So you think you know guitars?

So you think you know all there is to a guitar? Well you would be surprised at how wrong you are. Most people would associate the guitar to the electric guitars that you would normally see in contemporary bands. In actual fact,the guitar originated from certain stringed instruments such as the tanbur, setar and the sitar that were found in central Asia and India almost 4000 years ago. Bet you didn't know that.

Anyway, more about the modern acoustic guitars. The acoustic guitar is quieter than other instruments commonly found in bands and orchestras so when playing within such groups it is often externally amplified. Many acoustic guitars available today feature a variety of pickups which enable the player to amplify and modify the raw guitar sound. Though in my opinion, I find that acoustic guitars without pickups sound better when compared to those with pickups. Of course this is my opinion and if you happen to think otherwise, please do not be offended. XD

Some of you might be wondering what pickups are. No, they are not those trucks that come to tow away your broken down car. A pickup is actually a device that acts as a transducer that captures mechanical vibrations and converts them to an electrical signal, which can be amplified and recorded. Sounds confusing? Well, in lay-mans terms, it is a device that amplifies the sound of the guitar. XD. There are a few kinds though. There are the electric guitar pickups which are mainly for electric guitars, the built-in acoustic guitar pickups which are built into the acoustic guitars and there are the external acoustic guitar pickups which are placed at the center of the guitar.

Back to the guitar. A normal acoustic guitar would look something like this. Acoustic guitars come in various colours, shapes and also sizes but this is one of the most common types of acoustic guitar you would be able to find in any musical instrument stall.

Acoustic guitar

Another fact that you all might not have known is that there is such a thing as a left-handed guitar as well as a right-handed guitar. A common mistake is that a right-handed person would hold the neck of the guitar with his right hand. That is wrong. The dominant hand is usually used to pluck and strum the guitar because plucking and strumming actually require more dexterity, finesse and skills when compared to the other hand which has the menial task of gripping and depressing the strings. This is another mistake that people would normally make and thanks to this post, you would not be one of those people. XD.

Okay, it is now time for you all to take a tour of the guitar. Sit back, relax and read. XD

'Thats a lot of parts' you say? Well it is. XD. Let me give you all a brief explaination to all these parts.

• The 'Head' or the headstock is located at the end of the guitar neck furthest from the body. It is fitted with machine heads that adjust the tension of the strings, which in turn affects the pitch.
• The 'Nut' is a small strip of bone, plastic, 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.
• The 'Fretboard' or fingerboard is a piece of wood embedded with metal frets that comprises the top of the neck.
• The 'Frets' are metal strips (usually nickel alloy or stainless steel) embedded along the fretboard and located at exact points that divide the scale length in accordance with a specific mathematical formula. 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 to 24 frets.
• The 'Inlays' are visual elements set into the exterior surface of a guitar. 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 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 a unique lighting effects onstage. How cool is that? XD.
• The 'Neck' is the part of the guitar that houses the frets, fretboard, tuners and headstock. This part of the guitar is normally made of a different type of wood from the rest of the guitar. This is because the neck has to withstand the bending effect from the tension of the strings.
• The 'Strings' of a modern guitar are constructed of metal, polymers, or animal or plant product materials. Instruments utilising "steel" strings may have strings made of alloys incorporating steel, nickel or phosphor bronze. Classical and flamenco instruments historically used gut strings, but these have been superseded by polymer materials, such as nylon and fluorocarbon materials. Bass strings for both instruments are wound rather than monofilament.
• The 'Body' is the part in the guitar where string vibrations are transmitted so that sound is produced. The sound board is typically made of tone woods such as spruce or cedar. Timbers for tone woods are chosen for both strength and ability to transfer mechanical energy from the strings to the air within the guitar body. Sound is further shaped by the characteristics of the guitar body's resonant cavity.
• The 'Bridge'. The main purpose of the bridge on an acoustic guitar is to transfer the vibration from the strings to the soundboard, which vibrates the air inside of the guitar, thereby amplifying the sound produced by the strings.
• The 'Pickguard' which is also known as a scratchplate is usually a piece of laminated plastic or other material that protects the finish of the top of the guitar from damage due to the use of a pick or fingernails.

Phew!!! That pretty much sums it all up. XD. I hope that I did not leave out anything but if I did, then you can refer to the one place where we all know is famous for information. Wikipedia. XD. Just follow this link to find out more about the wonders of the guitar.

The reason behind the blog.

Some of you might be wondering as to why I have created this blog. Well, the answer is simple. Have you ever wondered what life would be without music? Life would be monotonous. Life would be sad. Life would not be as colourful as it is today. Music is fun to listen to but, have you ever had the passion to create music? Have you ever had the thought that maybe you could do better than what the music industry has to offer? Well, I am one of those people.

One of the musical instruments that comes to mind when the word 'music' is mentioned is the guitar. In my opinion, the guitar is the most enchanting, romantic and beautiful instrument that has ever been created and can only be rivaled by the mighty piano though each in a class of its own. Hence, I have made a decision which is to try to master the awe-inspiring guitar. This has been a goal of mine. This goal can be illustrated in my personal development plan is shown below.

My Personal Development Plan.

Specific- What I plan to achieve is to be able to play the guitar and if possible, to join a band. This will enrich and put colour to my life because without music everything seems so boring. I will also be able to use the guitar skill to serve in the worship ministry in my church which is very important to me.

Measurable- One way to measure how far I am coming along is to constantly check back on the chords and songs that I am able to play and also if I am able to keep the beat and change chords quickly. Setting a limit of learning one song a month could also act as a method of measuring my ability and my progress.

Acheivable- With enough practice and passion, I believe that I would be able to play the guitar fairly well and I might be able to join a mediocre standard band. I do not necessarily have to join a professional band because that would be quite a stretch for even intermediate guitarists let alone an amateur like me.

Relevant- This goal is relevant to me because by learning to play the guitar, I would be able to serve in the worship ministry in my church. I would also be able to play the guitar in my leisure time instead of wasting my time playing computer games which are unimportant and non-beneficial.

Time reference-