Listen to the guitar
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
How the guitar makes its sound
In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, which classifies instruments by how they produce sound, the 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.
Range of the guitar
The typical range of the guitar runs from E2 (82.4 Hz) to E6 (1,319 Hz) – about 4.0 octaves. Harmonics extend its sound far higher.
From Wikipedia
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with some exceptions) and typically has six or twelve strings, though guitars with seven, eight and nine strings also exist. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strings against frets with the fingers of the opposite hand. A guitar pick may also be used to strike the strings. The sound of the guitar is projected either acoustically, by means of a resonant hollow chamber on the guitar, or amplified by an electronic pickup and an amplifier.
Other lutes
Questions people ask
Real questions from the Stack Exchange community – follow a link to read the discussion.
- Why is the guitar tuned like it is? · Music SE
- On a guitar, what keys correspond to different capo positions? · Music SE
- Noise while not touching guitar strings or metal parts · Music SE
- Position of white dots in guitar fretboard · Music SE
- How to make ASIO work with multiple programs simultaneously : how can I listen to Guitar Rig plus something else through the same interface? · Music SE
Frequently asked questions
What does a guitar sound like?
Listen to 5 recordings on this page. 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 guitar?
It is classified as lutes (Hornbostel–Sachs 321.322-5-6).
Sources & credits
- Romanza española by Composer Unknown. Courtesy of Alias Guitar – CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Audio files of spanish guitar chords 21 by Wilfredor – CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Audio files of spanish guitar chords 12 by Wilfredor – CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Audio files of spanish guitar chords 05 by Wilfredor – CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Audio files of spanish guitar chords 29 by Wilfredor – CC0 1.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q6607 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Guitar – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Image by Martin Möller – CC BY-SA 2.0