Victor Epand asked:


Although its exact history is a little hazy, and subject to much discussion, it is thought that the traditional Portuguese guitar can be traced back as far as the medieval period, and although you will often find references that suggest that it was based on the traditional English guitar, this is most certainly not the case, in particular for the very good reason that there simply is no such thing! The Portuguese guitar is a traditional twelve string instrument which is most notable for its use in the traditional Portuguese Fado music.

When people suggest that the Portuguese guitar comes from the traditional English guitar, what is really being referred to here is not ancestry of design, but rather the quality of build. It was at the time that the Portuguese guitar was being designed and introduced that England was famous for making guitars, and the reputation of these English guitars was very solid. The Portuguese guitar is therefore a descendent of the period when guitars were being made to a high standard in England. Rather than of English origin, the Portuguese guitar is more likely to have its roots in either the medieval citar, or the lute which came from Arabic traditions.

More than likely it was a combination of both of these types of instrument. The Portuguese is an example of a classic guitar, but is not the only type of classic guitar to be available as an alternative to the traditional ones. Another popular type of classical guitar is the flat top steel string guitar. The main difference is that instead of using nylon to create the strings, they are made from steel. This provides a significantly different timbre to the note, but because it has to be tensed and stretched to a very high degree, it has affected the overall shape of the guitar. Often people think that the shape of a flat top guitar is to enhance sound or create some alternate quality of sound to a normal guitar, but it is largely based purely on ensuring that the guitar is strong enough to withstand the tension of the steel strings, since a normal guitar structure would more than likely simply snap in half during the initial tuning up.

The neck of a steel strung guitar is very much reinforced, and the design gives it a strong look and feel. The body is also usually much larger than a normal classic guitar, and also thought his is to act as an extra brace for the strings, it also adds a greater resonance for the notes. The sound created by steel strings rather than nylon ones is described as being much brighter and crisper, and often people suggested that it creates a much louder sound too.

Flat top guitars or steel strung guitars are most often to be found used in traditional folk music, country, jazz and blues, and the music associated with these genres can be thought to reflect the characteristics of the guitar used. A third alternative to the traditional classic guitar is the archtop guitar, and these again used steel strings rather than nylon, creating the crisp bright sound, but the distinctive feature of an archtop guitar is a f-hole which looks very similar to the design of a violin.

The top and back of the guitar’s body are carved in this distinctive curved fashion, and the shape is derived from a similar style of mandolin created by the Gibson Guitar Corporation. The archtop guitar can be made available in either the classic form, or as an electric equivalent, and the sound created by these guitars is quite distinctive and has proven very popular with musicians from both the classical and country traditions, and popular music, with the country musicians using the acoustic version of the archtop, and the popular music musicians using its electric equivalent, which often comes with a tremolo arm, particularly when used in rock music.

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Luciano Figallo asked:


Tuners are vital for guitarists. Whether tuning by ear or using computer software or a pedal, tuning is necessary before one can maximize performance of his/her instrument and perform at his/her best. Normally, if you play your guitar only on a daily basis your strings will not get out of tone. But if your guitar is rarely used or is in a bad condition or your playing is extremely hard, then most likely you’ll need to tune your guitar always. Tip: TUNE your guitar EVERY TIME you pick it up.

For professional tuning, you MUST use electronic guitar tuners. These devices allow tuning with the use of pedals, little boxes, or rack mounted units. There are a number of manufacturers who specialize in these sophisticated gadgets

ELECTRONIC GUITAR TUNERS

• Boss, a division of the Roland Corporation (big japanese company), employs its proven technology in musical equipment and accessories to develop sophisticated tuners - known for their accuracy and superb functionality. One of its renowned inventions is the TU - Series tuners technology, which incorporates tuning accuracy in an ultra convenient tompbox design…ideal to take them into the guitar case everywhere.

• Korg. This world’s favorite tuner started introducing excellent tuners in 1999. It came out with the DT-7 GUITAR/BASS chromatic tuner, the first guitar tuner to feature the legendary Buzz Feiten Tuning System. The critically acclaimed DT-7 could be one of the most accurate tuners in the market ever, featuring an ultra - wide tuning range. Later on, Korg introduced the extremely flexible GT-12 GUITAR & BASS chromatic tuner and the OT-12 designed for Orchestra.

Other models that came out were Korg GA30 Guitar & Bass Tuner which features a pitch reference tone and quinta-flat tuning while maintaining functionality and convenient tuning functions in Ultra - Compact bodies.

The Korg CA30 Chromatic Tuner and the Korg TM40 Chromatic Tuner/Metronome; Tuner with Metronome which can function simultaneously or independently, its large LCD-type needle delivers both the accuracy of an LCD and the excellent visibility of a needle indicator. It also has LED indicators that show pitch deviation or blink to indicate the tempo, thus, making the TM-40 a highly visual tool. The superb functionality and the highest accuracy have made Korg tuners a worldwide favorite.

• String Master, is another respected manufacturer. String Master produced the world’s first motorized guitar tuner featured in the Guitar One and Guitar Player Magazines. This guitar tuner is very innovative, convenient and could be the friendliest tuner ever invented

• The Qwik Tune QT-11 is the next generation’s automatic guitar tuner. Featuring an electronic pitch pipe with an internal speaker it plays E, A, D, G, B, and E tones for tuning reference. It also includes an Off-Meter tuning mode, which detects the string which the user is trying to tune (even if the guitar is severely out of tune). This portable battery operated Guitar or Bass tuner features an ‘electric pitch pipe’ that plays the note for the user. The user can tune each individual string while the display tells her/him which string is being tuning and whether the note is sharp or flat. The highly sensitive built-in microphone & spèed metering allow easy tuning.

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TUNING WITH COMPUTER SOFTWARE

Tuning via use of software abounds. Free or for a fee you can find various guitar tuners in the internet. These softwares eliminate the need to tune a guitar with an instrument or the conventional tuning by ear. All you have to do is to listen to the sound from the software, play it on your guitar and adjust the tuning machines tension until your guitar produces the same note as the tuner software.Keep in mind that the basic requirement in tuning is to get the same note as the tuner, not the sound because the difference in thickness of strings may cause varying frequencies and sound…just listen to the pitch.

Listen to the tuner and tune your guitar until you hear almost the same sound, though, it might be deeper. This is specially true when you get new strings and tune your guitar immediately after putting them on. Your stings have to adjust to the pressure applied to them so initially your guitar will not make the right tuning, it will sound detuned. But after exposure to a certain limit of stretch, they will hold on to a certain tone. Tip: Tune your guitar and leave it alone for a few hours then tune again and…that’s it. After each playing session the strings tend to mantain the pitch with better accuracy and stability.

One of the common (and free) tuners available in the internet is the DGT or digital guitar tuner. DGT is windows software, which allows you to accurately tune your guitar using direct input or microphone. Another free software is AP Tuner3 which supports an improved detection algorithm for low notes for bass and piano. It has a helpful Harmonics Graph window to see the harmonic content of any note. PitchPerfect can also be downloaded for free. It also provides a highly accurate professional tuner with a very simple to use interface. There is more flexibility in the PitchPerfect software because it automatically detects the note you’re playing and therefore, you’re not limited by standard tunings.

Apart from free downloads on your personal computer,you can also download tuners on your pocket PC or on your ipod. An example of this is the 4Pockets Guitar Tuner. Because it can be downloaded on your pocket PC, you can take the 4Pockets Guitar Tuner with you on your gigs . A high precision real - time guitar tuner,this Guitar Tuner can accurately determine the frequency,musical note and octave for each of your strings. The ability to estimate the note and octave makes this a very useful tool in musical notation and musical learning.

The iRocker is another convenient set of tools for guitarists which you can load on your iPod. iRocker is produced by Talking Panda,the makers of iBar.A great help for beginners, the iRocker includes not only a virtual book with 200 chords and fingerings but likewise a guide to scales. It also provides 5 different chord progressions/riffs that you can play along. Moreover, it contains a set of guitar tuning recordings with a variety of tunings and a basic 10 - speed metronome.

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WICH TUNER IS RIGHT FOR ME?

Your choice of tuner would depend on your needs – amateur or professional use. You might use a tuner for practicing at home or gigs with friends or you might need the tuner for a larger audience - like performing in a big concert. Regardless of your need, convenience and accuracy, tuners are of foremost importance…you can avail of a wide range of guitar tuners, free or for a fee.

Mesa Boogie

Fred Peters asked:


Do you want to pick your first guitar? Picking your first guitar can be a difficult choice. There are so many guitars to choose from. Do you buy an acoustic guitar? Do you buy a classical guitar? Do you buy an electric guitar?

Buying your first guitar is an awesome experience. No instrument is cooler to play than the guitar. The guitarist is always the star of the bank. And let’s face it, chicks dig them.

It is important to know how much money you can afford to spend before you start looking for a guitar. If you go to a local guitar store without a clear budget in mind, you will continue to pull the more expensive ones off the shelf. But, for a beginning guitar player, you don’t need a really expensive one. You can probably get a good first guitar for around $300 to $500. Online you can also find some great deals on used beginner guitars.

Guitars have a beautiful sound and are a lot easier to learn how to play than most think possible. However, before you go out to buy one you need to know these tricks and tips to make sure you are getting the best guitar for your money. Online guitar stores are a great place to find the best guitars at the lowest prices. However, before buying a guitar online, I think that you should visit your local guitar shop so that you can look at the guitars in person and up close. You will want to see how the guitar feels in you hands, how it looks, and how it sounds. Take the guitar off the wall, plug it into an amp, grab a pick and start strumming. You should also look at buying an acoustic guitar. This is the best way to find out what guitar is the right one for you.

If you are having trouble narrowing down the guitar you want to buy, here are some good recommendations. For acoustic guitars, I love Takamine guitars, Martin guitars, Ovation guitars and epiphone guitars. For electric guitars, I would check out Ibanez guitars, Fender guitars and Gibson guitars.

Once you have found the guitar that you want to buy, check out the online stores to see if you can find one at the best price. I cannot stress enough the power of online stores. The prices are almost always lower.

Remember to look at some online guitar stores to find great prices on beginner guitars.

Vintge Guitars

Anna Stenning asked:


I remember the first time I had seen an acoustic guitar, at the tender age of five. My teacher had invited a guest to come in and bring in his guitar, to show us how he played his guitar and to sing-a-long to some nursery rhymes. I remember feeling that this made a nice change from singing along to my teachers broken and badly tuned piano! It was at this moment I had decided that music was going to become an important element to my development.

Unfortunately, I did not receive my first guitar until I was seventeen; however, I did practise on other acoustic guitars in between that period along with a few piano lessons to keep my creative musical juices flowing. Taking guitar lessons proved more difficult when I had no time to practise in my spare time. I found that playing the guitar for the first time proved painful to my fingers, this was expected considering my hands were not used to the impact of plucking the hard strings.

Acoustic guitars along with the drums, piano and violin are just a few the most popular musical instruments that have been around for many years. They have shaped the movement of modern music, creating extraordinary tune and sounds evoking different emotions from its many dynamics. Ultimately, the point of playing music is to entertain and create a mood of creative ease and expressing ones emotions through sound.

History

The guitar is just one of the many instruments that have stood out the test of time. The guitar as we know it was very different from the earlier designs pre-twentieth century. In fact, the guitar has been around since 2000 BC, with the earlier forms of a guitar found in Susa, Elam, now known as Iran. Evidence shows that the guitar was derived from earlier instruments from Central Asia and India, known as the Sitara.

These instruments were similar in that they were made from wood with strings that are plucked to create the musical sound. Acoustic guitars have kept to the traditional strings and wood, which have further developed into seeing six, eight, ten and twelve string guitars. The modern guitar as we know it is an inspired influence of the earlier Spanish guitars, which was known as the viola de mana. These Spanish guitars of the 16th century were a change from the conventional renaissance lute and were customized to produce more creative and dynamic tunes.

Other influences to modern acoustic guitars were believed to have come from Italy, whereby the first mandolin was created in Naples. The Vinaccia family may have been one of the first to build a six-string guitar during the 1700s, creating a new technique of playing using a fan strutting motion as opposed to the conventional table bracing.

Modern Day Guitar

The first electric guitar was not created until the early twentieth century, which was patented by George Beauchamp (co founder of electric guitar makers Rickenbacher). Leo fender would follow during the 1950’s with his own style and shape of the guitar. The electric guitar is the main instrument for many modern music of various genres such as, rock, pop, indie and dance. This is also a trend for many young people to begin playing the guitar.

However, some young guitarists begin by learning to read tablatures, as opposed to musical notes. Often the best way to learn is to pick up tabs from your favourite music band and practise by playing their tune. Learning different techniques and strumming methods will help with understand how each technique will create various melodic sounds.

The key thing to guitar playing is practise, like with learning to play any other instrument you will find yourself going over the same tune over and again until you have mastered and perfected it. This in turn will inspire you to play around with creating your own tunes on the guitar. Once you have grasped with reading tabs, and playing guitar chords, you will find the rest will fall into place.

One thing is for certain, if you are an impatient person like me, you will learn to relax to practising on your strumming techniques. More musicians are introduced each year, with new techniques of playing the guitar and continually making modifications to their guitars. Even though the guitar has been around for over four centuries, it is still thriving within the modern music world, with classical guitarist still holding a high place in the world.

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Muna wa Wanjiru asked:


Guitars for sale can spark an interest in the hearts of various guitar playing enthusiasts. These many different guitars will generally be in various price ranges. You will find that there are various guitars you can buy. These guitars can be electrical guitars, bass guitars, and for small children you will also find toy guitars.

Besides looking at the usual guitars for sale you may want to look at other types of guitars. These other guitars might resemble your average guitar but they produce different sounds. For instance you can look to buying an Eastern style guitar which is called a Sitar. This sitar has the long handle that is present on all guitars but the body of the guitar is that of a bowl shape.

In the electric guitars for sale you will find that there is an outlet on the body of the guitar where you can plug a wire from the amplifier to the guitar. This connection between the guitar and the amplifier carries the electrical signals which will increase the sound that comes across on a loudspeaker that is connected to the amplifier.

While most guitars need a separate pick with which you can pluck at the guitar string, the electrical guitars for sale will have a movable pick that is attached to the guitar body itself. Besides looking at electrical guitars for sale you have lots of other guitar choices that you can make.

Each of these guitars for sale has different characteristics that make them sound good for the people who are listening to them. You will find these many different guitars available in musical instrumental stores. The price range for these different guitars will depend on the type of guitar that you are planning on buying.

As there are many different guitars for sale it is always best to take the time you need to choose a guitar that you can afford and one that will produce a melodious harmony when you brush your hands across the guitar strings. While it may be a good idea to buy a guitar from a well known brand these name brands can and will cost you quite a lot of money.

Knowing all of these facts can help you in the decision making process that will take place when you need to choose your guitar. And the best way to go about this if you are on a tight budget is to first choose your guitar, then wait for the “Guitars for Sale!” sign to go up in the music store sooner or later!

Rock n Roll