5.1 Guitars  (Page 3/5)

There are also various hybrid electric-acoustic guitars. Some are essentially steel-string acoustic guitars that have a built-in electronic pick-up. Others are "hollow-body electric" guitars that have the neck and strings of an electric guitar, but with a body that, while not as deep as an acoustic guitar, is hollow and does provide some acoustic resonance . In hybrid instruments, the sound from both the strings and the body is amplified electronically, giving an amplified sound that still has some acoustic timbre . Hybrid instruments can be found playing folk, country, blues, jazz, pop, and rock music.

The electric bass guitar has only four strings, which are tuned an octave below the four lowest strings on a six-string guitar. The bass guitar is a standard part of rock and pop bands, and is also often used instead of the more traditional double bass in jazz and many other genres. Unlike other guitars, which play chordal accompaniments or melodies, the bass guitar generally plays the bass line . For this reason, switching to bass guitar, or doubling as a bass guitarist may be easier for a double bass player than for a guitar player.

Chordal accompaniments on the guitar

The guitar is often used as a melody instrument. The lead guitar in a rock band, for example, specializes in playing solo melodies. Classical guitar music usually includes a melody and enough accompaniment to suggest either a countermelody or a chordal accompaniment.

Many guitarists, however, specialize in playing chordal accompaniments; the rhythm guitarist in a rock band, or the typical folk guitarist are examples. Chordal accompaniments may be strummed block chords, with all the notes of the chord played together, or they may be picked arpeggios, with the notes of the chord played one or two at a time. In either case, the guitarist may choose either to use as many open strings as possible in each chord, or may instead use mostly barre chords , which have no open strings. Chords with plenty of open strings have a more resonant sound, are easier to play with the left hand, and are often favored by acoustic guitar players. Barre chords give more control over exactly when the chord stops sounding, are easier to transpose to other keys, and are often favored by electric guitar players. (Holding down all six strings on an acoustic guitar requires much more hand strength than does holding down all the strings of an electric guitar.)

The capo is a device that stretches across all of the strings, holding them down firmly. The shortening of all the strings changes the "open-string" tuning of the instrument and transposes the chords played to a new key . The capo is sometimes used simply to transpose a piece to a different key (in order to be able to sing it more easily, for example). At other times, the capo is used to make it possible to play easy, open-string-style chords in a key that generally doesn't use open strings. For example, a capo at the first fret causes the strings to sound one half step higher. A player who plays open-string-style chords with the capo (for example C - G - E minor), will be playing them in a new key (D flat - A flat - F minor).