The_Complete_Idiot%27s_Guide_To_Music_Theory

228
Part 6: Arranging
Tip
Guitar tabs can
be automatically
derived from traditional
chord notation
when you use a
computerized music notation
program, such as those
discussed in Chapter 19.
Guitars and Other Plucked Instruments
The guitar is technically part of the string family, although most folks differentiate
it from the violin-type instrument. That’s because the guitar is never
bowed; it’s always plucked or strummed. (The guitar also has six strings, compared
to the four strings of the violin instruments.)
There are several other instruments that fit within the guitar category. The
mandolin and ukulele are smaller and higher pitched than the guitar, whereas
the electric bass is more like a traditional double bass, but in a guitar-like configuration
with just four strings.
Guitars, of course, can be either acoustic or electric—and the electric ones can
have either solid or hollow bodies. The different configurations produce different
types of sound, although the notation is the same for all the different guitars.
Guitar parts can be notated with notes on staves or, if you just want a strummed
rhythm, by using chord notation. You can also spell out the fingering of each
chord by using guitar tablature, as shown in the following.
Guitar tablature.
Oh, and while we’re talking about plucking strings, we can’t forget the harp.
The harp isn’t really a guitar (it’s kind of like a piano, but more vertical), but it
does work when you pluck its strings.
Woodwinds
Some woodwinds are made of brass; some are made of wood. But all (except the
flute) use a wooden reed to produce their sound; you put the reed in your mouth
and blow until it vibrates.
The flute produces sound when you blow across an open hole; kind of like blowing
across a soda bottle. But it’s still classified as part of the woodwind family,
probably because it has a similar valve structure and fingering for determining
individual notes.
There are lots of different woodwind instruments. You have flutes and piccolos;
at least four different types of saxophones; a variety of clarinets; those oddsounding
oboes and bassoons; and even the not-so-common English horn
(which isn’t a horn and isn’t even English—it’s an alto version of the oboe).
Woodwind instruments primarily use the treble clef, although the bassoon and
contrabassoon both use the bass clef.