High Classical (háy klǽsɪkəl) is a term that describes a period of European music between the late 18th century and the early-mid-19th century. These pieces of music are typically operas and symphonies, written by famous composers such as Mozart and Bach. This music is emotionally restrained, compared to the previous musical periods such as the […]

The Hollowbody Electric Guitar (holowbody) also known as the “semi-acoustic guitar”, was originally developed by Gibson in the late 1950’s. As a compromise between the fully hollow, arch topped electric guitars and the new solid bodied electrics created by Les Paul, the Semi-Acoustic is an archtop design with a much shallower depth than a standard archtop. Additionally, there is a solid sustain block of wood in the center under the top, in which the pickups, bridge, and tailpiece hardware are mounted.

The end result is a very versatile instrument which can evoke the warmth of a full archtop and then shriek with the cutting power of a solidbody guitar with a flick of a switch and tweaking of the Volume and Tone knobs. The semi-acoustic has long been the preferred instrument of many blues, jazz and rock players. In addition to Gibson, models from Epiphone, Yamaha, Ibanez, PRS and others are available for guitarists to choose according to taste.

A Humbucker, also known as the “Double Coil” Pickup, is a series of magnets that reside in the body of an electric guitar which measures the vibration of the guitar’s strings. When the guitar strings are strummed or plucked, an electro-magnetic field is created by the magnets in the guitar, which is “picked and communicated to the amplifier which converts the recieved signal into sound. Unlike single coil pickups, the humbucker uses two sets of magnets (A.K.A. coils). These multiple coils are connected in a series, therefore create a bigger beefier sound than the single coil pickup.

First patented by the Gibson company, there are several types of humbuckers. The rail humbucker is a smaller type that divides a single coil size lengthwise in half. The Stacked humbucker is designed to fit in a single coil space and has the coils stacked as opposed to side by side. Coil Splits are humbuckers that allow the guitarist to choose to use one or both coils through a switch on the guitar.

Hybrid Picking (h

Impressionist (ɪ̀mprɛ́šənəst) music was a part of the artistic impressionist movement, which occurred in art and literature as well as music from the end of the 19th century through the start of the 20th century. All forms of impressionism emphasized suggesting a scene, evoking a feeling or creating an atmosphere rather than depicting a scene […]

Indie Rock generally refers to rock music produced and distributed by an independent label as opposed to a major record label. Indie stands for independent. Indie music of all genres became popular with the rise of independent college radio stations and internet music distribution. The term “independent” or “indie” can also describe musicians that started […]

An Inlay (??nl

Legato (l?g?to) is a musical direction where the notes that are played are smoothly connected together. This is the opposite of “staccato”, in which the notes are sharp and disconnected. With guitar legato, musical phrases are more played with pull-off and hammer-ons, instead of finger picking, which creates a more disconnected sound between notes. When first learning how to play legato lines on an electric guitar, the notes played will be close together and on the same string to keep the sound smooth and connected. However, as more skill is gained in the techniques of legato, more complex phrases can be played.

The Medieval (mədívəl) period of music started around the fall of of the Roman empire (1000 A.D.) and extended until around the late 1500s. This style of music is defined by the use of voices. The most famous style of music that came from this era of music is called the Gregorian Chant. Not all […]