Saturday, August 1, 2009
What It Takes To Be A Guitarist
True interest in playing guitar comes from a burning desire to be what your heroes are. Its a blind passion. But, before you even pick up a guitar, you must first ask yourself these questions: Do I listen to music differently than my friends who don't play guitar? when it comes to listening to music, do I see myself being able to not only play all of the guitar parts, but be able to play all of the guitar parts on stage? Do I see myself playing guitar above anything else under GOD?If you answered "yes" to all of these questions, chances are you have what it takes to become a serious guitarist. Now, you should pick up your guitar, and if the burning passion's there, never put it down. Never let it go. By now, you should know that playing guitar is much more than just something that you do, You are a musician, and that's not just something that you do, its who you are. So be proud, not just anybody can say their a musician. Your an artist, and that's a beautiful thing.Now that you've figured out that you are a serious guitarist, you should now set out to be the best guitarist that you can possibly be. You are about to set out on a lifelong journey. a very fulfilling journey of mastering your craft.So what do I do first? You might ask. You get lessons, buy books on learning guitar, video tape your heroes every time their on television, and then study them, whatever it takes to increase your skill as a guitarist. You should keep in mind that no matter what, if the passion is there, you will learn. So don't worry if you can't afford lessons, or afford books on learning guitar, if you have the undying desire and burning passion with or without help. No matter if the odds are in your favor or if the odds are stacked against you.How do I know? Well, since me and my brother were old enough to remember, we've had a very close kinship, and a great understanding of music. But, unfortunately, our family was very poor. We were twelve before we got a guitar to create on. Our parents couldn't afford guitar lessons, so what we did was got our friends that were learning to play at the same time, and borrow their books on guitar, and then we would watch as they played the way their teachers taught them to play. We practiced night and day. We very rarely played outside like other kids. We never learned to swim because we played guitar all the time, we didn't go swimming. But, because we sacrificed so much for our craft, it wasn't long before our skill was unparalleled by our peers and we were teaching our friends teachers. We were showing guitarists twice or three times our age who were playing guitar before we were even born. We didn't have a guitar teacher, yet by the time we were the age of fifteen, we were the teachers. When we played talent shows at our high school, we were the talk of the school and very respected.Now, I'm not saying by any means that you have to do to become a great guitarist. I'm just saying that this is how me and my twin brother learned. You should take your own path. Your path is always the best path to take.Well, that's it. As always, I hope you found this article both informative and entertaining. May GOD bless you always, and in always.
Friday, July 31, 2009
The History of Electric Guitar
In The BeginningThe guitar’s soft melodic tone made it difficult for people to hear it when being played alongside other instruments. So during the 1930’s an inventive individual decided to change that and invented the first electric guitar. Little did he know, or have imagined way back then how the invention of the electric guitar would significantly affect the course of 20th century music.Like most new things, the electric guitar had its critics but it quickly won people over because of its ability to allow musicians to play much more creatively and express their own individual styles.
The First Pickup
In 1924 an inventive engineer working for the Gibson guitar company named Lloyd Loar, designed the first magnetic pickup. Using a magnet, he converted guitar string vibrations into electrical signals, which then were amplified through a speaker system. This first pickup was crude, but it was a great beginning.
The First Electric Guitar
In 1931 the Electro String Company was founded by Paul Barth, George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker, and developed the first electric guitars marketed to the general public. They made their guitars from cast aluminum and were played on a person’s lap using a steel slide much like today's steel guitar. Because of their unusual material, they were affectionately called “Frying Pans.”The early success of the frying pans prompted the Gibson guitar company to build their first electric guitar, the ES-150 which is a legend today.
The First Solid-Body Electric Guitar
Electric guitars were quickly becoming popular, even though there was a major problem with their construction. Their bodies would vibrate due to the amplified sounds coming through the speakers they were played into, causing what we know as feed-back. The obvious remedy was to build a guitar made with a solid body which wouldn’t vibrate so easily.As with most innovations, there is controversy over who invented the first solid –body electric guitar. Guitar legend Les Paul in the 1940’s developed his affectionately called “The Log” solid-body guitar by attaching a Gibson neck to a solid piece of wood…a railroad tie, hence the name “Log.”Around this same time, guitarist Merle Travis and engineer Paul Bigsby developed a solid-body electric guitar that resembled the solid-body guitars that we’re so familiar with today.
The First Mass Produced Electric Guitar
Leo Fender in 1950 was the first to mass produce an electric guitar which was originally called the Fender Broadcaster. This guitar was quickly re-named to the infamous Telecaster because the name “Broadcaster” was already being used by another company. Leo followed this up in 1954 with the most renowned guitar of all time…the Stratocaster.Leo’s success led other guitar manufacturers into developing their own mass-produced electric guitars. Most notable was the teaming-up of the Gibson guitar company with Les Paul to create the famous Gibson Les Paul electric guitar.
More Affordable Electric Guitars
During the 1960’s and 1970’s famous brand name electric guitars were too expensive for the average person to buy. Less pricey imitations quickly came to market but they were sub-standard in sound and playability. The Japanese, in the 1980’s started manufacturing electric guitars of similar quality to the more expensive American made models, but with much more affordable pricing. This prompted Fender and other leading guitar manufacturers into producing less expensive versions of their classic models. This resulted in electric guitars now being more affordable and accessible to more people.Today, the Gibson and Fender guitar companies are still producing some of the most well-known and best made electric guitars on the market. But it’s getting crowded with other high quality brands such as BC Rich, ESP and Peavey. Innovative designs, shapes and materials are being incorporated with new technologies to produce better sounding electric guitars.Modern guitars have built-in software allowing them to sound like other types of guitars. Some are even fitted with pickups that synthesize the sound of different instruments or record the notes in musical notation.The electric guitar has come a long way with an interesting and inventive past and many in the industry say it has an even brighter future.
The First Pickup
In 1924 an inventive engineer working for the Gibson guitar company named Lloyd Loar, designed the first magnetic pickup. Using a magnet, he converted guitar string vibrations into electrical signals, which then were amplified through a speaker system. This first pickup was crude, but it was a great beginning.
The First Electric Guitar
In 1931 the Electro String Company was founded by Paul Barth, George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker, and developed the first electric guitars marketed to the general public. They made their guitars from cast aluminum and were played on a person’s lap using a steel slide much like today's steel guitar. Because of their unusual material, they were affectionately called “Frying Pans.”The early success of the frying pans prompted the Gibson guitar company to build their first electric guitar, the ES-150 which is a legend today.
The First Solid-Body Electric Guitar
Electric guitars were quickly becoming popular, even though there was a major problem with their construction. Their bodies would vibrate due to the amplified sounds coming through the speakers they were played into, causing what we know as feed-back. The obvious remedy was to build a guitar made with a solid body which wouldn’t vibrate so easily.As with most innovations, there is controversy over who invented the first solid –body electric guitar. Guitar legend Les Paul in the 1940’s developed his affectionately called “The Log” solid-body guitar by attaching a Gibson neck to a solid piece of wood…a railroad tie, hence the name “Log.”Around this same time, guitarist Merle Travis and engineer Paul Bigsby developed a solid-body electric guitar that resembled the solid-body guitars that we’re so familiar with today.
The First Mass Produced Electric Guitar
Leo Fender in 1950 was the first to mass produce an electric guitar which was originally called the Fender Broadcaster. This guitar was quickly re-named to the infamous Telecaster because the name “Broadcaster” was already being used by another company. Leo followed this up in 1954 with the most renowned guitar of all time…the Stratocaster.Leo’s success led other guitar manufacturers into developing their own mass-produced electric guitars. Most notable was the teaming-up of the Gibson guitar company with Les Paul to create the famous Gibson Les Paul electric guitar.
More Affordable Electric Guitars
During the 1960’s and 1970’s famous brand name electric guitars were too expensive for the average person to buy. Less pricey imitations quickly came to market but they were sub-standard in sound and playability. The Japanese, in the 1980’s started manufacturing electric guitars of similar quality to the more expensive American made models, but with much more affordable pricing. This prompted Fender and other leading guitar manufacturers into producing less expensive versions of their classic models. This resulted in electric guitars now being more affordable and accessible to more people.Today, the Gibson and Fender guitar companies are still producing some of the most well-known and best made electric guitars on the market. But it’s getting crowded with other high quality brands such as BC Rich, ESP and Peavey. Innovative designs, shapes and materials are being incorporated with new technologies to produce better sounding electric guitars.Modern guitars have built-in software allowing them to sound like other types of guitars. Some are even fitted with pickups that synthesize the sound of different instruments or record the notes in musical notation.The electric guitar has come a long way with an interesting and inventive past and many in the industry say it has an even brighter future.
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