Types of Acoustic Guitars
Here’s step one on learning to play an acoustic guitar, know the different kinds of acoustic guitars.
Generally speaking there are two basic types of acoustic guitars available today: folk guitars and classical guitars. Folk guitars have steel strings, while classical guitars have nylon strings. The difference in string material causes an immense difference in sound. The style of playing is usually different as well: classical guitar is usually considered more of a “fine art” than folk guitar; folk guitars are more likely to be used in rock music and you will know the difference in the sound the moment you hear it. Eric Clapton plays both types of guitar on his performance on MTV Unplugged, but he does this to get different sounds rather than because he is playing different styles.
The sizes of the guitar bodies are usually different, with classical guitars being smaller. Folk guitars are usually manufactured in the popular “Dreadnought” size and are the typical guitars you see in pictures and videos, but other sizes are available. Folk guitars are also braced more strongly because the steel strings create greater tension than nylon strings.
which acoustic guitar should you learn on?
I started with a folk guitar and i do suggest you start with one too.
jason davis on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 3:14 am
nice, i personally own a folk guitar and have always preferred the sound of steel strings over nylon, its so much better..
clapton fan on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 3:15 am
clapton plays both in unplugged? damn i gotta check that out again, its been years since i watched that
goguitar on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 3:16 am
didnt know there was such a thing as a classical guitar, perhaps you could put pictures for us to see the difference?
musiq on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 3:17 am
i dont like the feel of the nylon strings.. steel is definitely the way to go, but the fingers take a bit of a pounding..
jay on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 3:25 am
hey clapton fan,
such a big fan and you missed that he was using two different kinds of guitars?
clapton fan on Thu, 4th Sep 2008 3:25 am
How to Play the Acoustic Guitar | Learn Acoustic Guitar on Wed, 28th Jan 2009 4:18 pm
[...] #1: Types of Acoustic Guitar #2: Parts of an Acoustic Guitar #3: Notes on the guitar #4: Tuning your guitar #5: Styles of picking #6: The Slide #7: The Hammer On #8: The Pull-Off #9: The Bend [...]