Here is another Friday 10-second tip for you to enjoy…
It’s all about:
Instantly changing the tone of your acoustic guitar
One of the beauties of the guitar is that it is an incredibly versatile instrument.
On the electric guitar, you can create all sorts of weird and wonderful sounds.
I used to spend many, many hours with an FX board playing around with different sonic textures.
I’d make the guitar sound like a synth, violin, a wall of noises and all sorts.
It was a joy.
…But while these sounds can be easily achieved (with lots of tweaking, I may add) on the electric…
When it comes to acoustic playing, we are more limited.
This means our technique is under an immense spotlight.
We cannot hide behind effects like we can on the electric.
Yet on the acoustic, we can still change the tone of the instrument rather quickly.
There are a few ways to do it, but the easy thing to do to instantly change your tone is to:
Pluck or strum the strings in a different place
Pick or strum:
- Closer to the bridge and you will get a harsher and slightly brighter tone (think of the James Bond guitar riff).
- Closer to the sound hole and the tone becomes mellow and warm (which is what most people prefer the sound of).
This might sound obvious, but when was the last time you played around with plucking or strumming the strings in different areas?
If, like most, the answer is rarely, you’re missing out on some fun tonal variety that can make your playing sound even more exciting.
And to get this variety of tone, you barely have to change anything.
…Literally just the position of your picking hand.
It’s a simple tip, but a useful one to remember for sure.
For more simple tips and help with your playing…
Specifically fixing the “7 Stumbling Blocks of Beginner Guitar Playing”, check this out:
Guitar Domination Super eBook Bundle
Enjoy your Friday!
Dan Thorpe
Guitar Domination
P.S. This post was originally taken from Dan Thorpe’s private email list. To get blog posts like this sent to you which are full of great tips to make fingerpicking, strumming, and learning guitar more enjoyable (especially if you are over 40) join Dan’s list. It’s 100% free, HERE.
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