Posts Tagged ‘acoustic guitars’
Setting the Stage
For the last 15 years I’ve worked in customer service for the phone company-by day at least. But my true passion is music. And although I’ve conceded the fact that I will never achieve mainstream notoriety, I enjoy playing small shows at local coffeehouses, open mics and farmer’s markets.
My music centers on acoustic gallagher guitars and subtle keyboard backing, with an overarching minimalist theme. Since there is a serene, tranquil quality to my music, I like to have a small stage show to enhance the effect. I always set up a couple of glass incense burners before the show and have a couple of muted stage lights that I utilize during my nighttime gigs.
The term steel guitar refers both to a type of guitar and a method of playing guitar. Steel guitars are held horizontally with strings facing up towards the player, who in turn uses a slide called “steel” above the fingerboard. In other words, the player’s fingers don’t pluck or fret the strings. Any guitar can be played in this manner, though guitars specifically built for steel guitar playing produce the best sound.
Steel guitar was popularized in Hawaii during the 19th and 20th centuries. During the 1950s and 60s the steel guitar enjoyed immense popularity. Due to its origins, the steel guitar is sometimes referred to as a Hawaiian guitar or Hawaiian steel guitar; however, in Hawaii the term Hawaiian guitar refers to a slack string guitar. It is thought that the design of the bottleneck guitar may have been inspired by steel guitar technique.
I think at one point or another, we’ve all thought about learning to play the guitar. But no matter who you are, when you start playing the guitar you’re terrible, and it takes a lot of time, dedication, and practice to get better. When I was about 13, I told my parents I wanted to learn how to play the acoustic guitar, and of course they gave me that sort of parental sideways glance. I knew acoustic guitars weren’t cheap, nor were the lessons, and since I hadn’t played before, there was no guarantee I’d continue. My parents made a deal with me; they said they’d pay for half of the guitar if I paid for the other.
I worked for a whole summer as a part time paperboy, and earned my half of the guitar. My parents were true to their word, and covered the other half after I had thoroughly examined all of the Johnson guitars the local shop had to offer. I think that because I worked for it, the guitar was a lot more important to me. I played it all through junior high and high school, and when I was 18, a few friends of mine formed a band and played together all throughout college. While I’m not a professional musician now, it was a whole lot of fun!