Timeline of the Guitar

Posted on March 2, 2012 by guit5654

Timeline of the Guitar

By Tim Goldsby

As a stringed instrument, the guitar traces its roots back to as early as the 16th century in Spain, which greatly influenced its development. The “vihuela” is the ancestor of the “guitar”, which descended from the Spanish vocabulary “guitarra”. It is also strongly believed that the guitar descended from the Roman instrument “cithara” and development influenced by the four stringed instrument of the moors “the oud” and the Scandinavian “lut”, another six stringed instrument.

In the seventeenth century, the four stringed “vihuela” started losing its popularity and gave way to the “regal guitar” in France, which is much more similar to the modern day guitar, although tuned much differently. In England, this was known as the five string guitar. Despite being very popular in France and England, it is believed that the fifth string was added to the “vihuela” in Spain to make the instrument more versatile and accessible to the diverse musical scene.

It is in the seventeenth century that the sixth string was added to the Italian “guitarra battente”, which set trend for most of Europe. Classical guitar provides us with the closest nexus to the modern guitars. Antonio Torres cannot go unmentioned as he played an important role in developing and improving the sound and tone of the guitar. This remained as the standard construction of guitars, providing and indelible blueprint for future models. At about the same time, the development on the X-braced top guitar by German immigrant, Christian Fredrich Martin, was in motion. The metal stringed guitar, appeared in the nineteenth century promising a louder sound but was not necessarily accepted by most classical guitar fans. This resulted in the steel stringed instrument etching out its own industry. The guitar tuner was popularized as the de facto accesory in the 20th century.

Development of electric guitars provided promise for better sound through amplification. Jazz guitars were also developed during this time. Guitars have since been extensively used as a musical instrument in many countries. In jazz ensembles, it has been occasioned as a solo instrument. In modern jazz, ensembles have been joined by the bass, rhythm and lead guitar as a full group. The guitar continues to be one of the most applied musical instrument in modern music.

The future has already arrived and the Gibson robot guitar is proof of this. The guitar has the ability to tune itself in accordance with the players input. What will be next in the evolution of guitar?

If you are in need of a guitar tuner then be sure to drop by http://www.123guitartuner.com for a free tune-up.

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Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain

Posted on February 27, 2012 by guit5654


Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain
By Sharon Blue

Kurt Cobain was named “the voice of Generation X”, a title that he didn’t appreciate well. His musical composition came as a new tune in the market at a time when pop songs such as Michael Jackson’s proliferates the music scene everywhere. Right timing and good luck must have been at Cobain’s side to have earned instantly the acceptance of many fans, or maybe it was his innate talent or musical genius that enabled him to weave his own kind of music that is different from the rest. His band’s music was classified as Alternative Rock. Obviously, his art earned him a spot in the music industry naming him as the “Voice of Generation X”.

Kurt Cobain started Nirvana in the mid ’80s with the help of Krist Novoselic. Cobain was the band’s lead vocalist, songwriter and guitarist. His motivation to perform and form a band of his own came from his interest in punk rock performances in Seattle, which he frequented during his high school days. He did not finish his school; instead he found work to support himself while honing his musical talents.

Eventually, he was able to perform and release Nirvana’s debut album named “Bleach”. The band performed in campuses, and Cobain’s name became more popular alongside with Nirvana’s songs. Nirvana’s second album entitled “Nevermind” became an instant hit with its track “Smells like Teen Spirit” landing no. 1 in the Billboard charts. The song’s popular acceptance validated Cobain’s status in the music industry that rose in such a brief time, a situation that Cobain found uncomfortable. He had to struggle living with his fame. He was reported to have suffered depression, and admitted using drugs. Though, he was said to have taken drugs so as to alleviate his stomach pains, his use of it became uncontrolled prompting his wife, Courtney Love and his friends to urge him to seek treatment to which he complied, but did not finish. He was reported to have committed suicide that shocked his fans all over the world.

In less than a decade, Cobain was able to curve and established his name in the music industry, but he had gone as fast as he came. Nirvana disbanded after his death, but their music earned more posthumous recognitions for Cobain. He was remembered as the alternative rock icon. In 2006 he was reported to have outsold Elvis Presley, recognizing him as the top earner deceased-celebrity at that year.

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Guitar Triads – The Basic Theory Behind Triads

Posted on February 27, 2012 by guit5654

Guitar Triads – The Basic Theory Behind Triads
By C Thompson

To understand triads we have to look at the major scale. The C major scale is made up of notes C, D, E, F, G, A and B. If we take the first note, third note and fifth note of this scale, we get a major triad. Flattening the third note by a semitone gives us a minor triad. The C major triad has the notes C, E and G. The C minor triad has the notes C, Eb and G.

There are five different types of triads. They are: major, minor, diminished, augmented and suspended 4.

  • Major (1, 3, 5) (C E G)
  • Minor (1, flat 3, 5) (C Eb G)
  • Diminished (1, flat 3, flat 5) (C Eb Gb)
  • Augmented (1, 3, sharp 5) (C E G#)
  • Suspended 4 (1 4 5) (C F G)

The first note of the scale is called the root. In this case, C is the root note. When a chord is stacked with the Root note on the bottom, 3rd in the middle and 5th on top it is in root position. When the 3rd is on the bottom, 5th in the middle and the root note is on top it is 1st inversion. When the 5th note is on the bottom, the root note is in the middle and the 3rd note is on top it is in 2nd inversion.

All triads can be put into root position, 1st inversion and 2nd inversion. For example; D minor has the root note D, the 3rd note F and the 5th note A. Root position would be D F A. First inversion would be F A D. 2nd inversion would be A D F. Inversions become very useful when applied to chord progressions.

If we compare the C major triad (C E G) with the A minor triad (A C E), we see they have the two notes C and E in common. The G note from the C major triad is only a tone away from the A note in the A minor triad. If We played a progression which had C major going to A minor we could use an inversion to get between the two triads quickly. If C major was in root position an(C E G), then you would use A minor in 1st inversion (C E A). This limits finger movement for a guitarist which is of great use for getting quickly between chords.

Triads should be used as part of daily practice. They can be highly effective when used in performance situations. They can provide different options when composing songs.

C. Thompson is a guitar tutor who has many year experience in playing music. His philosophy for teaching is that all lessons must be fun. If the students is having fun then they will enjoy there instrument more and therefore, learn more.

Guitar Teachers Blog
Triads Part 1

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