perhaps the most prominent exponent of recent years has been Martin Simpson , whose complex mix of traditional English and American material, together with innovative arrangements and techniques like
11700-401: The end of the nineteenth century in the United States, but nylon and steel strings became mainstream only following World War II . The guitar's ancestors include the gittern , the vihuela , the four- course Renaissance guitar , and the five-course baroque guitar , all of which contributed to the development of the modern six-string instrument. There are three main types of modern guitar:
11850-572: The extended Raga of Indian classical music , the Japanese Koto , and the early ragtime-based country blues music of Mississippi John Hurt or Blind Blake . Fingerpicking was soon taken up by country and western artists such as Sam McGee , Ike Everly (father of The Everly Brothers ), Merle Travis and "Thumbs" Carllile . Later Chet Atkins further developed the style and in modern music musicians such as Jose Gonzalez, Eddie Vedder (on his song Guaranteed) and David Knowles have utilized
12000-429: The exterior surface of a guitar, both for decoration and artistic purposes and, in the case of the markings on the 3rd, 5th, 7th and 12th fret (and in higher octaves), to provide guidance to the performer about the location of frets on the instrument. The typical locations for inlay are on the fretboard, headstock, and on acoustic guitars around the soundhole, known as the rosette . Inlays range from simple plastic dots on
12150-495: The fingers rather than with a pick . Its purest form could be considered unaccompanied guitar with vocals, as exemplified by João Gilberto . Even in larger, jazz-like arrangements for groups, there is almost always a guitar that plays the underlying rhythm. Gilberto basically took one of the several rhythmic layers from a samba ensemble , specifically the tamborim , and applied it to the picking hand. Fingerpicking (also called thumb picking, alternating bass , or pattern picking)
12300-471: The first commercial slack key recordings were made) the style has expanded, and some contemporary compositions have a distinctly new-age sound. Slack key's older generation included Gabby Pahinui , Leonard Kwan , Sonny Chillingworth and Raymond Kāne . Prominent contemporary players include Keola Beamer , Moses Kahumoku, Ledward Kaapana , Dennis Kamakahi , John Keawe , Ozzie Kotani and Peter Moon and Cyril Pahinui . The unaccompanied guitar in jazz
12450-423: The five course guitar. A literary source, Lope de Vega's Dorotea, gives the credit to the poet and musician Vicente Espinel . This claim was also repeated by Nicolas Doizi de Velasco in 1640, however this claim has been contested by others who state that Espinel's birth year (1550) make it impossible for him to be responsible for the tradition. He believed that the tuning was the reason the instrument became known as
12600-498: The five fingers of the right-hand (which pluck the strings, for right-handers) are designated by the first letter of their Spanish names namely p = thumb ( pulgar ), i = index finger ( índice ), m = middle finger ( medio ), a = ring finger ( anular ), and when used, often c = little finger or pinky ( chiquito ). There are several words in Spanish for the little finger: most commonly dedo meñique , but also dedo pequeño or dedo auricular ; however, their initials conflict with
12750-437: 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. In Portugal, the word viola referred to the guitar, as guitarra meant the " Portuguese guitar ", a variety of cittern . There were many different plucked instruments that were being invented and used in Europe during
12900-523: The foundations for playing in this way Michael Hedges and Eric Roche developed and essentially pioneered percussive techniques forming a style of their own in the 1980s - 90s. Their progressive contribution played a significant role in influencing a new wave of percussive players including Andy Mckee , Preston Reed , Jon Gomm , Mike Dawes , Chris Woods , Don Ross , Declan Zapala , Erik Mongrain , and Marcin Patrzałek . "Funky fingerstyle" emerged in
13050-474: The fretboard and accessible through the sound hole. Some truss rods can only be accessed by removing the neck. The truss rod counteracts the immense amount of tension the strings place on the neck, bringing the neck back to a straighter position. Turning the truss rod clockwise tightens it, counteracting the tension of the strings and straightening the neck or creating a backward bow. Turning the truss rod counter-clockwise loosens it, allowing string tension to act on
13200-616: The fretboard and located at exact points that divide the scale length in accordance with a specific mathematical formula. The exceptions include fretless bass guitars and very rare fretless guitars. Pressing a string against a fret determines the strings' vibrating length and therefore its resultant pitch. The pitch of each consecutive fret is defined at a half-step interval on the chromatic scale . Standard classical guitars have 19 frets and electric guitars between 21 and 24 frets, although guitars have been made with as many as 27 frets. Frets are laid out to accomplish an equal tempered division of
13350-448: The fretboard to intricate works of art covering the entire exterior surface of a guitar (front and back). Some guitar players have used LEDs in the fretboard to produce unique lighting effects onstage. 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
13500-403: The fretboard usually differs 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 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
13650-534: The fretboard's surface constitutes a segment. The smaller the fretboard radius, the more noticeably curved the fretboard is. Most modern guitars feature a 12" neck radius, while older guitars from the 1960s and 1970s usually feature a 6-8" neck radius. Pinching a string against a fret on the fretboard effectively shortens the vibrating length of the string, producing a higher pitch. Fretboards are most commonly made of rosewood , ebony , maple , and sometimes manufactured using composite materials such as HPL or resin. See
13800-645: The general public Ted Greene (1946–2005) was admired by fellow musicians for his harmonic skills. Lenny Breau (1941–1984) went one better than van Eps by playing virtuosic fingerstyle on an eight string guitar . Tommy Crook replaced the lower two strings on his Gibson switchmaster with bass strings, allowing him to create the impression of playing bass and guitar simultaneously. Chet Atkins (1924–2001) sometimes applied his formidable right-hand technique to jazz standards, with Duck Baker (b. 1949), Richard Smith (b. 1971), Woody Mann and Tommy Emmanuel (b. 1955), among others, following in his footsteps. They use
13950-410: The guitar is one determinant of a good instrument versus a poor-quality one. The cross-section of the neck can also vary, from a gentle "C" curve to a more pronounced "V" curve. There are many different types of neck profiles available, giving the guitarist many options. Some aspects to consider in a guitar neck may be the overall width of the fretboard, scale (distance between the frets), the neck wood,
14100-423: The guitar is projected either acoustically , by means of a resonant hollow chamber on the guitar, or amplified by an electronic pickup and an amplifier . The guitar is classified as a chordophone , meaning the sound is produced by a vibrating string stretched between two fixed points. Historically, a guitar was constructed from wood, with its strings made of catgut . Steel guitar strings were introduced near
14250-404: The guitar. Jody Stecher and Alec Stone Sweet are exponents of guitar clawhammer. Fingerstyle guitarist Steve Baughman distinguishes between frailing and clawhammer as follows. In frailing, the index fingertip is used for up-picking melody, and the middle fingernail is used for rhythmic downward brushing. In clawhammer, only downstrokes are used, and they are typically played with one fingernail as
14400-601: The high strings. The style originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as southern blues guitarists tried to imitate the popular ragtime piano music of the day, with the guitarist's thumb functioning as the pianist's left hand, and the other fingers functioning as the right hand. The first recorded examples were by players such as Blind Blake , Big Bill Broonzy , Skip James , Blind Willie McTell , Memphis Minnie and Mississippi John Hurt . Some early blues players such as Blind Willie Johnson and Tampa Red added slide guitar techniques. American primitive guitar
14550-403: The hollow body of the guitar, which acts as a resonating chamber . The classical Spanish guitar is often played as a solo instrument using a comprehensive fingerstyle technique where each string is plucked individually by the player's fingers, as opposed to being strummed. The term "finger-picking" can also refer to a specific tradition of folk, blues, bluegrass, and country guitar playing in
14700-421: The index (I) and middle (M) fingers alternate between two treble notes , usually on two different strings, most often the second and first. Using this pattern on a C major chord is as follows in notation and tablature : However, Travis's own playing was often much more complicated than this example. He often referred to his style of playing as "thumb picking", possibly because the only pick he used when playing
14850-406: The initials of the other fingers; c is said to be the first half of the initial letter ch of dedo chiquito , which is not the most common name ( meñique ) for the little finger; the origin of e , x and q is not certain but is said to perhaps be from extremo , Spanish for last or final, for the e and x , and meñique or pequeño for q . The four fingers of the left hand (which stop
15000-405: The inside of the neck. It is used to correct changes to the neck's curvature caused by aging of the neck timbers, changes in humidity, or to compensate for changes in the tension of strings. The tension of the rod and neck assembly is adjusted by a hex nut or an allen-key bolt on the rod, usually located either at the headstock, sometimes under a cover, or just inside the body of the guitar underneath
15150-536: The lowest four strings of the six-string guitar, which is the same tuning pitch as an electric bass guitar. It can, more rarely, be found with five or six strings, which provides a wider range of notes to be played with less movement up and down the neck. Electric guitars can have solid, semi-hollow, or hollow bodies; solid bodies produce little sound without amplification. In contrast to a standard acoustic guitar, electric guitars instead rely on electromagnetic pickups , and sometimes piezoelectric pickups, that convert
15300-474: The mid-2000s, as a style in which the sounds of a full funk or R&B ensemble are emulated on one guitar. Uncommon sounds are being discovered thanks to the technical possibilities of various pick-ups, microphones and octave division effects pedals. Adam Rafferty uses a technique of hip-hop vocal percussion called "human beat box", along with body percussion, while playing contrapuntal fingerstyle pieces. Petteri Sariola has several mics on board his guitar and
15450-416: The most important of all guitar makers, Antonio Torres Jurado , who increased the size of the guitar body, altered its proportions, and invented the breakthrough fan-braced pattern. Bracing, the internal pattern of wood reinforcements used to secure the guitar's top and back and prevent the instrument from collapsing under tension, is an important factor in how the guitar sounds. Torres' design greatly improved
15600-517: The most influential designers of their time. Bracing not only strengthens the top against potential collapse due to the stress exerted by the tensioned strings but also affects the resonance characteristics of the top. The back and sides are made out of a variety of timbers such as mahogany, Indian rosewood and highly regarded Brazilian rosewood ( Dalbergia nigra ). Each one is primarily chosen for their aesthetic effect and can be decorated with inlays and purfling. Fingerstyle Fingerstyle guitar
15750-585: The neck and creating a forward bow. Adjusting the truss rod affects the intonation of a guitar as well as the height of the strings from the fingerboard, called the action . Some truss rod systems, called double action truss systems, tighten both ways, pushing the neck both forward and backward (standard truss rods can only release to a point beyond which the neck is no longer compressed and pulled backward). The artist and luthier Irving Sloane pointed out, in his book Steel-String Guitar Construction , that truss rods are intended primarily to remedy concave bowing of
15900-414: The neck and sides built as one piece and the body built around it. The fingerboard , also called the fretboard, is a piece 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
16050-471: The neck, but cannot correct a neck with "back bow" or one that has become twisted. Classical guitars do not require truss rods, as their nylon strings exert a lower tensile force with lesser potential to cause structural problems. However, their necks are often reinforced with a strip of harder wood, such as an ebony strip that runs down the back of a cedar neck. There is no tension adjustment on this form of reinforcement. Inlays are visual elements set into
16200-454: The nut, which can adversely affect tuning stability, some guitarists fit a roller nut. Some instruments use a zero fret just in front of the nut. In this case the nut is used only for lateral alignment of the strings, the string height and length being dictated by the zero fret. A guitar's frets , fretboard , tuners , headstock , and truss rod , all attached to a long wooden extension, collectively constitute its neck . The wood used to make
16350-413: The octave. Each set of twelve frets represents an octave. The twelfth fret divides the scale length exactly into two halves, and the 24th fret position divides one of those halves in half again. The ratio of the spacing of two consecutive frets is 2 12 {\displaystyle {\sqrt[{12}]{2}}} ( twelfth root of two ). In practice, luthiers determine fret positions using
16500-502: The others are tuned in octaves. The 12-string guitar is also made in electric forms. The chime-like sound of the 12-string electric guitar was the basis of jangle pop . The acoustic bass guitar is a bass instrument with a hollow wooden body similar to, though usually somewhat larger than, that of a six-string acoustic guitar. Like the traditional electric bass guitar and the double bass , the acoustic bass guitar commonly has four strings, which are normally tuned E-A-D-G, an octave below
16650-420: The pitch. The traditional tuner layout is "3+3", in which each side of the headstock has three tuners (such as on Gibson Les Pauls ). In this layout, the headstocks are commonly symmetrical. Many guitars feature other layouts, including six-in-line tuners (featured on Fender Stratocasters ) or even "4+2" (e.g. Ernie Ball Music Man). Some guitars (such as Steinbergers ) do not have headstocks at all, in which case
16800-526: The player, while somewhat variable, generally places the guitar on the left leg, which is elevated, rather than the right. This sitting position is intended to maintain shoulder alignment and physical balance between the left and right hands. Thumb, index, middle and ring fingers are all commonly employed for plucking, with occasional use of the pinky. Chords are often plucked, with strums being reserved for emphasis. The repertoire varies in terms of keys, modes, rhythms and cultural influences. Classical-guitar music
16950-419: The player. These usually appear on the odd-numbered frets, but also on the 12th fret (the one- octave mark) instead of the 11th and 13th frets. Some older or high-end instruments have inlays made of mother of pearl, abalone, ivory, colored wood or other exotic materials and designs. Simpler inlays are often made of plastic or painted. High-end classical guitars seldom have fretboard inlays as a well-trained player
17100-507: The playing of single-lined melodies. Modern dimensions of the classical instrument were established by the Spaniard Antonio de Torres Jurado (1817–1892). Flat-top guitars with steel strings are similar to the classical guitar , however, the flat-top 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 flat-top guitars
17250-421: The playing of traditional English modal music . They were soon followed by artists such as Bert Jansch and John Renbourn , who further defined the style. The style these artists developed was particularly notable for the adoption of D–A–D–G–A–D (from lowest to highest), which gave a form of suspended-fourth D chord, neither major nor minor, which could be employed as the basis for modal based folk songs. This
17400-430: The roughly classical-sized OO and Parlour to the large Dreadnought (the most commonly available type) and Jumbo . Ovation makes a modern variation, with a rounded back/side assembly molded from artificial materials. Archtop guitars are steel-string instruments in which the top (and often the back) of the instrument are carved from a solid billet, into a curved, rather than flat, shape. This violin-like construction
17550-423: The same fashion as other guitars, although slides are also often used, especially in blues. A steel guitar is any guitar played while moving a polished steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conventional guitar in that it does not use frets; conceptually, it is somewhat akin to playing
17700-474: The same finger twice. Common alternation patterns include: Classical guitarists have a large degree of freedom within the mechanics of playing the instrument. Often these decisions influence tone and timbre . Factors include: Concert guitarists must keep their fingernails smoothly filed and carefully shaped to employ this technique, which produces a better-controlled sound than either nails or fingertips alone. Playing parameters include: Flamenco technique
17850-464: The same instrument is often used with steel strings particularly in its role within fado music. The guitar is called viola , or violão in Brazil, where it is often used with an extra seventh string by choro musicians to provide extra bass support. In Mexico, the popular mariachi band includes a range of guitars, from the small requinto to the guitarrón , a guitar larger than a cello, which
18000-607: The section "Neck" below for the importance of the length of the fretboard in connection to other dimensions of the guitar. The fingerboard plays an essential role in the treble tone for acoustic guitars. The quality of vibration of the fingerboard is the principal characteristic for generating the best treble tone. For that reason, ebony wood is better, but because of high use, ebony has become rare and extremely expensive. Most guitar manufacturers have adopted rosewood instead of ebony. Almost all guitars have frets, which are metal strips (usually nickel alloy or stainless steel) embedded along
18150-405: 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 is 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
18300-525: The solo guitar.) 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, also known as "Spanish" guitars, are typically strung with nylon strings, plucked with the fingers, played in
18450-406: The sound of a stand-up bass ), 5.1 surround guitar , and such. Solid-body seven-string guitars were popularized in the 1980s and 1990s. Other artists go a step further, by using an eight-string guitar with two extra low strings. Although the most common seven-string has a low B string, Roger McGuinn (of The Byrds and Rickenbacker ) uses an octave G string paired with the regular G string as on
18600-475: The steady alternating or monotonic bass in favor of sweet flowing arpeggios and flamenco -inspired percussive techniques. The label's best selling artist George Winston and others used a similar approach on piano. This music was generally pacific, accessible and expressionistic. Eventually, this music acquired the label of "New Age", given its widespread use as background music at bookstores, spas and other New Age businesses. The designation has stuck, though it
18750-516: The string without lifting, creating continuous transitions in pitch. Slide guitar is most often played (assuming a right-handed player and guitar): Slack-key guitar is a fingerpicked style that originated in Hawaii . The English term is a translation of the Hawaiian kī hō‘alu , which means "loosen the [tuning] key". Slack key is nearly always played in open or altered tunings—the most common tuning
18900-476: The strings from the fingerboard), lighter (thinner) strings, and its electrical amplification lend the electric guitar to techniques less frequently used on acoustic guitars. These include tapping , extensive use of legato through pull-offs and hammer-ons (also known as slurs), pinch harmonics , volume swells , and use of a tremolo arm or effects pedals . Some electric guitar models feature piezoelectric pickups, which function as transducers to provide
19050-542: The strings to the air within the guitar body. Sound is further shaped by the characteristics of the guitar body's resonant cavity. In expensive instruments, the entire body is made of wood. In inexpensive instruments, the back may be made of plastic. In an acoustic instrument, the body of the guitar is a major determinant of the overall sound quality. The guitar top, or soundboard, is a finely crafted and engineered element made of tonewoods such as spruce and red cedar . This thin piece of wood, often only 2 or 3 mm thick,
19200-408: The strings, for left-handers) are designated 1 = index, 2 = major, 3 = ring finger, 4 = little finger; 0 designates an open string, that is a string that is not stopped by a finger of the left hand and whose full length thus vibrates when plucked. On the classical guitar the thumb of the left hand is never used to stop strings from above (as is done on the electric guitar): the neck of a classical guitar
19350-427: The strings. Physical properties of the thicker bass strings require them to be slightly longer than the treble strings to correct intonation . Reversing the strings, therefore, reverses the orientation of the saddle, adversely affecting intonation. The headstock is located at the end of the guitar neck farthest from the body. It is fitted with machine heads that adjust the tension of the strings, which in turn affects
19500-425: The strings. This is similar to the violin family of instruments where the dominant hand controls the bow. Left-handed players usually play a mirror image instrument manufactured especially for left-handed players. There are other options, some unorthodox, including learn to play a right-handed guitar as if the player is right-handed or playing an unmodified right-handed guitar reversed. Guitarist Jimi Hendrix played
19650-546: The style. Most fingerpickers use acoustic guitars, but some, including Merle Travis played on hollow-body electric guitars , while some modern rock musicians, such as Derek Trucks and Mark Knopfler , employ traditional North American fingerpicking techniques on solid-body electric guitars such as the Gibson Les Paul or the Fender Stratocaster . An early master of ragtime guitar was Blind Blake ,
19800-539: The technique has been put forward by the Toronto (Canada) Fingerstyle Guitar Association: Physically, "Fingerstyle" refers to using each of the right hand fingers independently to play the multiple parts of a musical arrangement that would normally be played by several band members. Deep bass notes, harmonic accompaniment (the chord progression ), melody, and percussion can all be played simultaneously when playing Fingerstyle. Many fingerstyle guitarists have adopted
19950-430: The top of the guitar under the strings. The air inside the body vibrates as the guitar top and body is vibrated by the strings, and the response of the air cavity at different frequencies is characterized, like the rest of the guitar body, by a number of resonance modes at which it responds more strongly. The top, back and ribs of an acoustic guitar body are very thin (1–2 mm), so a flexible piece of wood called lining
20100-550: The tuning machines are located elsewhere, either on the body or the bridge. The nut is a small strip of bone , plastic , brass , corian , graphite , stainless steel , or other medium-hard material, at the joint where the headstock meets the fretboard. Its grooves guide the strings onto the fretboard, giving consistent lateral string placement. It is one of the endpoints of the strings' vibrating length. It must be accurately cut, or it can contribute to tuning problems due to string slippage or string buzz. To reduce string friction in
20250-417: The tuning to replicate the drone common in medieval and folk music played by the thumb on the two lowest strings. The style was further developed by Jansch, who brought a more forceful style of picking and, indirectly, influences from Jazz and Ragtime, leading particularly to more complex basslines. Renbourn built on all these trends and was the artist whose repertoire was most influenced by medieval music. In
20400-400: The two or three sections of the back. Binding and purfling materials are generally made of either wood or plastic. Body size, shape and style have changed over time. 19th-century guitars, now known as salon guitars, were smaller than modern instruments. Differing patterns of internal bracing have been used over time by luthiers. Torres, Hauser, Ramirez, Fleta, and C. F. Martin were among
20550-476: The type of neck construction (for example, the neck may be glued in or bolted on), and the shape (profile) of the back of the neck. Other types of material used to make guitar necks are graphite ( Steinberger guitars), aluminum ( Kramer Guitars , Travis Bean and Veleno guitars ), or carbon fiber ( Modulus Guitars and ThreeGuitars ). Double neck electric guitars have two necks, allowing the musician to quickly switch between guitar sounds. The neck joint or heel
20700-480: The use of guitar slides, represents a deliberate attempt to create a unique and personal style. Martin Carthy passed on his guitar style to French guitarist Pierre Bensusan . It was taken up in Scotland by Dick Gaughan , and by Irish musicians like Paul Brady , Dónal Lunny and Mick Moloney . Carthy also influenced Paul Simon , particularly evident on Scarborough Fair , which he probably taught to Simon, and
20850-453: 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
21000-453: The vibration of the steel strings into signals , which are fed to an amplifier through a patch cable or radio transmitter . The sound is frequently modified by other electronic devices ( effects units ) or the natural distortion of valves ( vacuum tubes ) or the pre-amp in the amplifier. There are two main types of magnetic pickups, single - and double-coil (or humbucker ), each of which can be passive or active . The electric guitar
21150-584: The volume, tone, and projection of the instrument, and it has remained essentially unchanged since. Guitars are often divided into two broad categories: acoustic and electric guitars . Within each category, there are further sub-categories that are nearly endless in quantity and are always evolving. For example, an electric guitar can be purchased in a six-string model (the most common model) or in seven- or twelve-string formats. An instruments overall design, internal construction and components, wood type or species, hardware and electronic appointments all add to
21300-466: Was a banjo thumb pick, or "Muhlenberg picking", after his native Muhlenberg County, Kentucky , where he learned this approach to playing from Mose Rager and Ike Everly . Travis's style did not involve a defined, alternating bass string pattern; it was more of an alternating "bass strum" pattern, resulting in an accompanying rhythm reminiscent of ragtime piano. Clawhammer and frailing are primarily banjo techniques that are sometimes applied to
21450-499: Was a guitarist from Mali , whose music has been called the "DNA of the blues". He was also often compared to John Lee Hooker . His son Vieux Farka Toure continues to play in the same style. Djelimady Tounkara is another Malian fingerstylist. S. E. Rogie and Koo Nimo play acoustic fingerstyle in the lilting, calypso -influenced palm wine music tradition. Benin -born Jazz guitarist Lionel Loueke uses fingerstyle in an approach that combines jazz harmonies and complex rhythms. He
21600-573: Was active in New York City, where he mentored many aspiring finger-pickers. He has subsequently influenced numerous other artists in the United States and internationally. Carter Family picking , also known as "'thumb brush' technique or the 'Carter lick,' and also the 'church lick' and the 'Carter scratch'", is a style of fingerstyle guitar named for Maybelle Carter of the Carter Family 's distinctive style of rhythm guitar in which
21750-458: Was combined with a fingerstyle based on Travis picking and a focus on melody, that made it suitable as an accompaniment. Denselow, who coined the phrase 'folk baroque,' singled out Graham's recording of traditional English folk song 'Seven Gypsys' on Folk, Blues and Beyond (1964) as the beginning of the style. Graham mixed this with Indian, African, American, Celtic, and modern and traditional American influences, while Carthy in particular used
21900-489: 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 chordophones that were developed and used across Europe, beginning in the 12th century and, later, in the Americas. A 3,300-year-old stone carving of a Hittite bard playing a stringed instrument is the oldest iconographic representation of
22050-471: Was developed in the 1840s by German-American luthiers, of whom Christian Friedrich "C. F." Martin is the best known. Originally used on gut-strung instruments, the strength of the system allowed the later guitars to withstand the additional tension of steel strings. Steel strings produce a brighter tone and 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
22200-428: Was known to play more than the sixteen notes possible with four. The guitar's strings were tuned in unison, so, in other words, it was tuned by placing a finger on the second fret of the thinnest string and tuning the guitar bottom to top. The strings were a whole octave apart from one another, which is the reason for the different method of tuning. Because it was so different, there was major controversy as to who created
22350-476: Was not a term coined by the company itself. "Percussive fingerstyle" is a term for a style incorporating sharp attacks on the strings, as well as hitting the strings and guitar top with the hand for percussive effect. Principally featuring, string slapping, guitar body percussion, alternate tunings and extended techniques such as; tapping and harmonics. Flamenco and Blues guitarists regularly feature percussive techniques and alternate tunings, and arguably laid
22500-615: Was particularly influential, because of its complex and varied guitar part. His influences included traditional music of Zambia and the Eastern Congo, Cuban groups like the Trio Matamoros, and cowboy movies. His style used the thumb and index finger only, to produce bass, melody and accompaniment. Congolese guitarists Losta Abelo and Edouard Masengo played in a similar style. Herbert Misango and George Mukabi were fingerstyle guitarists from Kenya . Ali Farka Toure (d. 2006)
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