Orchestral Music (ɔrkɛ́strəl myúzɪk) refers to music composed for and played by an orchestra. This type of music features elements of sound from many instruments including those in the string family as well as the woodwinds, percussion and brass. Large orchestras may also be called symphonic orchestras, and can have around 100 players. Small orchestras […]

An Output Jack (

Overdrive (óvərdrɑ̀yv) is the sound of a tube amp being pushed to its volume limit. The sound of an electric guitar through an overdriven tube amp being pushed to distortion is one of the cornerstones of rock and blues music. In its original form, the sound was achieved by cranking the volume full up and […]

The Palm Mute (p??m my

The Parlor Guitar (p??rl?r g?t??r) is a small bodied guitar that is typically wooden smaller than the average concert guitar. A parlor guitar creates sound through vibration of strings that are strummed or plucked using bare fingers or a pick. . Although the parlor guitar is significantly smaller than a regular guitar the volume of this instrument can be surprising and may even be amplified using modern amplification measures. Popular at the turn of the century, particularly the 1930s, the parlor guitar is often used by blues, folk, classical and opera musicians.

Pattern Picking (p?t?rn p??k??) is a style of playing guitar in which a player uses their fingers to pluck each of the strings respectively. Fingers are used with the corresponding strings to pluck in a pattern so as to produce notes that belong to a certain chord. Styles range from being very complex to extremely simplistic. There are special picks and devices that can be worn on the hand in order to assist the guitar player in plucking the strings and often a player will grow their nails longer in order to make the picking easier.

Pattern picking is often practiced slowly at first gradually increasing speed to increase muscle memory. It is a versatile way of playing guitar that can be attributed to a wide variety of styles of music. Pattern picking styles are very rhythmic and are often used within folk music and flamenco music.

The Phaser (?f?z?r) is an effect used to elicit a psychedelic sound in electric guitars. The sound signal of the guitar is altered through the addition of peaks and troughs in the music’s frequency. The phaser splits each audio signal into two distinct paths. The phase of one of the paths is altered so that the frequencies of the two paths will cancel each other out. When the signals are canceled out, the sound leaving the guitar becomes swirly. Phasers were very popular during the 1970s. Although they died out for a period of time, their effects can still can be heard in primarily in guitar solos today.

Picado (picado) is a technique where a guitar player plays a scale by alternating the middle and index fingers on the right hand to provoke an emotional response from the listener. Picado is normally used for playing melodies and is performed using rest strokes. To play this technique, slide the flesh of the fingertip on the string and pluck with the nail and then rest on the next string. It is very important to maintain the posture of the wrist and the hand being used to play. Moving the middle and index fingers from the knuckles is also important to mastering this technique.

A Pick Slide (p??k sl