Guitar Article Written by “Friend Of Mike Walsh”

Types Of Guitar Playing And Why It Matters

By: Jake Willmot

So you want to play guitar or you have decided to play a different style of music you are not used to playing.

What type of guitar should you get? What techniques should you learn, what type of teacher should you get if any?

Well that depends on what type of music you like. In the 1940’s and 1950’s jazz and blues music was very big. Particularly acoustic blues earlier similar to Robert Johnson which was before that.

Years before that in the classical era, classical nylon string guitars were played in that style of music. Of course electric guitars didn’t exist back then.

As time went on in the 50’s rock n roll started to take off with Elvis Presley being out there. Then there is surf guitar playing not long after. At this point electric guitars were being used in a different way than was being used in Blues and Jazz.

They way they typically play is different. Yes there can be influences from previous styles but the way they typically play, what leads they play if any, what techniques are used more often changes.

Then came the 60’s where more rockier music were being done, electric guitar was getting bigger and bigger at that point. Blues rock bands like The Yardbirds, Cream were there, but there was also acoustic bands like The Kinks.

Jimi Hendrix was the king of guitar playing in the 1960’s. The way he was playing was very influential. If you like this kind of music, getting a Fender Stratocaster would definitely be worth it.

If you like heavier bands like Black Sabbath who became bigger later in the 1970’s then Gibson may be a better place to start. Heavy metal really started to take off at this point when Judas Priest came about. Of course there were more progressive rock bands like Yes and there were punk bands like the Sex Pistols.

Fast forward to the 1980’s guitar was absolutely huge. This is where fast playing as at an all time high. Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen, Van Halen and other players like this were taking off with their lightning fast guitar playing. Other heavier metal bands were forming, known as thrash metal.

Bands like Metallica and Megadeth were getting big at this point, as well as glam metal bands like Def Leppard and Motley Crue were big.

Fast forward to the 1990s grunge took off with Nirvana. Guitar playing became a lot more simplistic in comparison to the 1980’s bands. Electric guitar was beginning to lose popularity after that.

In the 2000’s metalcore bands were forming so there were still some faster playing but it was no longer in the limelight. If you like heavier music then brands like Jackson, Charvel, Ibanez and Dean would be better than fender simply as they have a more heavier sound.

As time goes on into the present day, acoustic guitar music is huge now. Look at all the mainstream artists today, they may play electric but it is not very complicated. Most of the time however it is mainly acoustic guitar that is used today.

If you want to play jazz- then brands like Gretsch make guitars for this. Resonator guitars can be good for older styles of acoustic blues and other related styles.

If you like 60’s and 70’s rock then Fender or Gibson is a good place to start. If you like music in the modern day then working on fingerpicking would be a good idea since that is done by artists like Ed Sheeran and Shawn Mendes. Working on finger tapping isn’t really necessary if you like Taylor Swift songs.

What kind of guitar teacher should you have? You must have a teacher that knows and can play the style that you want to play.

About the author: Jake Willmot teaches guitar lessons in Exmouth and has been doing so since 2016. Jake was mainly into heavy and fast guitar music, but in recent years has been getting into acoustic music.