Don't Fret, Just Strum: A Comparison and Contrast of the Electric and Acoustic Guitar - Essay Example

The acoustic and electric guitars are the most fascinating guitars. While these guitars have relative semblance in different areas, they are inherently different. The purpose of this paper is to assess the similarities and differences of the electric and acoustic guitar in appearance ad functionality. Similarities Both the acoustic and electric guitar have the same number of strings, for instance, six, seven or twelve strings. Essentially, both guitars have similar fret numbers. Melodically, both guitars achieve the same notes at each fret, meaning that a guitar player can transition smoothly from one guitar to another (Schiller 384).

In addition, electric and acoustic guitars are made up of relatively the same parts except switches and pick-up found on the electric guitar. Overall, the two guitars are held in a similar way, hence are played in the same manner. When playing both guitars, one has to press down on the strings, which in both cases are typically made of steel. Differences With regard to appearance, acoustic guitars encompass round holes in their faces. These holes are referred to as sound holes and assist with sound modulation, enhancing the sound volume released by the vibrating strings.

Consequently, acoustic guitars appear bigger than conventional electric guitar despite being lighter and hollow, particularly since traditionally, acoustic guitars are made of wood. . Although the electric guitar appears smaller than the acoustic guitar, the former is more bulky owing to its knobs, buttons and sliders, which help in sound and volume manipulation. Electric guitars have no sound holes, but encompass the female plug hole, which links the guitar to the amplifier. Another major point of contrast between the two guitars concerns the production and projection of sound.

While electric guitars require sound amplifiers in order to release sound effectively, the acoustic guitar is an established and unamplified guitar capable of producing beautiful acoustics independently without sound amplifiers. The acoustic guitar can either have nylon or steel strings, thus mellow music genres typically favor the use of this guitar owing to its production of impressive plucking and strumming sounds. The acoustic guitar produces sounds through the vibrations produced from the wood top as the player strums its strings (Schiller 473).

The material used to make the strings of the acoustic guitar makes them quite smooth and cushy to run fingers along. However, the strings are rather thick, thus are immensely difficult to press down upon. Conversely, the strings of the electric guitar make it suited for rock music since it can project a myriad of intriguing sounds when partnered with sound distortion devices. Contrary to the acoustic guitar, the electric guitar produces sounds by converting the vibrations made by the strings into electronic impulses (Schiller 419).

However, despite being made of steel as well, the strings of the electric guitar are relatively thin in diameter, making them easy to bend or bear down. Consequently, beginners should not learn to play on the electric guitar since it does not strengthen one’s finger so as to become a