Archive for June, 2010
For most young musicians electric guitars are the instrument of choice. The reason for this is quite simple, it’s very easy to associate with the guitarist from their favorite band who is playing an electric guitar.
This by itself is OK but to really be well rounded acoustic guitars should find their way into your collection of guitars. Acoustic guitars sound different and play different than electric guitars which is why you should consider picking one up along your musical career.
Did you know electric guitar packages are not the only way to get value when looking for a guitar, acoustic guitar packages are also available with the same features and the costs are about the same.
Electric guitars are wonderful instruments to learn to play. As I wrote in my last blog many people who play guitar often own more than, as a matter of fact they often own four, five, six, and sometimes more guitars.
Sometimes a guitar owner will mix in with his collection of electric guitars, acoustic guitars, and bass guitars, that’s when it happens. After playing guitar for a while they pick up the bass guitar and find themselves hooked. Electric guitars in music are used to play the chords of the song if you are a rhythm guitarist, however this can get monotonous. Bass guitars are great to learn and play because you’re not locked in to playing one thing. Depending upon you level of skill you can either play the root note or play the chords of the song (one note at a time). Playing bass guitar you will find chord progressions can be played differently, depending on the song. Yes it’s easy to get hooked on playing bass guitar, pick one up and find out for yourself.
Do you play an electric guitar? Do you play a bass guitar? If you answered yes to either of these questions, do you own more than one electric guitar or bass guitar?
If you answered yes to the last question you will find yourself among the majority. I don’t know why, but owning electric guitars by the handful is a pretty common thing. Playing guitar if fun, owning guitars is addicting. Many people that play have the electric guitar they started with and have added to it different style electric guitars, acoustic guitars, and even bass guitars, yes that’s right I said bass guitars. It’s not uncommon for someone who plays guitar to acquire a bass guitar.
If you find yourself owning just one guitar my words to you are “Let’s get with it” you have a lot of catching up to do.
The best way to start an electric guitar music career is with electric guitar packages. As the title of this blog says they have an affordable price without sacrificing the quality of the instrument itself.
Electric guitar packages will surprise you with the fact they come in every style guitar, strat, tele, LP, SG, jazz and any other popular styles can be found in guitar packages. You can also find different size guitar amplifiers to go with your choice of electric guitar.
You will find a wide variety of pricing with these packages, the least expensive ones are perfect for that youngsterwho is just starting out. If you are an intermediate player there are packages that are more expensive that will last you a life time. No matter what your skill level there are guitar packages just for you, so join the electric guitar package revolution.
Practicing bass guitar which is what I was trained on since I was a teenager, is no different than someone playing and electric guitar, or even acoustic guitar. I have found through the years that playing guitar is a lot like life itself, you have good days, bad days, and days that are down right ugly.
For me I’m happy to say at least to date that most days are good days. I define good days as days that I not only listen to the music I am playing, but I also feel the music. Now don’t get me wrong I’m not saying I don’t have bad days because I do. For me a bad day is one that I am listening to the music but not necessarily feeling it. Of course life wouldn’t be complete without those ugly days, you know the ones, for me it is the ones I don’t hear or feel the music, those are the days my practice sessions are very short.
If I find myself having a few of those ugly days in a row I will try changing something like using a different bass amplifier or anything else that would give me new bass guitar packages that would change my sound and increase my awareness.
There’s nothing quite as distinctive as that bass guitar sound, and for that reason, it has been utilized in rock bands and popular bands for decades. Some of the most famous recording artists of our day (and yesterday) include players of the bass and electric bass guitar. If you’re not convinced that bass guitars create charismatic and noted musicians, just think of Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Epitomizing the 90s rock sound, he is considered by many to be one of the most talented bass guitarists around.
Going a bit farther back in music history, there is also Paul McCartney of The Beatles. While their music ranged from love ballads to rock anthems, McCartney’s skill with a bass guitar always stood out. And who can forget John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin or Jack Bruce of Cream? Both these men brought their own unique style and musical tastes to the iconic instrument. But the list is not completely dominated by men. Female rockers have also rocked the bass guitar, including Kim Deal of the noted alt rock band The Pixies.
Stratocasters, telecasters, SG, LP, jazz, these are just a few of the better known styles of electric guitars. Precision, jazz, LP, and violin or “Beatle Bass” are just a few styles of bass guitars.
After you have chosen what style of bass, or electric guitars it is time to team it up with the bass amplifiers or guitar amplifiers that are available. Most people wold stop there thinking they have everything they need, but the guitar and amp is just the beginning of what you need.
When you were purchasing your guitar did you think about how you would transport it from one place to another, or if you were playing it and wanted to set it down somewhere, without a stand where would you put it. How about tuning your new guitar, without a tuner how would you go about that. How about an elementary thing like a guitar strap, would you think about picking one up. These things and more are why you should be looking for either electric guitar packages, or bass guitar packages.
These days, distortion is considered a fundamental part of rock music, basically the complement to a catchy pop hook. But in rock’s formative years, people considered dissonance to be a sign of musical weakness. It was all about the purity of pop songs and the technical virtuosity of jazz standards. Before long, however, musicians discovered that they could make a whole new range of interesting noises with the help of guitar amplifiers.
More than just a way to amplify sound, the amp can be used for creative purposes as well. In the late 1980s and early ’90s, the Irish shoegaze band My Bloody Valentine pushed the boundaries of what rock music could sound like. By implementing effects pedals, amplifier feedback and offbeat tunings, they cranked out sounds that might have originated in a whole different universe.
Bass guitars are God’s gift to the music world. Having a slightly larger and heavier body, and a longer neck compared to an electric guitar it produces a sound one octave lower than a guitar.
Mostly played with the fingers or thumb it encompasses many different styles of playing, slapping, tapping, plucking or even thumping. It is produced mostly in 4, 5, and 6 string although I have seen it with more strings. It is used in any music genre you can think of rock, country, metal, jazz and reggae.
Playing bass guitars can be as simple as playing the root note of each chord, or to make it more interesting you can by playing the root and fifth note in the cord, or what is referred to as a walking bass. The great thing about playing bass is that it is up to you and your skill level what you play.
There’s nothing wrong with the sound of electric guitars if your going to play good old rock and roll, however there are times when acoustic guitars are better suited for songs.
The soft tones that are achieved from acoustic guitars make them a must to own of you’re a serious guitarist. A few songs that come to my mind that are made just for acoustic guitars are “Annie’s Song” by John Denver, and “I’ll Have To Say I Love You In A Song” by Jim Croce. I urge you to look up these songs and try to imagine them being played with a solid body electric guitar, you can’t do it. The same can be said for a song like “Smoke On The Water” by Deep Purple, can you imagine what this song would sound like being played on an acoustic guitar, I don’t think so.
There is a place in music for both electric guitars, and acoustic guitars, some songs can be played on either one, while others are meant to be played on one or the other.