How the acoustic guitar makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the acoustic guitar belongs to the lutes: strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck – the family of the guitar, violin, sitar and oud.
More broadly it is one of the chordophones (string instruments), where sound comes from vibrating strings, amplified by a resonating body.
Players shape its sound through technique and materials; the resonating body filters the raw vibration, boosting some harmonics and damping others.
From Wikipedia
An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked, its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, resonating through the air in the body, and producing sound from the sound hole. While the original, general term for this stringed instrument is guitar, the retronym 'acoustic guitar' – often used to indicate the steel stringed model – distinguishes it from an electric guitar, which relies on electronic amplification. Typically, a guitar's body is a sound box, of which the top side serves as a sound board that enhances the vibration sounds of the strings. In standard tuning the guitar's six strings are tuned (low to high) E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4.
Other lutes
Questions people ask
Real questions from the Stack Exchange community – follow a link to read the discussion.
- Why shouldn't I put electric guitar strings on my acoustic guitar? · Music SE
- How do you identify a good acoustic guitar? · Music SE
- Does anyone make nylon strings for a standard acoustic guitar (non-classical)? · Music SE
- How to check if an acoustic guitar is solid top or not? · Music SE
- Can one play acoustic/classical music with an electric guitar? · Music SE
Frequently asked questions
What does an acoustic guitar sound like?
As one of the lutes, its sound comes from the way strings run parallel to a soundboard and along a neck.
What type of instrument is the acoustic guitar?
It is classified as lutes (Hornbostel–Sachs 321.322-5).
Sources & credits
- Wikidata Q31561 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Acoustic guitar – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Santeri Viinamäki – CC BY-SA 4.0