Guitars
Kathryn Mangan
History
Acoustic Guitar
Electric Guitar
Bass Guitar
Types
Acoustic
Electric
One of the most iconic symbols representing the rock genre is an electric guitar. Not many people might know the true beginnings of the electric guitar, “Inventor and musician George Beauchamp, who played Hawaiian music in Los Angeles, is said to have created the first crude electric guitar on his dining room table,” (Joyce 1). Adolph Rickenbacker and George Beauchamp made the first electric guitar in 1931, revolutionizing the way the guitar was used in bands (Joyce 1). George Beauchamp wanted to create a louder guitar, and this notion was the main reason the electric guitar was created according to the Lemelson Center (1). The amplifying of the sound from the guitar launched an era of music where the electric guitar was in the lime light.
Bass
The electric bass guitar is widely known as a product from the electric guitar, but it also has its own history. The bass is set apart from the electric guitar because it generally only has four strings and instead of using a pick to pluck the strings you generally use your fingers. The biggest use for the bass is “to provide the low-pitched bassline(s) and bass runs in popular music and jazz,” (Krinock 1). The earliest of the bass guitar was created in the 1930s by Paul Tutmarc, but the first mass-produced electric bass was created by the widely known Leo Fender (Krinock 1). Another big name leader in making bass’ was Gibson who released a violin-shaped bass in 1953 (Krinock 1). Basses are a lot like electric guitars; they have pick-ups which project the sound through the amplifier. Basses also added to the image of the rock and roll bands just like the electric guitar did.
Works Cited
Guy, Paul. "A Brief History of the Guitar." A Brief History of the Guitar. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.
"Types of Guitars." Types of Guitars - Regina Classical Guitar Society. Regina Classical Guitar Society, n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.
Nave, R. "Acoustic Guitar." Sound. HyperPhysics, n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2013.
Joyce, Christopher. "The Electric Guitar." NPR.org. National Public Radio, 12 Aug. 2002. Web. 4 Nov. 2013.
"The Invention of the Electric Guitar." The Lemelson Center. Smithsonian, n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2013.
Krinock, Joseph. "History of the Bass Guitar." The Bass Guitar. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Nov. 2013.