Task 2 - The Modern Guitar
From Mod Mania
Task 2: Consumer Communities 2 - Reconfigured
Joshua Hall S3235370
A Guitar is a type of instrument used for playing or creating music. There are two main types of guitar. Acoustic and Electric. Acoustic guitars are most recognizable by their hollow main body. They are made mostly out of wood. Acoustic guitars use the air cavity in the lower body as a “natural” amplifier. This type of guitar is arguably the most popular/common. The Acoustic in its current shape has been around since roughly 1892. Before then there were more variations on dimensions, amount of strings, body size and string length. The Second type of guitar is the electric guitar. These guitars have solid lower bodies as amplification is used to produce the wanted level of sound. These guitars are made out of polycarbonates, metal, fiberglass a wide variety of materials. Electric guitars tend to stray far from the shape of the acoustic thanks to the amplifier. Almost any shape that allows for the neck of the guitar can be used; designs are only limited by the imagination. Electric guitars really took off from 1931 onwards, since then the electric guitar has enjoyed success in rock and roll, blues and jazz to name a few. This type of guitar is popular but due to the setup cost less people tend to start off with the electric.
Guitars are not ambidextrous, for example a right handed person will use a differently constructed, basically mirrored guitar as opposed to a left handed person. All guitars have the ability to tighten or loosen their strings through a series of twist mechanisms that are located at the end of the neck. These are important because they are directly linked to how the guitar will sound. The Standard number of strings for both types of guitar is 6 but there are many other variations such as 7 strings or even 12 strings. To gain the different pitches and frequencies a guitar has strings that range from thick to thin. The materials that are used to make guitars strings are also varied because of different sound properties. In some of the thicker strings they use a wood like fiber because of its lower frequency sound.
Basically anybody can pick up a guitar and play; although it does take practice to play anything worth listening to. The Guitar is popular amongst primary, secondary and adults just about anyone. I know when I was going to primary school I started playing the guitar because my parents believed it would teach me patience and discipline. So there is this group that involves children this isn’t something that is limited to adults I think people also have an attraction to this instrument because it is used in a wide range of music.
It is also very easy for new members to get involved, all that is needed is a guitar, a pick is optional and a teacher. Lessons are usually taken at the beginning to set up skills to a level that is enjoyable for the user. More specifically the groups that are based around this product are firstly Muso’s (a person into music for personal or band interest), secondly bands and thirdly to a lesser degree the people that see the bands eg crowds. Muso’s are responsible for a large portion of the Guitar purchases as they outnumber bands. Not all people that own a guitar will be in a band, but still enjoy playing. The Guitar is not used in all bands but does form the core of most whether electric or acoustic. In some cases the crowd goers would be inspired by seeing or hearing a band they like, then go out and buy a guitar and learn the songs. Therefore becoming part of this consumer group sometimes referred to as Muso’s.
Guitar can be played in many different ways and genres. This means that once again different groups are formed around these different styles. An example of this is someone that does not like acoustic music but likes rock. There are people that like both, but as a result of these different genres the main consumer group is then divided into groups specifically for that style. People that like particular genres of music sometimes seek to express or immerse themselves into this by dressing or changing their look to something that is stereotypical to that genre. This concept has been successful in creating another consumer group from a consumer group. In a sense Consumer groups have the ability to feed off each other. As mentioned previously the Guitar is capable of being played in many different genres. These genres sometimes “give birth” to new styles and forms. One of the more recent evolutions to create a sub genre is Metalcore. Metalcore is originally developed from Heavy metal and Punk; it can be defined as a fusion of hardcore punk and extreme metal. These types of genres generally rely heavily on the use of the electric Guitar. Then on the other end of the scale is the genre acoustic which is named directly after the instrument. Acoustic is more commonly associated with classical, pop, blues and rock.
Once again what started off as one consumer group can techniqually become many different groups because of the many genres and sub genres. This is the nature of most music in general, to be constantly changing. In some cases sub genres have the ability to become even more popular than genres. This is apparent when you walk down the street and see someone in a John Mayer (acoustic artist) t-shirt and then someone in a heavy metal like Bullet for Valentine. In the end this product has been successful because of the opportunity for the user to adapt or find their preferred/favorite style of music. If the user of a product constantly has the opportunity to individualize the way in which they interact with a product, then the product has a considerably broader audience to which it will appeal.
Refferenced from Bek Crawfords *Journey of the Guitar.* On Writing Machine Page
