| The guitar (violao) is a musical | | | | guitars (include the flat top or `folk` |
| instrument that utilizes strings to | | | | guitar); Twelve string guitars; Arch-top |
| produce sound. Usually, guitar is made | | | | guitars; Renaissance or Baroque guitars; |
| with six strings, but four, seven, | | | | Resonator, resophonic or Dobro guitars; |
| eight, ten and twelve string guitars are | | | | Russian guitars; Acoustic bass guitars; |
| not rare. | | | | Tenor guitars; Harp guitars; Extended |
| Guitar (violao) is considered as an | | | | range guitars; Guitar battente. |
| instrument in many forms of music like | | | | Electric guitars: Electric guitar bodies |
| blues, country, flamenco, rock and even | | | | are solid, semi-hollow or hollow. The |
| pop. Acoustically playing, the guitar | | | | sound produced is little and low without |
| involves production of the tone by | | | | amplification. An amplifier forms an |
| vibration of the string and modulation | | | | integral part of electric guitars. |
| by the hollow body. Electronic | | | | Vibrations of steel strings converted |
| manipulation can also be done on the | | | | into electric signals by electromagnetic |
| tone using an amplifier. | | | | pick-ups are fed in to an amplifier |
| Combinations of various woods, with | | | | using a cable or radio transmitter. The |
| either nylon or steel strings are used | | | | sound is often modified either using |
| for the construction of guitars. The | | | | electronic devices or through distortion |
| person who makes and repairs string | | | | of valves naturally. The pick-ups here |
| instruments like guitar is called a | | | | are of two types: single line or double |
| luthier. | | | | line, each can be either active or |
| History and development of string | | | | passive. Electric guitar sound is most |
| instruments similar to guitar (violao) | | | | commonly used in jazz, rock-n-roll and |
| can be traced back to at least 5,000 | | | | blues style of music. |
| years. In those days, when synthetic | | | | Construction of the guitar (violao) is |
| material was not available for making | | | | based on whether the player is |
| guitars, a guitar was defined as `a | | | | left-handed or right-handed. Usually, |
| long, fretted neck, flat wooden | | | | players use their dominant hand to pluck |
| soundboard, ribs, and a flat back | | | | the strings. For most of the people, it |
| instrument, most often with incurved | | | | is the right hand. The other hand of the |
| sides`. | | | | player is on the frets for depressing |
| There are two major types of guitars: | | | | and gripping guitar strings. |
| Acoustic guitar (violao): A soundboard | | | | The various major guitar components |
| (present in the front of the guitar body | | | | include: headstock, nut, fretboard, |
| in the form of a piece of wood) is used | | | | frets, truss rod, inlays, neck, heel or |
| to produce the sound from this kind of | | | | neck joint, strings, guitar body and |
| guitars. No external arrangement or | | | | pickups. |
| device is needed to produce sound. This | | | | There are certain accessories that might |
| makes the acoustic guitar quieter than | | | | be helpful while playing a guitar |
| other commonly found band or orchestra | | | | (violao). Accessories like: Plectrum - |
| instruments and often an external | | | | also called the guitar pick, is used for |
| amplifier is used to make the guitar | | | | picking the strings. It is made of a |
| sound audible and to match the sound of | | | | plastic like hard material; Slides - |
| other band instruments. The latest range | | | | used for creating glissando effect in |
| of acoustic guitars come with a host of | | | | blues and rock genre of music. Neck of a |
| pick-ups for amplifying and modifying | | | | bottle, knife blade or round metal bar, |
| the raw guitar sound. | | | | any of these can be used as a slide; |
| Within the acoustic guitar type, the | | | | Copatasto - it is used for changing |
| sub-categories include: Classical | | | | pitch of open strings. |
| guitars; Flamenco guitars; Steel string | | | | |