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(영어 에세이) Guitar - 준서

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Jacob

Hello, my name is Jacob. My topic is the guitar.

The reason why I chose the guitar as my subject is because I like to play it and I wanted to know more in detail about the guitar. Now, I will tell you about what I have learned. The guitar is a string instrument, so it makes the sound by being plucked. There are many components to this cool instrument. The sound box is designed to get a precise sound. Next, there is the neck. It has, metal pegs at the top that helps the player tune the instrument, and the bridge keeps the strings attached in place with the help of the fret. This instrument has six strings in the order E, A, D, G, B, and E. It was originally designed as a tool for composing classical music, but since then it is used to play in various musical forms such as jazz, rock and pop.

First, I will explain the history of the guitar. During the 17th century, the guitar became popular as an instrument because it is easier to play than the lute. It was taking over the spotlight. The guitar’s specialty is that its popularity has never faded and it has become a mobile instrument.

The second “portion” of the guitar is the terminology. The first terminology is the fret, it is a small, thin, metal fragment laid on the neck. The second term is the pick. The pick is used to strum the strings to make the sound. There are three different types of picks, the thumb, finger, and flat picks. These picks are mostly made of celluloid but they can be made of metal, turtle's shell, or nylon. Flat pick sizes may vary from small, heavy, medium, or soft. The flat pick is normally held by using the thumb and forefinger. The thumb pick is used by putting the thumb into a ring like shape. It looks transparent, and is used to make powerful sounds.

The finger is used like the thumb pick but in this case it used as two picks, on the forefinger and the middle finger.

Next is the position mark.

If you look at the frets on the neck, there are marks on the 3,5,7,9, and 12 spots. It refers to a pattern in the design. The marks are supposed to help the musician to reach the higher pitches faster. The fourth term is the stroke and arpeggios. Stroke is the movement that the hand makes with the pick to make the sound. This is also called the Strum Style. Arpeggio is the plucking of the strings with the finger pick or just the finger itself. Arpeggio is mainly used in orchestra form, and this is called the Finger Style. Finally, the last term is, mute. It helps block a string or more from making a sound while strumming.

The third is the structure of the guitar. The large structures are the head, neck, and body. The head, has pegs, the pegs helps hold the strings in place. The tighter the strings, higher the pitch, looser the strings, lower the pitch. The neck has six nuts so that the strings do not touch the fingerboard as well as making the strings parallel to each other. The fret is used to change the pitches of the sound for the musician. The body has the sound box, a sound hole. The pick guard is attached to the bottom of the sound hole to prevent the guitar from scratching. There are six bridges and bridge pins that hold the strings in place.

Finally, how to play. Normally, the musician holds the neck with the left hand and strums with the right hand. However, it is not necessary to use these positions. Left-handed people have the disadvantage with the price and items that come with the guitar since left handed guitars are pretty rare. This is one of the reasons why most left handed guitarists use right handed guitars. But on the bright side, they can adapt to it quickly.

On occasion when the sound is weird, for instance, grabbing a C and strumming the strings, the sound will come out “not right”. There are three reasons on why this may occur. The first reason on why the chord might not sound right is because you are not holding down on the strings precisely. Second, it might be that you are not holding the stings down on the fingerboard enough. If you consciously hold the string with the middle part of your finger, the sound may come out right. It would be also easier to hold the string down closer to the fret for the right amount of pressure. No matter how hard you hold the string down it will not matter and will give you more pain, unless you press the string down closer to the fret. A tip on how not to hold down the unnecessary strings is to hold your finger upright in a 90 degree angle. You will want to give up because your fingers will be in pain and it will not do what you want it to do. Everyone goes through this, but if you keep playing through the pain, it will get better and the skin on your finger will get hard. It is normal for your fingers to not follow what you want them to do, but after a week it will find it’s own place naturally. There is no one in this world who could strum a C chord right on the spot for their first time. After you play for a while and get the hang of it, you will want to play, practice, and learn more. I hope you try the guitar once in your life.