Guitar family

Electric Bass

Acoustic Bass

Mandolin

Banjo

Ukelele

Types of Guitars

Acoustic

Electric

Electro-acoustic

Archtop
Resonator

Pedal Steel

Steel

Double Neck

12 String

42 String

Genres that use Guitars

Guitar seems to be used in almost any type of music, including:

• Acoustic
• Bluegrass
• Metal
• Classical
• Jazz
• Folk
• Flamenco

according to http://www.guitarplayerworld.com/guitar_genres.html

A new genre has been coined "guitarcore," and the Gibson Guitar company website explains the genre's significance.

What’s the difference between guitarcore and instrumental guitar music?

Guitarcore is about the song. It’s for all of those people who love guitar but don’t want to hear someone grunting or growling over the top of it and it’s for those who love guitar but don’t want to hear some self-indulgent, 20-minute guitar solo. Our songs have verses and choruses, bridges and solo sections. When we write we write as if a singer is going to sing over the top of it. Guitarcore is also about the band. Everyone in the band gets creative input. Everyone gets a chance to show their chops live and there are absolutely no egos. LoNero is not about cutting and pasting a solo together or fixing it in the mix. If it can’t be played live it isn’t going to be recorded. For years instrumental guitar has been so self-indulgent. But there are a lot of people who don’t play guitar but love guitar music. Those are the people we want to reach.

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Features/guitarcore/

Learning How to Play Guitar

How to Start Playing Guitar

If you’ve ever wanted to play the guitar but just don’t know where to begin, try starting here with these basic tips.

Basic Stuff You Probably Need to Know

· Understanding the guitar itself—parts and how they each function

· Strings and chords—tuning of each string and where to place your fingers to create chords

· Strumming—techniques and patterns

Chords to Start With

One method often used is CAGED. With the finger patterns from these five chords, many other guitar chords can be played. For visuals of the chords, click on the link below.

http://www.guitaralliance.com/guitar_lessons/guitar_chords/caged_guitar_chords.htm

Holding the Guitar

· If you’re sitting, rest the guitar on your leg. If you’re standing, use a strap so your arms can be free to finger and strum without unnecessary strain.

· Be aware of your posture and body tension. Sit up straight or stand, and be sure not to rest your left arm on your left leg.

· Proper thumb placement is typically hidden from anyone who sees you playing. Help website Howtotuneaguitar.com suggests to “keep your thumb in hitchhiking position, pointed away from you with the ball of the thumb in the center of the neck.”

How-To Videos:

Learning to Play Guitar: Folk Styles

Capo

Places to Look for Tips

http://guitaralliance.com/

Great resources for learning guitar at any level: http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Lifestyle/Lessons/Search/Default.aspx

For chord visuals, lessons, how to tune, and more: http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/

Ethnic Guitar

The Cuatro

Meaning: "four"
Family: Guitar
Found: South America, Trinidad & Tobago, other territories of the West Indies
Uses: Ensembles, Accompaniment
Type of music: Secular and religious
Characteristics: Small, 4 strings.

Guitarrón mexicano

Meaning: "Mexican large guitar"
Family: Similar to guitar but not derived from guitar
Found: Mexico
Uses: Mariachi Bands
Type of music: Mexican Mariachi groups
Characteristics: Large, 6 strings, Strings originally made of intestines, Fretless

***This video is of a Mariachi band. A Mariachi band generally consists of violins, trumpets, an acoustic guitar, a vihuela (a high-pitched, five-string guitar), a guitarrón (a large acoustic bass) and, on occasion, a harp. The members of the group dress in silver studded charro outfits with wide-brimmed hats. The original Mariachi were Mexican street musicians or buskers.***

Random: Musical Notations

These look a bit weird?


Yes, they are legit.

Chart of Musical Notations

The Saxophone

There are several different types of saxophones and they are:

• Soprano in E flat
  
• Soprano in B flat
  
• Alto in E flat
  
• Tenor in B flat
  
• Baritone in E flat
  
• Bass in B flat
  

The first saxphone was made by Adolphe Sax in 1841 and resembled an Ophicleide except with a metal body. It was called a saxphone basse en cuivre until 1842 when it obtained the name saxophone.

The first saxophone, the bass sax, was not performed in a piece until December 1, 1844 in Kastner's opera Le dernier roi de Juda.

Adolphe Sax did not get a patent for the new instrument family until March 21, 1846.

French composers praised the invention of the saxphone because its wealth of sound placed it beyond comparison with other musical instruments in use at the time.

Kastner said that Adolphe Sax had created "an instrument with an entirely new sound-powerful, far-reaching, expressive and beautiful. With its unique tonal quality, it offers the best imaginable link between the very high voices of the orchestra and the very weak ones or those with a very uneven timbre... Uniting strength and charm, it does not drown out the one kind and cannot be drowned out by the other-it is a perfect instrument.

The instrument was free to general development in 1866.

The saxophone has grown in popularity since the 1960s and has been included in pop and rock music.