ELECTRIC GUITAR

ONCE UPON A TIME...

The date when the ELECTRIC GUITAR first appeared is a little uncertain, although it is known that the inventor of the first “pick-up” (a kind of microphone that captures or “picks up” the vibrations of a metal string) was a certain Mr. Lloyd Loard, who, in 1920, was working for a large American guitar factory. The Americans were undoubtedly the great pioneers of ELECTRIC GUITARS. However, to make a sound, an Electric Guitar needs to be connected to an amplifier, and it is this apparatus that makes it possible to amplify the sound of the strings, i.e. the sound which is captured by the pick-up. ELECTRIC GUITARS may have several pick-ups, which give the instrument a variety of different tones. There are also other pieces of equipment that the musician can place between the ELECTRIC GUITAR and the amplifier, in order to produce such effects as echo, distortion, etc...

MATERIAL NEEDED

A cardboard box, a wooden board measuring roughly 60 cm long, two screw-in hooks, some wire, a round plastic tube (5 cm of an old pen), some nylon thread for the strings, some nails and a piece of wood (10 x 3 x 1 cm.).

TOOLS AND ACCESSORIES

A saw, a pair of scissors, a hammer, a pair of pliers, some sandpaper (Nº. 150) and some felt-tip pens.

HOW TO MAKE THE INSTRUMENT

Find a shallow cardboard box and cut a hole in it with the scissors that is just big enough for the wooden board (the neck of your guitar) to pass through. This board must pass through the box from one side too the other and must then be nailed in place, At the top of the neck (known as the head), screw in the two hooks (the tuning pegs). Nail the 10 cm board (the bridge) onto the cardboard box. It’s only possible to nail it there because you’ve got the other board underneath. Finally, place the strings in position. At one end you should fasten them to the bridge and at the other end to the tuning pegs. As the strings need two support points to give them a nice clear sound, you have to fasten them to a wire wrapped around the neck (in guitars, this piece is usually made of bone or plastic and is known as the nut or headnut).

DECORATION

Look carefully at the different models of Electric Guitars played by your favorite groups and find a decoration that’s suited to your taste.

HOW TO PLAY THE INSTRUMENT

Have you ever heard of miming? There are lots of musicians that you can see on television, who seem to be playing but aren’t. What they’re doing is pretending to play when really they’re only miming. Find a group of friends and you too can do some miming with your ELECTRIC GUITAR.