Maximize the Sound of Your Guitar

Guitar, a dynamic musical instrument, is played in almost all kind of music; be it pop music, rock music, lounge music, country music or even contemporary classical music. The modern music can`t be imaginable without guitar.





The demand of guitar in every music sphere has made it one of the most sought after musical instruments. As guitar is an expensive musical instrument, it only makes sense to take proper care so that you can continue playing it for years to come. Here are a few tips discussed in the following on how to clean this amazing musical instrument so that its longevity can be increased.





Dust is the main form of debris that is collected on the surface of guitar. Don`t let dust cover on your guitar for dust buildup that can actually affect your guitar`s performance. A very simple approach to keep your guitar clean is by regular dusting. You can wipe off your guitar with a clean and soft cloth. You can either opt for any of your old but clean cloth or you can purchase special cloths that are available in music stores.





If you are a bit fancy about your cleaning, then you can choose many products available in the market that are designed for cleaning guitars. Guitar cleaners, fancy cleaners, liquid solvent and even solutions especially meant for cleaning the fretboard of guitars are available. If your guitar has a matte finish surface, it is suggested to use a water-based guitar cleaner as the creamy polished cleaners have a tendency to be slightly abrasive.





Often sticky residues from tape or stickers are left on guitars, which are a bit tough to remove. Use only mineral spirits or any other lighter fluid such as naphtha to remove the stains on your guitar. These solvent won`t harm the finish of your guitar. You just have to damp cloth with the solvent and wipe off the tape and stickers of your guitar. It might be surprising, but if you clean and dry your hands before you start playing on your guitar, it will significantly lengthen the life of your strings.





Like cleaning, polishing is equally important. A polish from a good brand not only gives your guitar an excellent shine, it also preserves the wood of your guitar. However, you should always choose a polish that is designed specifically for guitars as any general polish might ruin the smooth finish on guitars. But be careful of covering only the major surfaces of your guitar. Areas such as bridge or tuners or even the neck region of the guitar should not be polished.





Another major area which needs regular cleaning is the fingerboard of a guitar which includes the strings and the fret wire. These areas are prone to high-temperature and humidity and also of acidity by the constant touch of the player`s hands. The lower-end manufactured guitars especially suffer from this fret buzzing problem.





Though some simple adjustments raising the string action can correct the problem for some time, but this is not a permanent solution. If the surface of the fingerboard is not much damaged, a simple application of lemon oil can prevent the wood from further cracking. It is suggested to use a piece of extra fine grade steel wool to clean the fingerboard of your guitar. Don`t wet the steel wool; just rub it in up and down motion of the fingerboard area without catching the ends. The frets will be shiny only after a few motions.





Last but not the least is how and where you store your guitar. A guitar-case is a must and it should not be stored in too humid, warm or even too cold surroundings. Also make sure it does not get bumped around. An interior closet is the best place to store guitar.

You can have access to portuguese articles about guitars from page www.polomercantil.com.br/instrumentos-musicais.php

Roberto Sedycias works as IT consultant for www.polomercantil.com.br

guitar lessons: how to play guitar

guitar lessons: guitar lessons

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Some Guitar Tips for Beginners

It's easy for your guitar playing to get stuck in a rut. It's inevitable that when you really work on a style and sound of your own you can find yourself repeating the same things over and over, eventually boring yourself with your own playing. It can be hard to break out of this feeling, and it's a major contributor to the dreaded writer's block.





The beauty of playing rock music is that the electric guitar is such an expressive instrument and can offer you so many different sounds that with a little creativity you should be able to work in something new to your playing on a weekly basis. Thinking outside the box is vital and sometimes trying something completely crazy and different with the guitar can really spur your creativity. In this article I'm going to look at a few of the tricks and strange sounds you can make with the electric guitar. While some aren't the most musical they're definitely fun to play and may even inspire you to write a new song.





Harmonics are perhaps the greatest source of unusual sounds from a guitar. Played by lightly touching the string without pushing the fret, harmonics can be twisted and bent into all kinds of new shapes to give you new sounds. Try playing harmonics around the fifth and seventh fret before pressing down on the tremolo arm. You can try pulling up or wildly shaking the bar to create some really strange sounds. A locking tremolo is a fantastic tool when manipulating harmonics as it allows some really crazy dive bombs and flutter effects.





Another way to play harmonics is to tap them. Just like playing them on open strings, a fretted note will have a harmonic 12 frets, seven frets and five frets above it. Try tapping the higher fret with your right hand to produce the harmonic. Combined with some arpeggios this can make a normally straight-foward piece come alive. Try playing tapped harmonics with heavy delay and chorus effects, it is great for giving a large, dreamy sound.





One of my favourite ways to play the guitar in a different way is to use an Ebow. Short for electronic bow, an Ebow is a handheld device that produces a magnetic field around the string, causing it to vibrate. What this gives you is infinite sustain, making your guitar sound more like a violin or a cello. Combining this sound with heavy amounts of delay and the harmonic mode on the Ebow can produce really haunting effects and is great for atmospheric playing. A similar effect can be achieved with feedback or the more modern Fernandes Sustainer pickup.





If you're still stuck for ideas and new sounds one of the most basic ways to kick-start innovation is just to try a different tuning. With my current band I tuned my guitars to a drop-C tuning, the change in sound of the guitar led me to write a whole load of songs and has really helped to carve out our sound. Tuning down can make those same boring chords suddenly seem much deeper and richer. In a similar vein using a capo can brighten up your playing and make everything seem fresh again.





Hopefully you don't get stuck being bored of your own guitar playing, but if you do just try to think outside the box a little and learn some crazy new tricks. Even if you never end up using them in a song they may spark an idea that does get used. And failing that, you can just make some cool sounds, which is what the electric guitar is all about.

Patrick is an expert Research and Travel consultant. His current interest is in Gatwick Russ Hill, Stansted Warmans Barn House and Gatwick Travelodge.

guitar lessons: learn guitar

guitar lessons: electric guitar lessons

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