Guitar Geography- A Fretboard Map!

Source

I found this map of the fretboard made especially for left- handed people which I think is really useful so I thought I'd post it in my blog. It shows you where all the strings are and where each note is placed- guitar geography (haha).

Now that I'm progressing in my lessons and everything, I find the main problem I have besides learning to switch chords and place my fingers properly is reading frets. Because I'm left- handed, it's harder to apply what I'm reading to my hands, I have to think more. Jimi Hendrix must have had SO much difficulty reading stuff...

The origins of the guitar

I've begun learning chords in my guitar lesson and,while I was practising some Spanish- sounding chords, I began to wonder where the guitar came from and if it was of Spanish origins. I decided it would be interesting to research the origins of the guitar and how it came to look and sound the way it does. It was really interesting reading where it came from and how it has changed in look and sound over time.

The guitar originated in Spain. It is believed to have come from Malaga. The first guitars were very small, and were originally strung with four pair of strings. Although the guitar was around during the Renaissance, it was not as popular or respected as the lute. It was also strung very differently to modern guitar.

A Baroque guitar

Throughout the Baroque period, more and more music was written for the guitar. This continued into the Classical period and it began to gain more respect as an instrument. A musician called Tarrega started the tradition of playing using your fingernails, which is still practised by classical players of the guitar today.
However at the end of the 19th century guitar had become unpopular again.
Until then, the guitar itself had been small and narrow. Antonio de Torres (1817 - 1892) worked with the design and construction of the guitar, making it bigger and improving the sound. He is considered to be behind the modern guitar.

Nylon strings were a big improvement over gut strings and replaced gut in 1946.

Old gut strings

Left- Handed guitar

Picked up my guitar yesterday... had to have it strung left- handed so it took a while longer. I'm so happy with it though- brought it to my lesson yesterday. The light steel strings are pretty tough and it could have been better strung but otherwise it's perfect =] For the start, anyway.
The weird thing is though, I can play a good few chords right handed already, stuff I've learnt off jamming with other people but I always told myself if I took it up I'd learn it left- handed because it's different. And easier because I write with my left hand, obviously.

Jimi Hendrix played a right-handed Fender Stratocaster upside-down and left-handed. And he still managed to become on of the greatest guitarists of all time. Kurt Cobain was also left handed but used a specially strung guitar, like what I'm doing. So, to all the people that told me I'm just causing myself problems learning it differently, look at all the musicians out there that made it. Maybe Hendrix wouldn't have been as great as he was if he'd just learnt guitar like everything else. It's the music that matters.

My Blog

Hey..

I'm fifteen and have just taken up guitar. I've wanted to take it up for a long time and thought I'd write about how it goes or whatever..



I already play piano and flute so I can read sheet music. This is pretty much useless with guitar though as most people choose to read from tabs which is like basically chords and is read differently. It's like not knowing anything at all and starting at the beginning all over again.



Since this is for geography class I'll probably do some research on where the guitar comes from and how it originated as well as looking at the type of music the guitar was originally created to play. It has evolved to become a universal instrument famed for it's prime involvement in popular music and modern and classic rock as well as the majority of modern genres. It is such an important instrument and, for me, I think it is one of the most important instruments to learn after the piano if you want to write and play music.



As well as this I'll probably post links and pictures that will help anyone else learning or interesting stuff I've learnt.. xD

Got my guitar yesterday.. a basic black Westwood guitar.. so am hopefully on the way =]



Larissa x