Guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument which is played with the fingers or a plectrum. Most guitars have six strings, however there many guitarists who play guitars with four, seven and twelve strings.
The guitar's ability to play both chords and melodies make it a versatile instrument. The guitar can be found in many contemporary and classical styles of music such as: blues, rock, jazz, country, flamenco and romantic styles.
Types of Guitar
Guitars can be classified as being acoustic or electric. Acoustic guitars are usually made of wood, and produce sound based on the acoustics which resonate through the chamber of the guitar. These guitars can be used in a live performance without amplification due to the resonance and volume the guitar chamber is capable of producing.
Electric guitars are also made out of wood but are usually not crafted in a hollow-body structure to allow the strings to resonate into the chamber. These guitars usually have electromagnetic pickups installed which are led to an amplifier to produce the sound being played.
Tuning
There are many tunings used for the guitar around the world. There is however, a tuning commonly known as "standard tuning", being (low to high) E A D G B E. This tuning has been considered as the standard since the late 18th century[1]. There are alternate tunings commonly used, such as drop-D tuning, open-C tuning and open-G tuning. The tuning of the guitar can have a noticeable effect on the timbrel quality of the notes produced.
In standard tuning, the guitar has a usual range of four octaves, ranging from E3 to around E7 (on a 24-fret guitar). This standard range can be broadened by using basic guitar techniques such as bending a note to raise its pitch, or by using a whammy-bar on an electric guitar to lower its pitch.
