The guitar, most likely, due to its accessibility, has long become the most popular instrument in the world. And this is not surprising. With it you can easily play music anywhere, in the yard, in the company of friends, in the apartment. You can take it on a hike and spend pleasant evenings by the fire. She can even melt a fire! Joke!
History
Without delving deeply into the history of the creation of the guitar, we note that this is a fairly ancient instrument. The countries of the Near and Middle East are considered to be her homeland. Mention of the first instrument, similar in shape to a guitar, is found in ancient architectural monuments, and it was called obslu. A modern guitar, of course, is very different from nablu and many other ancient instruments that have at least some similarities with a guitar.
Design Features
At the heart of the design of any guitar are the same parts. This is the neck, body, strings and pegs, with which the instrument is tuned. They have different shapes, colors, but the principle is always the same. Jerking the strings, you make a sound. As a rule, the sound is produced by the guitar deck (body). And here we already find the first differences. Cases are acoustic, semi-acoustic and fully enclosed, which is also called the "board".
With an acoustic case, everything is quite simple. You play, and depending on how you play, certain sounds come from the opening of the acoustic guitar case. But the semi-acoustic and the more so “board” require a different approach. Despite the fact that semi-acoustics are generally similar to acoustics, there is a significant difference. In it you will not find the so-called outlet, openings on the top deck of an acoustic guitar, located close to the fretboard. This hole carries a large functional load.
It is from it that the sound transmitted by the strings to the body and enriched with overtones comes out. Therefore, in order to achieve a pleasant and loud sound on semi-acoustic guitars, pickups are placed that take off the electromagnetic vibrations of the strings and transmit them to the amplification equipment. And these are signs of an electric (electronic) guitar. It will be discussed further.
Turn on the light
Being one of the most common and popular instruments, the guitar, despite its constructive simplicity, is today presented in many of its varieties. In the twentieth century, thanks to the development of electronics and the need to enhance the sound of guitars in orchestras, electric models appeared. Some call them electronic guitars. On the fundamental differences between the electric guitar (electronic) we will briefly describe.
This is the absence of a hollow body, instead of which there is usually a one-piece case made of one piece of wood, or one-piece. Between the bar and the lower sill (bridge) one or more magnetic pickups (sensors) are installed. And it is they who make the electronic guitar. With their help, the acoustic vibrations of strings turn into electric ones and, transmitted to sound amplifying equipment, appear before us in one form or another.
Tuning
I would like to note that tuning an electric (electronic) guitar is not only tuning the strings, which will be discussed later, but also bringing the instrument to the necessary conditions for you (tuning). And its design allows you to do it. Unlike conventional acoustic guitars, on an electric one you can change not only the deflection of the neck, but also the height of the strings above the neck, as well as its working length, called the scale. The correct tuning of the guitar often depends heavily on these parameters. Despite the fact that this process is available to anyone, you can contact the wizard for the first time.
Why doesn't the guitar build
So, with the help of the master, you brought your favorite to mind, tuned the strings and became the happiest person! For a while. After some time, or even on the same day, you hear not quite auspicious sounds after the extracted chord, and the melody that you only played on different strings suddenly began to fake. And this is not surprising, because the strings tend to stretch, stretch, and as a result not to build. This happens for a variety of reasons. From novelty, from the manner of the game, from temperature, etc. But do not be scared. Do you know how to tune a guitar? No? Then read on.
Unforgettable old
So how to make the guitar rejoice again if you have just started communicating with this beauty? There are many ways, and we will start with the old, proven for centuries. We pinch the second string with our finger on the fifth fret (frets are such metal inserts on the fretboard) and we alternately pull it and the empty first string. If you hear a difference in sounds, then proceed with tuning. Twist the spike of the corresponding string in one direction or another. Carefully so that, first of all, you don’t pull and break the string. If the second string sounds higher (thinner) than the first, the string must be released, if lower - pulled. And so achieve the same sound. We perform similar procedures with all strings. 2-3, 3-4, 4-5, 5-6. Only, tuning the third string, it is necessary to clamp it not on the fifth, but on the fourth fret. If your hearing is able to distinguish between the subtleties of sound, and the guitar is well- tuned technically, then you can very well count on excellent tuning. You can recall another "grandfather" method - a wind tuning fork. If you have it or you found it with someone, then by blowing certain notes and performing manipulations with the choppers, you can also achieve an acceptable result.
Electronics to life
But what if your hearing from habit is not able to distinguish sounds to the right extent? Setting up an electronic guitar by ear is not easy for a beginner. But don’t be discouraged or run to friends or a neighbor every time or pay a master for it. Modern realities are such that, having bought the appropriate devices, having read the instructions, everyone is able to become a master of tuning an electric guitar. And one of them is called an electronic tuner for tuning the guitar. As a rule, this is a fairly simple device that is attached to the head of the neck using clothespins. In some cases, you don’t even need to press any buttons, the device will turn on itself. The display will light on the screen, which has a certain scale, and the arrow. Since the device is electronic, the arrow in it is also not an ordinary mechanical one, but a light one. Usually this is a strip that moves on a scale in one direction or another.
If the device is monochrome, then its color in most cases is green. If color, then different colors will signal to you the degree of compliance. So, having clipped the device, we proceed to the electronic tuning of the guitar. And here everything is simple. Relying on the principles of manipulations with chunks described earlier, we achieve the desired indication, which replaces our hearing. In the vast majority of cases, the center of the scale serves for this. If the luminous arrow in the middle, you have achieved the goal! In addition, a color indication comes to the aid of the tuner. For example, if you fine-tune the color, it changes (it was red — it turned green, or it was green — it turned bright green).
And another important addition, especially for beginners, are the letters! These are Latin letters for notes. C - to, D - re, E - mi, F - fa, G - salt, A - la, and B - si. Sometimes a C note is written as N. A letter hint will help you choose the right direction for tuning. Often, beginners twist the chopping rings randomly and, even with an electronic guitar tuner, are far from the goal. At best, it’s a frustrated guitar, at worst, torn strings and nerves.
Gadgets
With the penetration of computers and gadgets into our lives, a lot of software has appeared to facilitate our tuning of electronic guitars. This and the above tuners on the screens of your smartphones and PCs. As well as an electronic tuning fork for tuning the guitar. The principle of operation of the latter is extremely simple. Especially when you consider that the main thing for the configuration we have discussed above (where to twist and how).
So, starting the program, select the button corresponding to the selected string, press and adjust the string in unison (the same way) with the sound that appears in the program. Having done this with six strings, we get the desired result. I hope you fully figured out how to tune an electronic guitar using a tuner and other useful stuff. Play and don't be upset! After all, you can still customize!