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122-401: Guitar Craft  ( GC ) was a series of guitar and personal-development classes, founded and often presented by Robert Fripp , who is best known for his work with the rock band King Crimson . Guitar Craft courses introduced students to new standard tuning and ergonomic playing with the plectrum (pick), often using steel-stringed, acoustic, shallow-body guitars from

244-712: A knotwork design, which was inspired by the red knotwork design appearing on later covers of the Discipline album by King Crimson; both designs were made by Steve Ball. The Guitar-Craft experience and the League of Crafty Guitarists trained guitarists who went on to form new bands, such as the California Guitar ;Trio and Trey Gunn ; the California Guitar ;Trio and Gunn toured with Fripp as The Robert Fripp String Quintet. Bill Rieflin ,

366-427: A " jazz guitar ". The tone of an acoustic guitar is produced by the strings' vibration, amplified by 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

488-402: 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

610-413: 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

732-586: A 25th Anniversary Course marking the Completion of Guitar Craft was held. In practice, Guitar Craft continues with a focus on Guitar Circles and The Orchestra of Crafty Guitarists . Courses entitled "Introduction to Guitar Circle" continue to be held in the Americas and in Europe. The website of Guitar Craft contains links to related and successor organizations and associations. Guitar Craft inspired

854-560: A Faheyesque approach to make the first solo steel-string guitar "hit" record. Steel-string guitars are also important in the world of flatpicking , as utilized by such artists as Clarence White , Tony Rice , Bryan Sutton , Doc Watson and David Grier . Luthiers have been experimenting with redesigning the acoustic guitar for these players. These flat-top, steel-string guitars are constructed and voiced more for classical-like fingerpicking and less for chordal accompaniment (strumming). Some luthiers have increasingly focused their attention on

976-600: A GC course and who continue GC practices are called "crafty guitarists" or "crafties". Notable crafties include Trey Gunn and the California Guitar Trio , who joined Fripp in forming the Robert Fripp String Quintet. GC-related Guitar Circles and other ensembles perform in Europe, the USA, Argentina, and Mexico. GC's official performance ensemble has been The League of Crafty Guitarists . Robert Fripp and

1098-416: A combination of various tonewoods , or woods considered to have pleasing resonant qualities when used in instrument-making. The term is ill-defined and the wood species that are considered tonewoods have evolved throughout history. Foremost for making steel-string guitar tops are Sitka spruce , the most common, and Alpine and Adirondack spruce. The back and sides of a particular guitar are typically made of

1220-440: 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

1342-410: A guitar amp have played 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

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1464-470: A guitar was constructed from wood, with its strings made of catgut . Steel guitar strings were introduced near 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

1586-427: 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

1708-498: 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, 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

1830-477: 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 the solo guitar.) Renaissance and Baroque guitars are easily distinguished, because

1952-779: A particular body style – the larger the body, the louder the volume. Any of these body type can incorporate a cutaway , where a section of the upper bout below the neck is scalloped out. This allows for easier access to the frets located atop the soundbox, at the expense of reduced soundbox volume and altered bracing, which can affect the resonant qualities and resulting tone of the instrument. All of these relatively traditional looking and constructed instruments are commonly referred to as flattop guitars. All are commonly used in popular music genres, including rock , blues , country , and folk . Other styles of guitar which enjoy moderate popularity, generally in more specific genres, include: Traditionally, steel-string guitars have been made of

2074-416: 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 a sample in hip-hop , dubstep , or trap music . The modern word guitar and its antecedents have been applied to

2196-402: 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

2318-633: A school. Fripp's Guitar Craft courses were first offered by the American Society for Continuous Education, near the Claymont ;Court site in Charles ;Town, West Virginia . Guitar Craft stated that it offers ways to develop relationships with the guitar, music, and oneself. GC popularized New Standard Tuning (NST), Fripp's guitar tuning using the notes (C2 G2 D3 A3 E4 G4 low to high). Learning NST enabled guitarists to experience playing

2440-459: 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 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

2562-469: 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 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

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2684-428: 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

2806-481: A solo career. The collection A Plague of Crafty Guitarists features the following Guitar-Craft alumni, who were listed in a review by Barry Cleveland: Tobin Buttram, Nigel Gavin , David Pittaway, Geary Street Quartet, Bill Hibbits, Janssen and Jensen, Sur Pacifico, Playmovil, and Santos Luminosos. In February 2009, Fripp recommended that Guitar Craft cease to exist on its 25th anniversary in 2010. In March 2010,

2928-496: 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

3050-472: A specific tradition of folk, blues, bluegrass, and country guitar playing in 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

3172-624: A stable and comfortable posture. While relaxed sitting has been practiced in Hinduism and Buddhism, the GC practice of relaxed sitting is pursued without reference to any religious tradition. Participants are encouraged to think critically and particularly to feel free to decline any practice as they see fit. Courses take place regularly in Latin America, North America, and Europe. By 2011, three thousand students had completed courses. Students who have completed

3294-753: 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 the Latin cithara , which in turn came from the Ancient Greek κιθάρα which is of uncertain ultimate origin. Kithara appears in

3416-404: Is commonly called an acoustic-electric guitar as it can be played either " unplugged " as an acoustic, or plugged in as an electric. The most common type is a piezoelectric pickup , which is composed of a thin sandwich of quartz crystal. When compressed, the crystal produces a small electric current, so when placed under the bridge saddle, the vibrations of the strings through the saddle, and of

3538-436: 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

3660-404: 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

3782-413: 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

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3904-592: Is often called a flat top guitar , to distinguish it from the more specialized archtop guitar and other variations. The standard tuning for an acoustic guitar is E-A-D-G-B-E (low to high), although many players, particularly fingerpickers , use alternate tunings ( scordatura ), such as open G (D-G-D-G-B-D), open D (D-A-D-F ♯ -A-D), drop D (D-A-D-G-B-E), or D-A-D-G-A-D (particularly in Irish traditional music). Steel-string guitars vary in construction and materials. Different woods and approach to bracing affect

4026-402: 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 is tuned in the bass register. In Colombia, the traditional quartet includes a range of instruments too, from the small bandola (sometimes known as

4148-462: 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

4270-411: 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

4392-426: Is the bracing , a systems of struts glued to the inside of the back and top. Steel-string guitars use different bracing systems from classical guitars, typically using X-bracing instead of fan bracing. (Another simpler system, called ladder bracing, where the braces are all placed across the width of the instrument, is used on all types of flat-top guitars on the back.) Innovations in bracing design have emerged, notably

4514-402: 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

4636-420: 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 the roughly classical-sized OO and Parlour to

4758-530: 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

4880-548: 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

5002-461: 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 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

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5124-412: Is visually appealing. Due to decreasing availability and rising prices of premium-quality traditional tonewoods, many manufacturers have begun experimenting with alternative species of woods or more commonly available variations on the standard species. For example, some makers have begun producing models with red cedar or mahogany tops, or with spruce variants other than Sitka. Cedar is also common in

5246-477: The Ovation Guitar Company . By 2011, three thousand students had completed the courses. Students who continue to practise Guitar Craft playing have been called " crafties ". Notable crafties include Trey Gunn and the California Guitar Trio (all four of whom, with Fripp, constituted The Robert Fripp String Quintet) and Markus Reuter . Crafties have recorded several albums under

5368-424: 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

5490-403: 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 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

5612-605: The 1960s, the predominant forms of music played on the flat-top, steel-string guitar remained relatively stable and included acoustic blues , country , bluegrass , folk , and several genres of rock . The concept of playing solo steel-string guitar in a concert setting was introduced in the early 1960s by such performers as Davey Graham and John Fahey , who used country blues fingerpicking techniques to compose original compositions with structures somewhat like European classical music . Fahey contemporary Robbie Basho added elements of Indian classical music and Leo Kottke used

5734-455: The A-brace developed by British luthier Roger Bucknall of Fylde Guitars. Most luthiers and experienced players agree that a good solid top (as opposed to laminated or plywood ) is the most important factor in the tone of the guitar. Solid backs and sides can also contribute to a pleasant sound, although laminated sides and backs are acceptable alternatives, commonly found in mid-level guitars (in

5856-876: 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

5978-460: 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 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

6100-494: 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,

6222-480: 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 the playing of single-lined melodies. Modern dimensions of the classical instrument were established by

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6344-679: The Guitar Circle of Europe. The Ovation's truss rod can offset the increased tension of the NST strings, protecting the neck from bending. Guitar Craft aimed at personal development, not only through guitar playing and music appreciation, but also through improved living. Students were offered instruction in practices such as relaxed sitting , Tai chi , and the Alexander Technique . These practices are valuable especially for guitarists, who practice for at least an hour daily and therefore benefit from

6466-534: The League of Crafty Guitarists has released several albums, via Discipline Global Mobile . The League of Crafty Guitarists has been directed by Hernán Nuñez since 2002; Nuñez, a long-time instructor of GC, is one of the developers of the Guitar ;Craft Pro Model, whose design has been influenced by that of the Ovation Legend. For organizational logos , Guitar Craft and the League of Crafty Guitarists use

6588-569: 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 a seated position and are used to play a diversity of musical styles including classical music . The classical guitar's wide, flat neck allows

6710-540: 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

6832-495: 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 was developed in the 1840s by German-American luthiers, of whom Christian Friedrich "C. F." Martin

6954-419: 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 the most important of all guitar makers, Antonio Torres Jurado , who increased the size of the guitar body, altered its proportions, and invented

7076-513: The back and sides, as is basswood . Entry-level models, especially those made in East Asia, often use nato wood , which is again tonally similar to mahogany but is cheap to acquire. Some have also begun using non-wood materials, such as plastic or graphite . Carbon-fiber and phenolic composite materials have become desirable for building necks, and some high-end luthiers produce all-carbon-fiber guitars. The steel-string acoustic guitar evolved from

7198-403: 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 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

7320-458: The body of the instrument, are converted to a weak electrical signal. This signal is often sent to a pre-amplifier , which increases the signal strength and normally incorporates an equalizer . The output of the preamplifier then goes to a separate amplifier system similar to that for an electric guitar. Several manufacturers produce specialised acoustic guitar amplifiers , which are designed to give undistorted and full-range reproduction. Until

7442-628: 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 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

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7564-430: 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

7686-408: The convexity of the thumb's ball at the base of the hand; a collapsed thumb-ball signals improper technique. The four fingers point towards the elbow. The other three fingers curl inwards in a relaxed position, supporting the index finger, each successively supporting its predecessor. Holding the pick in this manner relaxes the hand, arm, and shoulder, allowing playing without tension. For a single note,

7808-829: The depth of the experience." Davide Rossi , violinist with Goldfrapp and Coldplay , regarded Guitar Craft and Karlheinz Stockhausen tutelage as the most important experiences in shaping his musical style Other alumni of the League of Crafty Guitarists include members of Los Gauchos Alemanes, such as U.S. guitarist Steve Ball ; Ball is associated with the Seattle Guitar ;Circle, along with LCG alumnus Curt Golden. German crafty Markus Reuter went on to play Warr Guitar in Europa String Choir and centrozoon , subsequently designing his own touch guitar and playing in Stick Men and The Crimson ProjeKct in addition to

7930-454: The development of the modern six-string instrument. There are three main types of modern guitar: 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

8052-428: The drummer for R.E.M. following Bill Berry 's retirement, developed "a musical style that beautifully balances mindfulness and force" through his long association with Guitar Craft; Rieflin stated that "I couldn't possibly describe in any detail the impact this has had in my life; I can say that it was and continues to be significant. Were I to say 'life-changing,' this would be true, but it wouldn't begin to communicate

8174-429: 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

8296-413: The fingers of the opposite hand. A guitar pick may also be used to strike the strings. The sound of 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,

8418-402: The fingers to the back, and it also facilitates the alternate picking of single strings and the cross picking among several strings. Fripp, who is known for his cross-picking, teaches the technique in Guitar Craft. Fripp's cross-picking has influenced many other guitarists, particularly in progressive rock . The fourth primary exercise introduces cross picking . For

8540-516: 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 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

8662-575: The founding of the Seattle Guitar Circle and the Seattle Circle Guitar School in 2010. Guitar The guitar 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

8784-474: 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

8906-616: 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

9028-448: 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

9150-403: 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

9272-534: 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

9394-533: The fretting hand, the technique is close to the left-hand technique of Spanish classical guitar. The thumb is placed in the middle of the back of the neck, not over the back of the neck (to finger bass strings). Fripp recommended that students adopt the Ovation 1867 Legend steel-string guitar , which had a shallow body . "Fripp liked the way the Ovation 1867 fitted against his body, which made it possible for him to assume

9516-624: The guitar as a beginner, albeit usually a sophisticated beginner. At Guitar Craft seminars and courses, students work exclusively in NST. For new GC students, NST is unfamiliar, and so all students have the same experience of renewing their guitar playing while having difficulty adjusting previous habits. Guitar Craft courses welcomed students with no previous experience of guitar playing, although most students had been playing for at least two years, so that they had sufficient musculature. Fripp has stated that previous experiences sometimes burdened players with bad habits and inappropriate expectations. For

9638-410: 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,

9760-420: The guitar market during 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

9882-420: The guitar's soundbox can be thought of as composed of two mating chambers: the upper bouts (a bout being the rounded corner of an instrument body) on the neck end of the body, and lower bouts (on the bridge end). These meet at the waist, or the narrowest part of the body face near the soundhole. The proportion and overall size of these two parts helps determine the overall tonal balance and "native sound" of

10004-466: The gut-string Romantic guitar, and because steel strings have higher tension, heavier construction is required overall. One innovation is a metal bar called a truss rod , which is incorporated into the neck to strengthen it and provide adjustable counter-tension to the stress of the strings. Typically, a steel-string acoustic guitar is built with a larger soundbox than a standard classical guitar. A critical structural and tonal component of an acoustic guitar

10126-405: 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

10248-478: The instrument's timbre or tone. While there is little scientific evidence, many players and luthiers believe a well-made guitar's tone improves over time. They theorize that a decrease in the content of hemicellulose, crystallization of cellulose, and changes to lignin over time all result in its wood gaining better resonating properties. Steel-string acoustic guitars are commonly constructed in several body types, varying in size, depth, and proportion. In general,

10370-403: 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 is usually credited to

10492-457: 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 the Middle Ages. By the 16th century, most of the forms of guitar had fallen off, to never be seen again. However, midway through

10614-443: The level-one GC course, the curriculum offers seven primary exercises . The first primary exercise for the left hand is followed by the second primary exercise for the right hand, which teaches alternate picking. The guitar pick ( plectrum ) is held between the thumb and the index finger. The thumb is not bent forward at the first digit from the tip. Rather the thumb is brought to the index finger by its lowest joint, which maintains

10736-536: 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

10858-421: 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: 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

10980-541: 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, 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

11102-535: 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. Steel-string acoustic guitar The most common type

11224-479: 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, 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

11346-456: The name of "Robert Fripp and the League of Crafty Guitarists ", for example. After 25 years, the Guitar Craft movement transformed its activities into Guitar Circles , which offer introductory courses and performances in Europe and the Americas. Guitar Circles meet in many cities; in particular, The Seattle Guitar Circle meets for practices and performances and also sponsors

11468-585: 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

11590-414: 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

11712-471: 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

11834-405: The needs of fingerstylists and have developed unique guitars for this style of playing. Many other luthiers attempt to recreate the guitars of the "Golden Era" of C.F. Martin & Co . This was started by Roy Noble, who built the guitar played by Clarence White from 1968 to 1972, and was followed by Bill Collings, Marty Lanham, Dana Bourgeois , Randy Lucas, Lynn Dudenbostel and Wayne Henderson ,

11956-454: 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

12078-413: 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

12200-502: 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

12322-420: 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

12444-419: 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

12566-656: The range of US$ 300–$ 1000). From the 1960s through the 1980s, "by far the most significant developments in the design and construction of acoustic guitars" were made by the Ovation Guitar Company . It introduced a composite roundback bowl, which replaced the square back and sides of traditional guitars; because of its engineering design, Ovation guitars could be amplified without producing the obnoxious feedback that had plagued acoustic guitars before. Ovation also pioneered with electronics, such as pickup systems and electronic tuners. A steel-string guitar can be amplified using any of three techniques: The last type of guitar

12688-706: The right-arm picking position he had developed using electric guitars over the years; on deeper-bodied guitars, the Frippian arm position is impossible without uncomfortable contortions", according to Tamm. While the 1867 Legend is no longer manufactured, it influenced the design of the Guitar Craft Pro Model of Guitar Craft Guitars, which has been endorsed by Fripp. Besides the Ovation 1867 Legend, other Ovation shallow-body guitars are widely used in Guitar Craft and recommended for use in related performing groups, such as

12810-423: 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

12932-420: The same wood; Brazilian rosewood , East Indian rosewood , and Honduras mahogany are traditional choices, however, maple has been prized for the figuring that can be seen when it is cut in a certain way (such as flame and quilt patterns). A common non-traditional wood gaining popularity is sapele , which is tonally similar to mahogany but slightly lighter in color and possessing a deep grain structure that

13054-607: 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

13176-405: 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

13298-406: 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

13420-438: The string is struck by only the tip of the triangular GC pick, with the force orthogonal to the string and the pick tangent to the string. The pick-string contact takes place above the sound-hole. In the fundamental technique, the picking hand is suspended above the strings and moves over the strings without pivoting on the ball of the hand or touching the strings or bridge. Holding the pick in this manner promotes relaxation from

13542-476: 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

13664-542: 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,

13786-427: 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

13908-425: 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

14030-430: 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

14152-550: 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

14274-400: 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

14396-476: 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

14518-453: 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

14640-453: 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

14762-466: 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 the Spanish guitar in Italy. Even later, in the same century, Gaspar Sanz wrote that other nations such as Italy or France added to

14884-435: 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 the five course guitar. A literary source, Lope de Vega's Dorotea, gives the credit to the poet and musician Vicente Espinel . This claim

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