Discovering How To Play Blues Guitar - Putting The Rhythm In The Blues

At the finish of the 19th century, one particular style of music emerged from African-American towns in the Deep South of the United States. It had been normally done by prisoners and slaves. A lot of these had been taken from area hollers, also chants and shouts. This musical style is known as Blues. One legend says that William Christopher Helpful, a cornet player and bandleader, had written the 1st Blues tune, this was both produced and documented within the year 1912. The song was entitled Yellow Dog Blues.

The Blues musical genre has earned recognition throughout many years and in different nations all over the world, capturing the hearts of many folks of all ages, making a lot of music lovers desire to attempt and discover blues guitar. Blues and guitar are similar to bread and butter to each other. They work well with each other. An acoustic or an electrical guitar could be a great musical instrument to get should you desire to play the Blues. Heavier guitar strings could help in getting far better shades and tones and sustainability while nylon strings are not recommended.

The largest majority of Blues tunes are performed following the twelve bar. The twelve bar Blues simply means the tune is split into 12 "bars” and also “patterns” having a given chord sequence. If one is truly considering understanding blues guitar then one ought to commence by studying this basic beat - which also happens to be the simplest one also. When jamming, this form is frequent over and over for each and every verse with the tune until the tune stops. Whilst practicing this, it is suggested that it really should be started having a single down strum for every beat, till one becomes acquainted and comfortable with it before attempting to elaborate every strum and attempting other variations.

Blues, in most cases, is major key in chord structure but you'll find also various scales that can be utilized as a way to generate or convey a brilliant tone associated with Blues. Several of these kinds of scales are main pentatonic, small pentatonic, dorian, and mixolydian. These might be used individually or in combination with every other.

To learn blues guitar, it really is vital to use the three (3) tempos

you can feel which are employed in Blues, particularly, directly feel, shuffle really feel, and twelve/eight feel.

Within the straight feel, the eighth note rhythm is normally utilized

and tend to be spaced evenly at a distance although the shuffle really feel adhere to a long-short scheme (the second note is placed in every set of eighth notes.) The twelve/eight rhythm has twelve beats per bar and each eighth note obtains one beat.

Techniques are also vital in playing Blues with the guitar and one of

these will be the Vibrato. It is a musical effect which is created once the pitch of the note is a bit transformed to a greater pitch after which back to its authentic pitch by altering the tension from the string.

In order to fill the chords with melodic figures, turnarounds, intros, and endings - riffs are used. Turnarounds are normally performed on the last two bars, making the solo complete and points the tune back to its beginning. Some turnarounds actually help to make wonderful and intriguing intros and endings of songs.

To fully understand blues guitar, there's no one secret, way, approach or procedure to crush it. Learning the Blues takes constant and precise technique. Regardless of what the dealers of books, electronic books,and movies guarantee, absolutely nothing beats determination and dedication.

How to Play Guitar Chord - To Play Any Song

If you want to learn how to play guitar chord, find a good program so that your ability to play guitar will be enhanced. The time required to learn and master guitar can also be reduced.

When you are looking at how to play guitar chord and are researching on the different online programs that are available, you need to keep some important things in mind. Not every program is going to be one that is of actual use to you. Some of the available programs will only lightly touch on technique and leave you to explore how the process is done.

** A good instruction program should include--

* Information on Alternate Picking

* Arpeggios

* Proper Bending

* Finger Picking Techniques

* Hammer-ons

* Legato

* Palm Muting Process

* How to do Pull-offs

* Slide Instructions

* Strumming Basics

* The Importance of Vibrato

If the program you are looking at does not cover these basics then it might not be the best choice for you to learn to play guitar online. The method used for the delivery of the guitar lessons is much more important.

** Delivery of program--

Sometimes information is presented in a vague and difficult to understand fashion. When you are left to learning how to play guitar chord almost completely on your own, the price of a program isn't worth it. The is the reason why it is critical to find a program which provides step by step instructions which you can understand easily.

Do you hear songs on the radio which you wished you could play? When you learn how to play guitar chord that could actually become a reality, this is because you learn techniques to train your ear to listen to the notes that are being played in succession to create the song that you love so much.

** Practice makes perfect--

Don't worry about when you are first learning to play either. You might be very close to giving up the guitar when it all just seems too hard on your fingers. But do not do so too quickly. Learning the basics of guitar including how to play guitar chord properly would lay a good foundation for your journey of playing the guitar like a pro. Just remember you won't learn it overnight, and practice will make you a better player as well.

** Access to online community--

A good program will also give you access to an online community full of other individuals who learn to play the guitar online and are happy to help others while getting advice themselves. Some of the programs that offer this actually have instructors that participate as well in the process to give tips and advice. You will find these programs produce better results.

** Other important areas--

Beyond how to play, there are other areas that you need to know to be successful. These areas include:

* How to tune a guitar

* Proper cleaning

* How to change your strings

* Proper care and management for your guitar

* Properly check your guitar's intonation

* Match yourself with a guitar that works for you

When you find a program that covers all these areas and basics you will find that you can learn how to play guitar chord with almost no trouble at all. You can learn to play guitar online at an one- off fee. This makes it more affordable than conventional private or group lessons. Take some time to review them and see which option works best for you.

Pick The Perfect Electric Guitar Of Your Taste

You are planning to purchase a guitar which may be the very first instrument in your life. On the other hand you might be upgrading or even adding a second or third guitar to your collection. Guitars are indeed very fascinating instruments and there is no such thing like having enough or even too many guitars. So when you are planning to buy the musical instrument, it is good to consider certain major factors.

First consideration should be given to your budget. This would considerably narrow down your choices. If you are having a minimal budget, then you would be surely not looking for high end guitars since they are all a bit expensive. Even then the less priced guitars would play in good condition only. Usually a person’s first guitar would actually be the main axe in the coming years. And these days most of the guitar manufacturer’s closely inspect high end instruments and would incorporate some of their features that makes the guitars so special.

Now you have to consider the different types of electric guitars available. Most of the electric guitars would have solid bodies; this means that the body is made of solid wood or in solid colors. The types of wood used for making solid body are alder, ash, mahogany and basswood. A carved, figured maple cap would be often seen over a solid mahogany body. The second variety is the semi-hollow instruments that are usually thin and light weight with either part or whole of the guitar body being hollow. True hollow bodies, which is the third type would have a deeper body means more space between top and back, and usually ‘f-holes’ are tuned to allow the guitar’s body to resonate acoustically. However the pickups are installed allowing the guitar to be played through an amplifier.

There is yet another model of electric guitar known as the Synth guitar. It is mostly a standard electric one which has some additional hardware fitting that would allow it to be connected directly to a synth via a 13 pin RMC system.

If you are playing in a country bad, then the hollow body guitar may not be the perfect choice for you. You would much likely want a guitar along the lines of a fender telecaster or even classic electrics. Such guitars would produce a cleaner and brighter sound while the classic model would produce a darker and warmer tone. Similarly if you are laying in a jazz, you would need an instrument that would deliver warmer and smoky timbres and not a single coil one.

Color and finish of the electric guitar is usually a personal choice. Some players like bright and solid colors for their guitars while other would be happy to show the beauty of wood through single color transparent or translucent stain like amber and cherry or even royal blue. Most guitars today have two pickups; single coil or the ‘hum buckers’. Single coil produces bright sound while the others will have a dark and warmer tone.

Musical Composition on the Guitar

There are a lot of piano players who are also well known composers. And there is good enough reason for this. The piano allows you to play about ten notes at one time. On the guitar, you can only play six. There are even some piano players who can play more than ten notes at once. On the piano, each hand can play something really different. The instrument allows you to play different parts simultaneously. And this advantage helps give the players a good chance of coming up with really beautiful musical pieces on the instrument. And for the same reason, more musicians or composers focus on playing the piano.

But this does not mean that the guitar is not a very useful instrument when it comes to composing songs. On the contrary, the guitar is one of the most useful instruments when it comes to composing music. It allows you in on a very different compositional perspective. And this advantage will be able to help you come up with a piece that you will not have come up when you use the piano. And this will also greatly benefit a freelance composer, like you.

The piano works a lot differently than a guitar would. The chords are formed and played differently. The melody notes are played above the chord on the piano. It can be argued that playing the melody and the chords at the same time is a lot easier on the piano, it is still important to know that you can compose and play songs on the guitar as well. Remember that notes and chords can be easily moved around the guitar. And the variety of chords on the guitar will help you come up with really great progressions and melodies that will definitely be a big help in your composition. Also, there are a lot of things that would easily just fall into place on the guitar that will be almost impossible to do on a piano. Take for example, sliding around chord shapes. This simply means that people who make music with the guitar will find it really easier to be able to slide through the chords than those who are using the piano.

Of course, it can also be said that there are things that can be done on the piano that will be difficult if done on the guitar. There are things that you may write that are just impossible to do on a guitar. And this just means that it will be a great advantage if you know how to compose songs with more instruments. Each of the instruments that you use will contribute to giving the songs a different perspective and help spice it up a little bit. That means you will get more variation in to the songs that you write.

There is no debate in which instrument, piano or guitar is much better to use when it comes to composing music. The idea here is to start with the use of an instrument that can play chords and then supplement the melody with harmonic devices. As long as you have an instrument that plays chords, it will be great to use for composition. Explore what you can don on the guitar that you will not be able to do on other instruments both when you play and when you compose. There is one unique characteristic in every instrument. And that is something that you can use to come up with really great music.

Blues Music Scales - Blues Guitar Lesson

The sound of someone playing blues on guitar includes a very distinct sound. From Eric Clapton to Stevie Ray Vaughan the sound they might make is usually referred to as smoky because of its alluring power.

To experience the blues you will find a number of tricks to understand from blues guitar scales, blues chords and blues licks. Anyone can study the guitar, some want to be a killer guitar player others just want to become able to take part in the guitar for the hobby.

Most people are confused about where to start learning to play the blues on guitar. Extra cash or time on the system that does not teach those valuable blues guitar scales is really a waste.

A lot of music sheets or types of teaching will overwhelm a lot of individuals due to information overload. The brain simply doesn’t work this way.

It just appears like a page of confusion. Blues scale for guitar doesn’t have to look this way. Asking questions in the music store can be type of embarrassing. Some can be extremely helpful but others either don’t know and can’t be bothered to help you when confronted with questions about what are the best blues guitar lessons.

People want answers once they enter the store, not more confusion. What most people find is that they are either met with indignation or are bombarded with numerous options they simply don’t know how to start. Walking out of a store feeling even more confused and downhearted isn't how anyone wants to feel.

Learning step-by-step may be the easiest and it is really fast to turn every beginner into a blues guitarist. Within days they will have the technique and the skills to be able to make some hot sounds.

The easiest, simplest way to begin with is definitely the best way to begin with. Learning everything through your guitar chops, riffs, licks and scales will have people jamming within days. By showing a system that's broken down in steps that is east to understand and much easier to retain.

5 simple what to remember when learning to play blues guitar scales are:

• Choose a course that teaches you patterns and techniques the simplest way so it can be followed

• Learn all about the chords and scales the blues greats play – by learning the names and sounds after which the way to put it in to practice it may then be applied

• As a blues fan means learning how to play every variation and complex sounds, so choose wisely

• Intermediate and experienced guitar players will discover the detail by detail system will open a number of doors which will really mean they can finally quit your day job!

• Learning blues scales combinations with a number of additional chords skills turns an ok guitarist right into a star There isn’t any point throwing out money on guitar lessons that are not effective. Hearing someone play the blues takes people on a journey they never wish to end. Playing the blues yourself means you'll end up being on a trip of a lifetime that doesn’t have to stop.

Guitar Tips - 4 Effective Techniques for Learning the Guitar

Understanding the guitar is really a tough thing to do without having the right tricks and tips to get going. Why most beginners stop very early is because they do not get the proper guidance to stay motivated and carry on practicing. Lucky for you personally, you've already proven that you can make the effort to understand guitar tips in order to better your skills. So, carry on learning with these 4 important strategies:

Stay inspired by playing what you want to play as opposed to "required material." Yes, you have to learn a minimum of several scales and warm-up pieces, however they should just take up perhaps 15 minutes of your time in the very most. The only way that you are likely to stay excited about playing your guitar is as simple as diving into the tunes that pressure and inspire you!

Practice in areas which are low in distractions. I have seen musicians who practice in the middle of the park due to the serene and peaceful atmosphere that it provides for them. Likewise, you should look for a calm place for understanding the guitar, otherwise it might make you frustrated to the point that you're the one making all of the distracting noise.

Purchase a guitar that is relatively low in cost and average in high quality. I say typical in quality because it's extremely rare to locate a beginning guitar that's outstanding in quality without it costing you your first born child. Research what good quality beginning instruments are from reviews and guitar tips online and other guitarists that you know. Even take time to play a few in an actual music store to see that they feel.

Seek the advice of other experienced guitarists. You are able to work all that's necessary, but there's only so much that your virgin mind is going to achieve without some expertise. Seek out the advice of guitar teachers, tutors, as well as online lessons to obtain your own inside information on playing your guitar. Professional guidance can give you critical insight into:

* Purchasing a guitar

* Learning chords

* Memorizing songs

* Nailing lead riffs

Understand Guitar Critiques - Which Is Appropriate For You?

You came to this website to find out how to play guitar correct? What's the finest way to understand though? You could try personal guitar lessons, but they are really pricey and can involve a big time commitment. Luckily, there are numerous guitar courses online that can assist you understand to play guitar just as properly... at a fraction of a the cost.

Guitar Scales are key

You can not play the guitar and with out complete handle of scales initial guitar. Mastering I am not only knows the variety of balance, ie that you know backwards and forwards. You ought to be in a position to know precisely what it seems to be like the scale of the ears and should be able to see the scale on the guitar fretboard. You have to know what the note following seem to play ahead of playing. In this way, not just noodling with a scale, you play musically. This is the important to becoming a wonderful guitarist.

Scales examine guitar mastery

Guitar Scales Mastery is a instrument for learning guitar scales guitar (All types), as very well as achievable. This is a musician useful resource which can be downloaded on the web immediately which suggests that if you want to get started with him in a couple of minutes, you can do. It is also a one hundred% ensure program, so if you're not pleased with it anyway you can get a full refund funds.

Seeing as notes scales

The strategies you will learn guitar scale area will aid overcome 1 of the biggest difficulties that a lot of guitarists / soloists and have a scale as an employer and not as notes. When you believe of a scale like the notes of the scale, so how considerably more musically than just contemplating about it as a model.

Concentrate on core competencies that lead to extensive area

Couple of guitarists grow to be essential soloists, and they do not have all the expertise important to really master the scales. Guitar Scale Master focuses on all abilities which are important to master scales and grow to be a good guitarist.

Learning How To Play The Guitar

There are many challenges with learning how to play the guitar, even holding it seems odd at first but provided you have got over that minor problem where do you begin?

Deciding exactly what kind of music you want to play is the first thing you must decide. This may seem obvious but it is strange just how many people start to learn to play the guitar, go for lessons from a local teacher but then give up a little while afterwards just because they wanted to play, for example, jazz but their teacher just taught them some tiresome classical piece.

Learning how to play the guitar should be a challenge, but also great fun. You are wasting your time if your trying to play music you hate. Don't forget that all the world's famous guitarists started at the beginning and had trouble with sore fingers and awkward shapes for chords. The only real difference is that they stuck at it and kept practicing.

For beginners there always is the question that is reading music for guitar necessary or not? The truth is that it really depends on the player themselves and what their final goals are. For a classical player hoping to make a career from their playing then I would advise them to start studying music notation - for everyone else it isn't necessary.

There is obviously a great help if you can sight read music and have an education that allows you to understand all the markings on the page but for most guitarists - that's what they want to do.

Learning how to read tablature or tabs takes only a few minutes to understand and then any piece is available to the student to learn, provided he has a recording. This is what all music readers constantly bring up when they extol the benefits of reading music for guitar. Tablature doesn't contain any information on the timing of a piece - so what. If any musical piece is worth listening to then someone somewhere has already recorded it. With the recording and the tablature all the information is available for others to play the piece.

With modern computers there are several programs available that not only can play the traditional musical notation but also produce the equivalent tablature. With these tools, even the most complex classical or jazz piece can be learned by someone with no knowledge of reading music for guitar at all.

So it really is just a question for the individual player to answer. There is no real need to learn in order to play even to a very advanced level but if you want to go ahead.

Many newcomers, when they start learning how to play the guitar cringe when their teacher informs them that they are going to have their first guitar scales lesson. It is understandable for without knowing scales you cannot appreciate their importance and value and they can seem just like a boring pointless exercise.

It is still vital for guitar beginners to start learning some music since that is what it is all about and being able to play some tunes encourages people to work harder to learn more. Once a student has been learning for a short time it is important to introduce a guitar scales lesson for various reasons.

There are so many advantages to learning scales on the guitar that it is impossible to cover them all here but one of the main benefits is that it is a great exercise for both the hands. Being able to move easily up and down the fretboard while employing different plucking / fingering techniques with the other hand guarantees that the student will be able to learn a musical piece much earlier.

Learning where the notes are on the fretboard will help with the understanding of chords and how to play them in alternative positions over the fretboard. This leads to probably the most important benefit that occurs after a good understanding of guitar scales has been achieved - the ability to improvise. Whether you want to play exciting heavy metal riffs or complex accompaniment to a jazz rhythm it is impossible to improvise unless you have a solid grounding in the playing of guitar scales.

Harmonics on the Guitar

Damp specific frets on the fingerboard of your guitar, the bell like sound that it would produce would be called harmonic. These are a must as they could help you create great music effects. Learning guitar and not paying attention to harmonic is not doing justice to music. In other words, strike the guitar string, the sound that is produced is nothing but a combination of different components. When these are taken in synchronization – could be termed as harmonic series.

There are several ways of playing these harmonics on the guitar. Some are explained below –

Open-String Harmonics

Open String Harmonics are also known as the natural harmonics. These open string harmonics could be produced by placing the fingers lightly at certain points on the fingerboard. Ensure that the strings are not pushed down; the finger should be the only thing in touch with the string.

Fretted Harmonics

The fretted harmonics is relatively difficult and hence it needs practice. Doing the fretted harmonics would need consistent practice and time. Being over ambitious and trying to learn it fast can actually harm you to a great extent. There are three things that need to go in synchronization and these are as follows:

1. Fretting of a note.
2. A soft touch is needed on the string. The touch should be 12 frets above a note that is being fretted.
3. Plucking the string is required with the above two.

The fretted harmonics could be achieved by two different methods. Artificial Harmonics and the Pinched Harmonics are the two ways to doing the fretted harmonics.

Artificial Harmonics

As established that there could be other ways of playing harmonics, for fretted harmonics this technique of Artificial Harmonics is much simple to master as compared to the others. This is an easy way to learn the fretted harmonic. It is recommended to go for this one first in order to get motivated and get prepared for the Pinched Harmonics, which is relatively difficult. All the harmonics that could be played are artificial; playing these is termed as Artificial Harmonics. According to this, the index finger’s soft touch followed by the pluck with the pinky finger; alternatively the pick held from the other fingers would work.

Pinched Harmonics

This is relatively difficult as compared to the one listed above. Modified picking technique with the accurate and steady picking hand is the pre requisite for playing the Pinched Harmonics consistently.

It being difficult doesn’t make it very different from the Artificial Harmonics. It could be understood as playing the Artificial Harmonics, just that for the pinched one we are using a plectrum. Left hand would be used to fret the notes. Go 12 frets above the hand you are fretting with, with the picking hand.

Pick needs to be gripped in such a way that the thumb and the tip are sticking out approximately the same expanse. The thumb should touch the strings briefly while you pick string at the particular points. The note should be played by the pick and the Fundamental sound should be silenced by the thumb, resulting with the required, Pinched Harmonics.

Though this would give you a fair idea about how to play the Artificial Harmonics and the Pinched Harmonics, but until you try your hands on, you would not learn.

How to Play Your Guitar - Revealed - Super Quick Chord Changes

As you’re practicing guitar, you will reach the point when you will know more than three chords. It is at this point in learning how to play your guitar that it is imperative to begin practicing your chord changes.

When learning how to play your guitar you will encounter what are called chord changes. Chord changes are switching from one guitar chord to the next guitar chord in a smooth and fast motion. One of the most challenging things that hinders a new guitar player when learning to do chord changes is accurately and quickly switching from chord to chord.

Let’s take a look at 3 easy steps that will help you to achieve super quick chord changes.

1. Memorize your guitar chords
2. Learn the ergonomics of guitar chords
3. Module chord practice

1. Memorize your guitar chords: In order to begin switching from chord to chord super fast, you need to memorize as many guitar chords that you have learned as possible. The more you have your guitar chords memorized, the easier it will be to play your guitar chords individually. This in turn will allow you to transition to the next chord more quickly due to not having to figure out your chord fingering.

2. Learn the ergonomics of guitar chords: This might sound more complicated than what it really is. Chord ergonomic playing is just finding the best fingering for the chord you are playing that will allow you to transition to your next chord as quickly and smoothly as possible. For example, there are two ways to play the A major basic chord. You can use your first three fingers (1, 2, and 3) which is what most beginner guitar players learn how to do, or you can learn how to play a major with the last three fingers (2, 3, and 4) and discover that using this fingering position will allow for smoother and quicker chord changes.

3. Module chord practice: Learning to take your chord switching playing abilities to the next level will require practice. Take two chords and practice switching between the two chords back and forth for two minutes. Take two brand-new chords and practice switching these chords back and forth over and over again for another two minutes. In a 10 minute module unit you can practice switching guitar chords using 10 different chords.

by Jeremiah La Follette

How To Play Guitar Good - The Mysteries of Alternate Picking Revealed.

Once you have begun to learn all of your beginner guitar chords, and basic guitar scales, you will want to make sure that you are utilizing the best right hand technique possible in order to play your guitar is accurately and as fast as possible.

In order to learn how to play guitar good you’ll need to learn the right hand guitar technique called alternate picking. Alternate picking is also a great way to learn how to play your guitar chords correctly, and introduce the concept of arpeggio playing.

The good news is that you can start applying these simple alternate picking techniques immediately to your guitar playing.

Let’s take a look at how to apply basic alternate picking to your guitar playing.

1. Hold your guitar pick correctly
2. Practice using up and down strokes
3. Alternate your guitar strokes
4. Apply alternate picking to your scales
5. Apply alternate picking to your chords

1. Hold your guitar pick correctly: You want to make sure that you’re holding your guitar pick correctly. If you play guitar only with your fingers this will be a great opportunity for you to learn how to play with a guitar pick.

2. Practice using up and down strokes: The basic concept of alternate picking is quite simple. With your guitar pick you will be picking each note and alternating between down and upstroke’s.

3. Alternate your guitar strokes: Once you have the basic concept of alternating your guitar strokes for each string, (up and down, one note at a time) you can now alternate your guitar strokes. For example instead of picking: up, down, up, down; you will be using the pattern of: up, up, down, down, etc. The possibilities of alternating your guitar strokes are limitless.

4. Apply alternate picking to your scales: On the first note that you play your guitar scale with, pick down. The next note you will pick up. When you have mastered going up and down on your guitar scales the next thing you want to do is to have your first note be plucked upwards first. The second note will now be a down stroke, and so forth.

5. Apply alternate picking to your chords: Alternate picking your guitar chords will do three things. The first thing alternate picking will do is ensure that you are playing correctly each of the guitar notes on the chord you are playing. The second thing alternate picking will do with your chords is introduce you to guitar chord picking patterns. The third thing alternate picking will do with your chords is introduce you to what is called arpeggio playing. Simple arpeggio playing is playing the guitar chord one note at a time. Arpeggio playing is also great for playing guitar chords with slow songs.

The History of The Electric Guitar: How Music Was Changed Forever

In The Beginning

The 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.