Guitar History

There's two less lonely people in the world when Russell Hitchcock finally found a soulmate in Graham Russell. Oh no, they're not middle age gay couples! They're the musical duo behind the soft ballads of Air Supply. I know, for the past years they've vanished into thin air, but I still find their melodies kinda sweet. I'm not actually a fan of the group, but come on, admit it, there's a hopeless romantic thriving in us all. When you're alone, I bet you'll feel the same drama of finding and losing love while wallowing in the lyrics of their melodies.

It was back in the 80s when two Russells, Russell Hitchcock and Graham Russell, started making beautiful music together. Back-ups did come and go, but this musical duo was tougher than marriage. They've stuck it out through fame and defeat while invading the American music industry. Actually, they first met in "Jesus Christ Superstar" in 1986 and started a band called Air Supply. But thanks to Rod Stewart, they made a stunning international breakthrough after playing the front act for Stewart's North American Tour. The Australian music legend, Air Supply, made a debut on airwaves when they signed a record deal for Arista in 1980.

Their first album, "Lost in Love," was a sold-out in 1980. Air Supply zoomed to fame with 2 million copies of their album sold. "Lost in Love," "All Out of Love," and "Every Woman in the World" hit the charts and knocked every romantic soul helpless with their tear-jerking melody. My personal favorites were "Here I Am" and "Sweet Dreams," which are included in their second album. There were considered guitar chart classics, especially before, when I used to look like Cat Stevens and played like Santana. Unfortunately, sooner than expected, the duo lost the spotlight. The duo disbanded and reunited, but didn't make a sucessful comeback.

There's a raging drama within us all and what better way to express this growing cynicism of teenage angst but to rebel with the music of Guns 'N Roses. I'm sure you haven't erased the image of Axl Rose on your nostalgic minds, in his tight-ass leather spandex and trashy black shirts. Classic,huh? And don't you forget about Slash. He's the hot puff of curly black hair who plays the electric guitar like a music god. Pot anyone? Just kidding! But they are true blue rock star icons of the early 90's. They're the Beatles of the modern rock 'n roll jam. Babes went gaga over them while guys tried too hard to fit into those tight pants, pouting a cigarette and fiddling an electric guitar on the other. Sad to say, bandwagons are not meant to stay forever. They dominated for a while and disappeared when it's already time. Out with the old and in with the new. Yet one thing remains, their music will continue to blast on our airwaves.

Melting two bands into one heavy metal jam, Guns 'N Roses got its name from Hollywood Rose and LA Guns. One lousy day in LA back in March, 1985, a group of rock musicians was born with Axl Rose on lead vocals, Tracii Guns and Izzy Stradlin on guitars, Ole Beich on base, and Rob Gardner on drums. It was after Gardner and Guns couldn't make it to a gig in Seattle that Slash and drummer Steven Adler joined Guns 'N Roses on their stage performance. And the Guns 'N Roses soon strummed their way to fame. Their first signature song was "Welcome to the Jungle" followed by their first album, Appetite for Destruction. One debut success ensued another before they made a world-breaking record of 90 million album sales worldwide. They're hailed as charismatic leaders of the hard rock genre. When you see GNR perform on stage, man, they'll rock your souls out. They're a perfect ensemble of attitude and style.

Although Guns N' Roses helped introduce a new brand of music style, stardom had gone to their heads. Their clashing personalities, drug and alcohol abuse couldn't stop them from breaking apart. In the end, Axl Rose was left with no one but as the sole member of GNR. These guys may be crazy, but crazy people are genius. We may be obnoxious of Axl Rose's hip hop grooves and plastic surgeries but no matter what they say, GNR rules! They played like hell during their time and they'll forever be reminiscent of a new-age heavy metal drama we once enjoyed.

As a man, whose meager earning can't even assure his son of a college education, the least I could do is to leave him my passion for music and guitars. I was beginning to think that I'm a failure as a father when I barged into my son's room. It was banging and ripping my ear off with Eminem rapping like hell on his radio. Then I thought, is that what they call music?! You just curse in rhyme and beat and you're entitled to a music slam?! I thought of my good old days. Music was tender and smooth then. There were lovely melodies and sweet lyrics. So I decided to introduce my boy to The Cascades, hoping it will give a little cheer to his ripped off ears.

Kids will even date it back to the dinosaur stage. The Cascades, I know they're aging in webs. I even remember my dad who used to play their songs in a disc as huge as a frisbee. The first tune I learned was Rhythm of the Rain. It was easy to play and it's even soothing to your soul. It's a classic for beginners who's itching to play a tune with their guitars. So I asked my son to learn the guitar tabs of the song or I'll confiscate his audio system. At first he was squirming but later on, it was smooth playing. He may not admit it, but I know he liked it. I may not be able to turn Eminem off his music jive, but at least I was able to share a classic of pure melody and beat.

Even before The Beatles, some bands also knew how to rock 'n roll. No one knew that a spectacular band will be formed in a Navy ship. John Gummoe, with a flair for song writing and performing, joined with other friends to form a band. At first, they were singing The Everly Brothers rendition. But after their stint in the Navy, changes were made for the band called The Cascades. In 1962, they recorded Gummoe's composition Rhythm of the Rain. It became their ultimate bid to stardom hitting the top ten charts and topping the charts in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Japan. They also released other records on the track before Gummoe left the group for a solo career. The band and Gummoe may be broken apart, but their songs will always be a number one pick for those who knew music and artistry.

Learning how to play a guitar is never easy. If you're not patient enough, then you will probably stop and will never try it again. But if you're determined and you really love music, then you can endure all the hardships of learning. As I can remember, I was nine years old when I was playing one of the hit songs of The Beetles entitled "In My Life." This is the first song that I have learned, not the usual "Happy Birthday." It's my Dad's favorite song, actually. I started learning to play a guitar at a very young age. I was so amazed and very engrossed about it because I really love music from the start.

At first, I found it very hard to learn the chords of this song. I even had callus in my fingers brought about by strumming. However, it is fine with me. Who cares about callus anyway. What is important is that I would be able to learn how to play a guitar and I could play my father's favorite song. I am an adult already but the memories of learning how to play that song using the guitar is still fresh in my mind. Up to now, whenever I play the guitar, I always play that song because it reminds me of my childhood and my struggle to learn playing the guitar.

I had my first guitar when I was five years. As far as I can remember, it was my father's birthday gift to me. Back, he always see me borrowing my brother's guitar, that is why he opted to buy me my own guitar. Happiness was definitely all over myself. It is not because it was a gift on my birthday but because it was given by my father. From that day on, I told myself that the guitar my father had given me would be given extra care. That was the reason why no one can borrow that guitar. It was a special birthday present from a someone special to my heart.

Years have passed and that guitar is still intact in my room. I have kept that pledge to him. Well, I can still use but as much as possible, I do not. Instead, I went to the town to buy a special gift wrapper. When I came back, I directly go to my room and wrapped the guitar. Guess what? On the day of the celebration for all the fathers in the world, I gave it to my father and greeted him "Happy Father's Day." Instead of accepting, he returned it back to me and said, "that's for you, my son."

I consider my dad as my first guitar mentor. I think I was five years old when a particular incident happened which for me served as the perfect anecdote of how the guitar played a big role in my relationship with my old man. It was a rainy day in August and I was crying in the porch because I couldn't play in the street with my friends. My father saw me, and he played his guitar to cheer me up. That time I have no idea about the song he played, but up to now, my dad's fingers plucking the guitar chords is still very vivid in my memory. It was the intro part of Jim Croce's classic hit, Time In A Bottle.

The song hit the charts during the early part of the 1970s. Jim Croce was recognized by music fans as a genius guitar man. After injuring his right index finger, Croce forced himself to developed a new method of fingerpicking using only four fingers. Unfortunately, his career ended tragically in a plane crash in 1973. Later as a teenager I learned what Time In A Bottle means through its lyrics. Time flies so fast and it seems to be unable to capture every happy moment. We all fantasize about saving time in a bottle so that we can cherish every minute of our lives. We need more time to appreciate the things around us. I will forever remember my father through the lesson of this timeless song.

Chester Burton Atkins known popularly as Chet Atkins was an influential guitarist and record producer. He was known for his virtuouso picking-style. This style also attracted him more admirers from the US and from other parts of the world. This amazing man also created together with Owen Bradley the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country music's appeal to include adult pop music fans as well.

Atkins a native of Luttrell, Tennessee grew up with his mother, two brothers and a sister. He was a sensitive youth who made music as his obsession. While he was in high school, Atkins become an accomplished guitarist. What is amazing about him is the fact that he learned playing the guitar by himself. Later, he was honored as a "Certified Guitar Player." He had a half-brother named Jim, who is also a successful guitarist whose working with Les Paul Trio in New York. Chet received several awards which include eleven Grammy Awards and nine Country Music Association Instrumentalist of the Year awards. He died on June 30, 2001 in Nashville. He was once quoted "Years from now, after I'm gone, someone will listen to what I've done and know I was here. They may not know or care who I was, but they'll hear my guitars speaking for me." Truly, Chet Atkins is man of art, a man of guitar.

It's official. I read in the paper last week that Seattle is actually going to give in to public insistence and give Jimi Hendrix the honor he deserves. After all, it was Hendrix that put them in the music map. According to the news, they're naming a park after the guitar legend, right there in Central District. I think that just like all those Biblical prophets, Hendrix was not given his dues when he was still alive. It is his iconic status now in the present that pushed Seattle to pay him the respect which I think is overdue by more than three decades.

Hendrix also made history even if he's not around anymore. I think he is one of the foremost musical influences of today's breed of guitarists. A truly excellent and influential guitar player deserves a holiday in my opinion. Seattle did just that by proclaiming November 27 as Hendrix's Day in honor of the late guitarist. Hendrix is probably the only guitarist of this day and age to receive such accolade. Although as most fans feel, I think it would have been better if Hendrix was still around to enjoy it. But on second thought, maybe it's better this way -- that he passed away a legend rather than being corrupted by dime a dozen musicians who make listening to Hendrix's records on MP3 music gizmos much better than live music.

As what Chris Martin said in Coldplay's Glastonbury concert in 2005, Slash is the greatest guitar player besides his Coldplay guitar player, Jonny Buckland. I strongly attest to what frontman Chris Martin said. Slash is the quintessential guitar player of our generation. He plays damn good guitar music and he can stand alone by doing so.

Unlike Carlos Santana, guitar player Slash plays hard core strumming, but he still plays on the blues side of music. It may seem that Slash is all about the noise and the heavy bass to some. But for the true-blue guitar fans, Slash is by far, the best of his kind. He plays guitar solos like no other. My favorite "Slash song" would have to be "Sweet Child of Mine". He really blew my ears and brains out with that one. Of course, the rest of the Guns N' Roses band members were not so bad themselves.

Slash is inspired by the unique music of classic rock bands like Led Zeppelin, Van Halen, and The Rolling Stones. Get this, out of all the other ex Guns N' Roses members, Slash remains to be the most famous and the most enduring popular rocker dude around. No one has ever come close to how Slash plays the damn guitar. He is truly the greatest guitar player of our times.

The seventeenth century was the period wherein guitars underwent numerous changes. Makers of such instrument took time in developing unusual models of the stringed instrument. The beautiful, yet peculiar sound guitar make urged musicians to experiment and find out the effects certain changes such as modifying the number of strings or the length of the guitar itself have on the sound produced by the instrument.

However, during the early nineteenth century, an unusual looking guitar was created by Jean Salomon. He called his invention the harpolyre or the harp guitar. The instrument is a combination of a six, a seven, and an eight-stringed guitar in one. It is very complicated to use just like a harp.

Each neck features different pitches and produces various sound combinations. The guitar has the most number of strings and is capable of playing intricate, melodious music provided that the musician has the ability to alternately strum the twenty-one strings. Once you get to hold of the guitar, it is like having a bass guitar on the left, a standard guitar on the middle, and a harp on the right. Because of the complexity and odd appearance of the harp guitar or harpolyre, it is not widely used in performances.

The guitar is not a modern invention as what some may think it is. Did you know that the guitar is even older than Jesus Christ? That was how the guitar fit in world's history. The first guitar dates back some 4000 years ago in Babylonia, although no one is sure of its accuracy. The guitar did not look like the guitar that we have today but it did have strings and a differentiated body and neck.

During the same time a plucked instrument was used in Egypt which was more like a harp. However, it later on developed into a necked instrument with strings connected around the neck. Also, a very glaring resemblance of today’s guitar was found in a certain tomb also in Egypt. The guitar had deeper sides while the back of the instrument was completely flat and the two surfaces, back and front, were attached to each other with strips of wood that form the sides of the instrument much like our modern guitar.

The first evidence of a stringed instrument in Europe was said to date back to the third century. Although, this evidence was based merely on artworks that were collected from that period. The only real instruments discovered were from the 1700's or later. In the 18th century, guitar playing has gained ground in most European countries such as France and Germany. But it was in the 19th century that the evolution of guitar has made a tremendous impact in most societies. It was also the time when guitars became popular in the American continent.

They say people who play the guitar are "hopeless romantics," but playing guitar is fun especially if you are a music lover. It has become part of every occasion like family reunions, outings, and others. It definitely adds to the excitement of the gathering. Perhaps that is the reason why many people are now going to the shops to buy their own guitars. Before you run to the store and grab one, you need to determine what type of guitar you want to buy and your choice will depend on where you want to use it. Guitars are classified into three; the classical guitar, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar.
The first type is also known as the Spanish guitar. This is the topmost popular of all types of guitar because it is very simple and easy to play. It has nylon strings which are perfect for strumming or plucking and is usually used in Latin and old music accompaniment.

Next is the acoustic guitar which sometimes looks like the latter. Although both do not use amplifiers, this guitar is different. The acoustic guitar has steel strings and is used when playing pop music. Lastly is the electric guitar. This guitar also has steel strings but it uses amplifier to produce a sound. Often, this is used by rock music players for it provides different sounds with the help of an amplifier.

Ukulele is a fretted string instrument which is, in its construction, essentially a smaller, four-stringed version of the guitar. Associated with music from the Hawaiian islands, the name roughly translates as "jumping flea" and was developed there in the 80's. The ukulele instrument comes in four sizes.

The smallest is soprano (the original size), next is the concert, the tenor which was created in the 1920s, and the biggest is the baritone in the 1940s. On a tenor instrument, the strings may be doubled - six strings where first and third strings are doubled or eight strings where all fourth strings are doubled with second and fourth course. The Tahitian ukulele is significantly different from other ukuleles because it does not have a sound box. The body—including the head and neck—is carved from a single piece of wood, with a wide conical hole bored through the middle. It's nice to play the ukulele during ethnic group festivals where there is singing and dancing involved.

This guitar effects pedal is just so powerful and fun to use, it's silly not to get one! The Yamaha Magic Stomp guitar effects pedal can be used for the electric or the acoustic/electric guitar, and can even have sound programs downloaded to it from your PC or the Internet.

Connected via USB to your PC or MAC, the Yamaha Magic Stomp already has 99 preset and 99 user sound programs included and can be edited by the user with any PC or MAC format. But despite all these seemingly complex processes, this is one piece of electronics that's kept simple and easy to use by any guitar lover.

The Yamaha Magic Stomp can download additional programs, patches and exclusive artist patches free of charge from the Internet. Attractively designed with brushed aluminum and plum body colors, it also has an easy to use and read LCD display, knobs for tuning and switches for activation.

"Imagination is the key to my lyrics. The rest is painted with a little science fiction." Those words are from Jimi Hendrix,one of the world's most recognized musicians. Known for his creativity, Hendrix started strumming the guitar in the 20th century. Born in 1942,this Seattle native was discovered by Chas Chandler the bass player for The Animals. Chas became Jimi's manager, and shortly thereafter Jimi formed The Experience with Noel Redding on bass and Mitch Mitchell on drums. The group released their first single, Hey Joe, in 1966. The following year, the group released their first album, Are you experienced? Jimi was a left-handed guitar player like Paul McCartney. His death became controversial as people said he was murdered, he met an accident and he committed suicide. Jimi Hendrix died on September 18 1970.

Mention the name Carlos Santana to the casual listener and he'll probably give you a blank look or remark "Oh, he's the guy who sang with that matchbox 20 guy."

As well-known as Carlos Santana is today, he is by no means some up and coming novice musician. Having over 30 years in the music business, Carlos Santana is a legend to the knowledgeable guitarist and music lover. His recordings are the stuff most guitarists would give their left and right eyeteeth for.

Having received a sort of revival with his 1999 album, Supernatural under Arista Records, Carlos Santana is again strumming his way back into the collective consciousness of modern music.

Mention the name B. B. King to any well-rounded guitarist and you'll hear nothing but praise. And you know the man deserves nothing but. His tireless touring and concert playing has contributed to his already legendary status as a master musician.

Born Riley King on September 16, 1925 in Indianola, Mississippi, the man who would become one of the greatest blues guitarists ever quit his job as a tractor driver on a cotton plantation and went straight to Memphis, where he got work as a disc jockey. Shortening his nickname, "Blues Boy" to "B. B.", his talent with a guitar would soon make him a name in the music world.

Having made over 70 records, B. B. King continues to bring his music to the people via his relentless musical tours and perennial concerts.

B. B. King is not only one of blue's greatest, but one of the musical world's greatest of all time.

No, this is not about that abomination that a certain young pop star made in 2002. Although this movie does have a young (at the time) pop star in it, this Crossroads movie is definitely better.

Crossroads was filmed in 1986, and starred the Karate Kid himself, Ralph Macchio, as Eugene "Lightning Boy" Martone, a talented young musician who meets up with Blues legend Willie Brown (Joe Seneca), who takes Eugene under his wing. Together they team up to save Willie's soul from the devil, and engage in a duel for it.

Why am I talking about an old movie in a guitar blog? Well, for starters, Crossroads features incredible guitar playing, and has the theme of how music can save souls. And an appearance by guitar legend Steve Vai as the devil's champion, Jack Butler, only sweetens the deal. His duel with Eugene (Macchio) at the climax of the movie helped usher Crossroads into cult classic status and a must-view for any guitar buff.

People often ask me about the difference between a regular guitar and the 7 or 12 string guitars. I've often wondered a little about that myself. I did some research, and now I present to you my findings:

A normal (6 string) guitar differs from a seven string guitar in the aspect of ease of play. As hard as it may be to believe, it is said that a seven string guitar is easier to learn to play than a regular six-stringed one. In electric guitars, the extra 7th string is a bass string, which allows its user to play bass.

A 12-string guitar looks similar to a 6-string one, but upon closer inspection its differences are revealed. The head reveals not six tuning screws, but twelve. The same goes for the bridge, which counts a dozen anchor points. The reasoning behind the additional six strings is to enable the player to play bass as well as rhythm guitar. Although it results in a more difficult performance, the user is usually rewarded with a richer sound as a result of the additional strings.

Not to mention the respect you gain by mastering such a beast of an instrument.