How Many Types of Guitars Are There

Whenever we walk into a well-stocked musical instrument store and see a multitude of instruments, the guitar is especially eye-catching. All kinds of guitars can play beautiful music. But at a glance, as a beginner, we feel as if we think the store's guitars are all the same, no discernment. So how many kinds of guitars are there? And how are they categorized? Don't worry, I'll solve this big problem for you now.

The modern guitar is a big family, according to its appearance, structure and playing method of different, often divided into the following categories:

1. Classical Guitar

Known as one of the world's three major musical instruments with the piano, violin. In the fingerboard from the string pillow to the handle and the combination of the box is 12 pins, fingerboard wider, the use of nylon strings, sound quality pure and thick. Mainly used for playing classical music, from playing posture to finger angle strings have strict requirements, profound skills, is considered to be the highest form of guitar art.

Spanish guitar that is the classical guitar, the first use of sheep intestine strings, steel strings, 1946 Augustine development of nylon strings successful. Segovia was the first to use and popular all over the world. Classical guitar is mostly solo-oriented, but also can be duet or concerto. In addition to specialized guitar pieces, many classical guitar pieces are adapted from world-famous piano pieces, such as Bach's Chaconne, Mendelssohn's Short Song, Schubert's Minuet, and Mozart's Etudes. Classical guitar focus on playing skills, elegant, pure beauty

2. Flamenco guitar (Flamenco Guitar)

Spanish national instruments. Shape and classical guitar is basically the same, the panel by a guard, the use of nylon strings, but the tone is more classical guitar hard and brittle.

Eighteenth-century southern Spain (Andalucia) popular song, between the folk song and art song. Used to play Spanish folk music, rhythmic complexity, rich skills, singing Singing with both hands holding the soundboard, the guitar played a soaring, intense melody and thick sweeping down the strings, making it unusually beautiful and beautiful, which has formed a unique romantic atmosphere of Flamenco guitar. For example, "The Bells of Flamenco"

It was later spread around the world, and became a world instrument with a distinctive Spanish national style.

3. Hawaiian Guitar

The traditional Hawaiian guitar is similar in appearance to the classical guitar, and uses wire strings. Played flat on the lap, a hand holding a metal slide bar to press the strings, the other hand with a metal fret plucking strings, sound gorgeous, is a good at expressing the melody of the instrument.

From Spain into the United States, Hawaii, improved by a kind of electric guitar, playing the left hand using iron rods, the right hand fingers with steel finger cots, which is a kind of lead guitar. It is a lead guitar. Its tone is beautiful, charming, and full of tropical mood.

4. Pick Guitar (Pick Guitar)

Also known as jazz guitar, strings and Spanish guitar similar to the lower side of the hole in the piano, but there is a Pick board, panel and back plate are curved, the neck of the long, slender, the use of steel wire strings, *** sounding box is small and thin, the panel on each side of an f-shaped hole, the shape of the fiddle with a close resemblance. The shape is similar to that of a fiddle. It is suitable for jazz music.

When playing, the way of playing can be divided into: lead (playing the main key), accompaniment (playing chords or rhythms), bass (playing the bass).

5. Folk Guitar

The most popular guitar in the guitar family? Folk guitar is the most civilianized of the guitar family. The most popular member of the guitar family, slightly different in appearance from the Spanish guitar, which he mentioned with the pique guitar fusion bit. On the fingerboard from the nut to the handle and case is 14 fret, narrower fingerboard, the use of steel strings, the sound is crisp and bright. Mainly used to accompany the singer, the player can play and sing and can be accompanied by simple chords, this guitar is also finger-picking based. It is suitable for country, folk and modern music, and is played in a relaxed and casual manner.

The folk guitar is one of the modern modifications. In recent years, the emergence of the electric box dual-purpose folk guitar to the stage performers to bring great convenience.

6. Electric guitar

The neck is similar to the folk guitar, the use of steel wire strings, no *** sound box, the use of magnetic pickups, according to the principle of the string vibration to the conversion of electroacoustic sound, and then speakers, coupled with effects can be sent out a variety of colorful tones, is the modern pop music and rock music essential musical instruments.

7, electric bass

The electric bass also belongs to the guitar, used for electro-acoustic bands to play the root of the bass guitar, the principle of sound and materials used in the production of the same electric guitar. The difference between the electric guitar and the electric bass is that the electric bass has only four strings, and the strings are hard and thick, and the sound played is thick and dull. Because of its own characteristics, the bass is generally not used to express the melody. The electric bass is mainly responsible for the performance of the lower part of the electro-acoustic band, is an indispensable bass instrument in the electro-acoustic band.

8. Spanish guitar

Also known as the Spanish guitar. As the name suggests, Spain is the center of the birth and development of this type of guitar.

It is generally believed that the Spanish guitar is the oldest guitar, from the 16th century Vihuela, after hundreds of years of development and evolution, until the end of the nineteenth century, known as the father of the modern Spanish guitar Spanish luthier Antonio. de. Torres ( Antonio. de. Torres ) on the guitar to carry out a substantial, all-round reform ( before the guitar is very small ), thus laying the foundation for many of the standards and structure of the modern Spanish guitar.

However, due to the rapid growth of American-style guitars and recent popular music in the last century, contemporary Spanish guitars represent only about 13% of the total number of mainstream acoustic guitars held by society worldwide.

Spanish guitars come in fewer varieties and styles, and are divided into two main types: classical guitars and flamenco guitars. The difference between these two types of guitars is not very big in terms of appearance or structure, and the main external features of their mainstream products are:

1. the use of nylon strings. 2. the neck (fretboard) is wider. 3. the neck and the case are generally connected at the twelfth position.

9. American Guitar

Also called American Guitar. As the name suggests, the United States is the center of the birth and development of this type of guitar.

The American guitar is a major branch of the evolution of the Spanish guitar, is by the nineteenth century immigrants to the United States of some European luthier, borrowing the technology of the Industrial Revolution, in the relatively isolated soil of the New World and the unique human environment in the independent development of a new category of guitars, so it can be said that it is the American variant of the early Spanish guitar.

Over the past century, especially after World War II, with the rapid development and maturation of blues, ragtime, country, bluegrass, urban folk and pop music, as well as rock and roll, jazz, Hawaiian music, and many other styles of American music, as well as popularity around the world, American guitars not only made great strides in the structural design and production process, but also in the social holdings and popularity of the guitar. The American guitar has not only made great progress in terms of structural design and production technology, but also occupies an absolute dominant position in the field of acoustic guitars in terms of social holdings and popularity. Today, American guitars account for more than 85% of all mainstream acoustic guitars in the world.

American guitars have more varieties and styles, and are mainly divided into three types: acoustic guitars (folk), jazz guitars, and ****tone guitars (Dobro). At the same time, these three types of guitars have more obvious differences in appearance, structure and manufacturing process. From a taxonomic point of view, the three in the mainstream product *** with the main external features are: 1. the use of metal strings. 2. 2. Narrower necks (fingerboards).