Guitar Styles (And the Confusion There Of)
Walk into any guitar shop and you’ll notice the variety of guitars available. Often times, I have a new client call me requesting guitar lessons for their child, wondering if the old “folk” guitar in the attic will do or if they should invest in an electric. The most important piece of knowledge is that despite what you end up with, the theory and techniques behind all the styles are largely the same. Serious players will end up with a variety of guitars to suit many musical situations. Here are some styles of guitars and what they’re known for.
Acoustic Guitar – This term can be used to describe any guitar that doesn’t need to be plugged in to function. They have hollow bodies and use sound holes, popularly right in the middle of the body to amplify their sound. Seen often out by the campfire, they can be used to play any genre of music, though some models are better for certain styles than others. Most often times made of wood, these guitars really vary depending on what strings they use.
Nylon string acoustics, also known as classical guitars or folk guitars (due to their wide usage in those musical genres) are some what easier on the fingers as they don’t take as much pressure to hold down the strings. Their fret boards, the area where you hold down the strings, are often wider to accommodate the finger picking style they are so often used for. Their sound is often gentle and beautiful (think classical guitar music or “Blackbird” by the Beatles.) You can also lay into them to get more rough effects (think Flamenco music), but in general, these won’t get you much of a rock and roll sound.
Steel string guitars are a little more flexible. They produce great sounds for gentle, soft music or for stronger music. It is used in all genres of music, whether you look at MTV’s old “Unplugged” series or John Mayer’s “Why Georgia”. While the strings require a little more effort to hold down, these instruments are slightly more versatile than nylon string guitars and can get a beginning student a long way.
Electric Guitar – This describes a guitar that you plug in, usually into an amplifier to utilize. They use magnetic pickups, seen in the middle of the body, sometimes with their small, circular poles visible, to convert the strings vibrations into an electrical signal, which is then amplified and changed back into sound by an amplifier. Electric guitars can have just 1 pick up, or even as many as 4! Mostly, you’ll see them with 1, 2, or 3 pickups, either in single coil format or double coil (humbucker) which looks like two pickups put together.
These guitars are usually made of wood, though you can find guitars made of plastic or even aluminum. Needless to say, aluminum guitars are very heavy. If their body is completely sold, then it is a “Solid Body” guitar. Some guitars are semi-hollow or even completely hollow, giving them characteristics similar to acoustic guitars. In the beginner price range, you most likely will be dealing with Solid Body guitars.
Strings!? How many Strings!?
The standard guitar format is the 6 string, used by every one from the legendary Jimi Hendrix to Kevin Bacon (yeah, the guy from the movies.) The strings are tuned to certain notes and thus, music is made. There are exceptions to this rule though. In the last decade 7-string guitars have become popular in heavy styles of music, adding one more low note. Guitars with even more strings have made appearances, but are very rare. The popular 12 string guitar is actually the least scary of these instruments, as each of our original 6 strings is just doubled up on. Again, this is outside of the beginning student realm.
What To Look For
Because of the nature of the beginning guitar student, one should keep many things in mind. Most of the parents I deal with are very aware that their child may fall out of music, so they opt not to invest as much as an experienced player would. This is acceptable, because as a student progresses they will develop their own tastes and habits that will dictate what they need in a guitar. However, spending too little may actually hinder a young student’s progress. I’ve seen many a student walk in with the small “Wal-Mart” guitars, and they won’t even stay in tune. Obviously, something is better than nothing, but for just a few dollars more you can do a lot more for a student. Also, if the student loves their guitar, they are more motivated to put in the time to practice.
A guitar should be comfortable for the player. Even with out any formal knowledge of how to play, one can go to a music shop, pick up a guitar, set it on their lap and feel it out. Some players prefer really thick necks – most beginning students do not. Some guitars are made from heavy woods that help make some wonderful sounds – but would crush a 9 year old trying to get started. Music stores understand that a player can’t make a purchase without thoroughly trying out an instrument, so they are okay with potential buyers giving their products a test run. Salesmen as they are, they are usually very helpful and will usually answer any of your questions to the best of their ability.
Some great questions to ask: how well does the guitar hold its tuning? A guitar is useless if it can’t stay in tune. How often do you see these guitars come back for repair? There’s no time to practice if the thing is constantly in the shop! Does the guitar come with any extra accessories? Some times you can get a strap and an extra pack of strings out of a deal. At the least, my last new guitar came with the wrench to make adjustments on it.
What to look OUT for
Sometimes you get lucky and don’t even need to venture to the shop to find a suitable guitar. Some times an older sibling as long since quit on their efforts, or a neighbor has one hanging out in their attic. Any guitar that has not been played and maintained should see a repair shop at some point just for routine maintenance. Here are things to be weary of in a hand me down guitar. These are thing you should be aware of in general, though they are generally rare to see in a proper music shop’s selection.
Guitars are made of wood, so they are prone to damage. Scratches and paint chips won’t hinder a guitars playability, but water or heat damage can. Watch for any signs of warping. Some guitars have a natural bend to them, but if it looks excessive then watch out!
Extremely high action is another issue. Action is the height from the fretboard on the neck to the string. If it is too high it makes it very hard or impossible to hold a string down. Try holding the string down yourself before handing a guitar off to a young one – it may be a bit uncomfortable, but if you can’t do it, a 10 year old can’t either. Many guitar techs will measure action by 32nds or even 64ths of an inch. Any thing close to an inch is way too high. On the other hand, action too low will result in a buzzy sound or inability to play. Either indicates a reason to visit the repair shop.
There are a few different mechanisms that hold the strings on the guitar and manipulate them. The one towards the bottom of the guitar is the bridge. If the bridge appears to be coming off the body, there will be trouble. This often occurs with low end guitars that feature “whammy” bars. The mechanisms that tune the strings are up top – the tuning machines. If you must use excessive force to turn these, or they appear rusty it’s off to the shop!
Conclusions
Beginner guitars don’t have to be fancy, they just have to be useable. Sure, looks do matter a bit. If a young student likes the color red, comfortable and use-able red guitars are out in the world to be found. Most importantly, the student should like the guitar, the looks of it, the feel of it, and should want to play it.
