All you need to know about acoustic guitars by anne tide

The acoustic guitar is one of the most popular musical instruments in the world and it is actually a guitar that uses only acoustic methods to project the sound produced by the vibration of the strings. Because the strings displace a rather small amount of air there is need for amplifiers so that the air can be heard. The amplifiers are the sound board and a resonant cavity, also called the sound box. The body of the acoustic guitars are hollow and the vibrating strings move the sound board through the bridge and move it back and forth with every cycle of the string's vibration. If the sound board weighs less the sound is louder. However, there are limitations to how thin the sound board can be made so that the guitars won’t break.

These musical instruments have braces inside that provide strength and resistance. As the sound board has a large surface area it naturally displaces a bigger volume of air, thus producing louder sounds than the strings alone and its vibrations produce sound waves from both back and front faces. The sound box of these musical instruments provides support for the sound board and also a resonant cavity and reflector for the sound waves that are produced within the back face of the sound board. The acoustic guitars’ back vibrates too (but to a lesser extent) and is also driven by the air in the cavity. In the end, the sound is pushed through a hole into the body (sound hole). At this point, the sound mixes with the sound produced by the front face, resulting in a complex mixture of harmonics that give acoustic guitars their distinctive sound.

One of the most popular styles of these musical instruments is the Dreadnought, which represents a big instrument with a full sound, a lot like a bass guitar. The dreadnought guitars are created to accompany singers and fit into a wide range of musical idioms. If you are an average player, this is definitely the right guitar for you.

12 String Dreadnought – a type of acoustic guitar that has 12 strings, which work in pairs tuned to the same notes. The first and second pairs are tuned to the same pitch and the rest are tuned to the same notes one octave apart. Thus, has a 12 string has a richer timbre, while the notes and chord shapes are the same as the standard six-string. However, the additional string tension makes these musical instruments somewhat less than ideal for beginners.

Cutaway Dreadnought – is another style of dreadnought guitar, which has a cutaway that allows access to the highest register. Not everyone appreciate these types of guitars, but the truth is that anyone who wants to play those frets needs to be able to reach them.

Parlor Style – these acoustic guitars usually have smaller bodies than other types of guitars and this is done in order to provide for a more even frequency response. Generally, the neck of parlor guitars is wider and is most often the choice of finger style players. The wider neck better accommodates this style of player giving him/her more room to get individual fingers between the strings. The mid frequencies of these musical instruments are punchy and pleasing making these guitars a good choice for all, except classical or flamenco players.

Classical Guitar (Nylon String Guitar) - Classical guitars are famous for their use of nylon strings. These musical instruments have a wide neck and a very flat fingerboard. Instructors usually recommend it for beginners as the lighter string tension and greater string gauge are easier on the fingers. Classical guitars are best for classical music, thus if you intend to play more popular musical styles you are advised to stick to the metal strings.

Jumbo Acoustic Guitar - Jumbo guitars are created to be loud almost like a bass guitar. It is very similar in functions to the dreadnaught. Keep in mind that they tend to get lost in the mid frequencies as they are overpowered by the bass.

Source: http://articlejoint.com

Some of the most popular musical instruments of the last two centuries are definitely the acoustic guitars, whose potential has been extremely developed with the design of several types and styles.

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how to read tabs

e |------------------| first string(thinnest string)
B |------------------| second string
G |------------------| third string
D |------------------| fourth string
A |------------------| fifth string
E |------------------| sixth string(thickest string)

e |--2---------------|
B |----------3-------|
G |-3----------------|
D |----------3----0--|
A |------------------|
E |------------------|
The number symbolize the fret and the position of the
number tell us which to play first.We can see the string
on number 3,fret 3 is play before the string number 1
fret 2.When come to the number which is in the same line
which means we have to play both lines together.And
number zero means open string.

e |-3----------------| This means strum the whole string.
B |-0----------------|
G |-0----------------|
D |-3----------------|
A |-2----------------|
E |-0----------------|

Basic signs you need to know:
/ slide up
\ slide down
h hammer-on
p pull-off
~ vibrato
x Mute note

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Learn to play lead guitar

We all want to make the audience go wild when we play guitar and perhaps the best way is with a fret-melting solo or catchy riff or fill. This is usually the job of the lead guitarist. The lead guitar parts are supported by the rhythm guitar which usually plays chords or riffs.

By the way, rhythm guitar is of equal importance and difficulty as lead guitar and as a competent lead guitarist you need to understand what the rhythm guitarist is doing. By that I mean whatever the rhythm player is doing determines to a great extent what is appropriate for the lead guitarist to play. So if the rhythm guitarist is playing chords in the key of ‘A’ then the lead player’s best bet is to play in the same key whether it be a riff or solo.

“Whoah! Steady on – you mean I have to learn some theory and scales?”

It depends on how good you want to be. Most guitarists settle for learning a few scales and that’s it. But the fact that you’re reading this means that you probably want to be an amazing guitarist and so I encourage you to absorb as much knowledge as possible.

The good news is that lead playing isn’t all about soloing and tricky improvisation. It’s also about short licks, riffs and phrases and this is a good place to start. I’ve outlined some simple steps to help you progress as a lead player:

1. Practise constructively. Before you start let me share with you my favourite saying. “Perfect practise makes perfect”. So don’t waste time twiddling about. Practise slowly and accurately. I know you will want to play everything up to speed, but resist doing so until you are ready.

2. Co-ordination. Start by familiarising yourself with basic co-ordinations by learning simple riffs such as the intro to ‘Smoke on the Water’ by ‘Deep Purple’, or ‘the Riverboat song’ by ‘Ocean Colour scene’ etc. There are a lot of bands writing riffs that are ideal for learning such as ‘The White Stripes’ and ‘the Chili Peppers’ and so on. Listen to lots of music and try to learn some of the simpler riffs. You can then move on to simple solos such as in ‘Smells like Teen Spirit’ by ‘Nirvana’.

3. Know your chords. All the time you’re learning new things, don’t neglect your chords as chord knowledge and advanced lead playing ability go hand in hand.

4. Learn as much as you can. Keep on learning new techniques, theory, scales, arpeggios and so on. Don’t get stuck in a rut. Try and discover a new style or a new band or artist.

5. Learn from others. Here comes another of my favourite sayings “Don’t just learn a lick-learn from a lick”. In other words learn other people’s solos and riffs, but try to figure out what they were thinking and where their ideas came from. Are they using a certain scale, triad, interval or arpeggio? By adopting this approach you learn more than just one solo, you also learn to apply new ideas to your own playing.

6. Surround yourself with excellence. Play with people who are better than you. As well as learning from these people you will also have to work harder to keep up.

7. Define your goals and week areas. Work to overcome weak areas and limitations and by defining your goals, create a sense of purpose in your playing. This will help you to keep your practise focused.

8. Listen to more music. More music means more influences can creep into your playing style. And the more influences the more unique you can become.

9. Never stop learning. Music offers more than one person can assimilate in a lifetime. This is a good thing because it means you will never stop learning and enjoying guitar playing.

10. Believe in yourself and never give up. I’ll let Jimi take it from here: “Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you’ll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you’re gonna be rewarded.”-Jimi Hendrix

Article Source: http://articlejoint.com

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Guitar tabs maker

Finally you can make your tabs here easy and fast!!! Try it! The reason why i post this guitar tabs maker is to make tabbing easy.To use this,you need to open a notepad,because it can only support a line.Copy and paste it to your notepad and continue tabbing.This version in my blogs is too small for you too see.click here for a BIGGER ONE= " BIGGER SIZE"

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