History Of Electric Guitar

History Of Electric Guitar
The History of Electric Guitar - How it all Got Started!

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Curious about the history of electric guitar?

The history of electric guitar is indeed fascinating. As early as the 1800's engineers experimented with musical instruments powered by electricity. Music boxes and player pianos were all the rage then - but making an amplified instrument was not possible yet. In the 1920's electrical amplification was perfected by the radio industry and this made it possible to combine the technology with musical instrumentation.

Most important in the history of electric guitar is Lloyd Loar. Loar worked as an engineer at the Gibson Guitar Company. He developed an electric pickup for the viola and the string bass in 1924. The first guitar was advertised for sale by the Stromberg-Voisinet company in 1928. The guitar used a similar pickup to Loar's and vibrations were read from the soundboard.

What these inventors really wanted to do was amplify the guitar's sound. Unfortunately the signal was too weak to make this possible. Eventually engineers began to use a direct pickup system. Here the electromagnet picked up vibrations from the strings themselves. It was at this point in the history of electric guitar that the instrument began to resemble what we know today.

According to the history of electric guitar, the first guitar model that was a commercial success was the "Frying Pan". It was made by George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker in 1932. The guitar was an electric Hawaiian model and was strummed flat in the lap. People who played Hawaiian guitar liked it immediately. The standard or "Spanish" style electric guitar did not catch on quite as quickly.

Les Paul is an important figure in the history of electric guitar. He built a guitar by mounting the pickup on a solid block of wood. It was built on a 4-by-4 piece of pine and nicknamed "The Log." Then in 1950, Leo Fender, a former radio repairman built a mass-produced solid-body electric guitar. Gibson joined these early innovators in 1952 with their version of the solid-body guitar.

Of all the many years in the history of electric guitar it was the 1950s and 1960s that really saw the rock stars of the decade place Gibson and Paul's designs and the Fender Stratocaster design squarely into popular American culture.

Also, be sure to check out our pages about Custom Electric Guitars, Electric Guitar Kits, Electric Guitar Tabs, and Free Electric Guitar Lessons elsewhere on this site.

History Of Electric Guitar
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First and foremost, decide what level you want to be at, and how quickly. By taking guitar lessons off line and in person, you will have to play at your instructor’s pace, and they will give you guidance based on their personal style and experience. They will start you off with simple exercises, depending on your current level. (This in-person experience is helpful for some, but the pressure has a negative effect on other’s learning.) They will gradually help you improve your skills, and it typically takes weeks or even months to be able to play some songs without too much effort. Most instructors will charge about $20 - $25 per hour, so after taking lessons twice per week for a month, you’re talking about $160 - $200!
If you are looking to randomly play in your room, for friends and family, etc. then paying this much for private lessons can be unnecessary. However, if you plan on specializing in a certain area of guitar such as blues, classical or jazz, and would like to play in a band for school or with your friends, this option can be a good fit for you, provided you have the money to do so.
The other alternative is to learn to play guitar online. The Internet has literally thousands of choices for guitar lessons, so you want to figure out what learning methods are best for you. Some packages are simply eBooks (pdf books) that explain theory of guitar. Others use audio tracks to help guide you through the process while you play along with exercises, much like private lessons. Some options even include videos to show you what they’re doing and let you hear how it should sound. Lastly, there are a few software games to help you learn to play guitar online as well. All of these options are fabulous in their own right, but a combination of learning styles is vital, no matter what level you want to achieve.
As long as you purchase a package that has as many of these learning techniques as possible, learning to play guitar online has one major advantage over off line lessons: you can use them over and over, until you’re comfortable. Unlike private lessons, there will be no pressure to finish exercises within the hour, there will be no limits to your learning and having to try things on your own, only to find out when you come back for the next lesson that you were doing it the wrong way.
If you decide to learn to play guitar online, you will pay less money, and be able to fine-tune your skills by focusing on the exact exercises you want, and be able to practice them as much as you like, with no pressure, from the comfort of your own home.
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