A member of the strings family

Vibrating
strings
create
sound

BY: Chloe~Amelie Aikman P4

I chose the guitar because of its

popularity in songs today and my
personal connection to this
instrument.

HISTORY OF THE GU
S:
T
S
I
T
AR
E
E
R
H
TOP T
eam)
r
C
(
n
pto
Cla
c
i
r
1.E

pes)
i
r
t
S
e
t
(Whi
e
t
i
k Wh
2.Jac
drix
n
e
H
i
3.Jim

ITAR

The Invention of the Guitar...

WHEN: The modern guitar came around in the 18th
century, while the vihuela (an instrument invented in
Spain close to a guitar) was invented in the 15th century.
The closest version of a true guitar was invented a
century later.
WHERE: It is unclear who invented it or where; many
cultures had similar instruments. It is falsely believed
that the first guitar was invented by the Greeks - those
were more like lyras or harps.
HOW: The vihuela and the lute were combined to
create a guitar - giving them the size of a lute, the neck
and body of the vihuela, and two more strings were
added.

Guitar Basics

In my guitar, I focused on the

body and took out the neck. I
practiced a similar technique
used on the fretboard to change
pitch, but on the strings
themselves instead.

S
L
A
I
R
E
MAT

D
E
D
E
E
N

an empty 12.5 x 10.5 x

11 tissue box
(cm)
3 rubber bands of
varying widths
(thin, medium, thick)
a straw* or woode
n skewer cut to
9 cm long (this will ac
t like the
bridge)
one paperclip (any
kind - depends
on your taste)

For a more colorful in

strument, use one
of the printed or textur
ed tissue boxes
for aesthetic appeal.
*be sure to remove be
ndy part

rials

1.Gather mate

HOW TO BUILD IT:

e hole of the

th
ess plastic in
c
x
e
e
v
o
m
e
R
3.

box

the tissue
d
n
u
o
r
a
s
d
n
a
rubber b
2.Stretch the
cm away from
3
s
d
n
a
b
r
te
the ou
box and place
the edge.

evenly with
d
e
c
a
p
s
e
b
hould
3.The bands s
.
between them
in
m
c
2
t
u
o
ab
from
kewer 1.5 cm
s
n
e
d
o
o
/w
w
tra
as
4. Place the s
of preference
e
id
s
n
o
x
o
b
e
. It
the edge of th
with the hole
p
la
r
e
v
o
t
o
n
s
long as it doe
and be evenly
s
g
in
tr
s
e
th
er all
should fit und
spaced.
um!
paperclip, str
r
u
o
y
g
in
s
U
5.

PHOTO G

ALLERY

3
How to play...

2
Instr

ideo
v
l
a
n
uctio

T
I
W
HO

.
.
.
S
K
WOR
To produce vibrations,
you strum the strings
with your thumb or a
pick.

VIBRATIONS - to create
sound, the strings vibrate
and send air molecules in
motion. The molecules
vibrate at a frequency equal
to the sting and create
longitudinal waves of sound.

Steve
Note: items not to scale

CH

H
C
T
I
P
E
H
T
ANGING
H
FROM LOW TO HIG

To make the pitch higher, slide

your finger down closer to the
bridge. Hold your finger in
position and strum with the pick
using your other hand. This
creates a shorter distance for
the waves to travel and a
higher pitch

FROM HIG

H TO LOW

For the opposit

e effect, slide
your finger AW
AY from the
bridge to make
the pitch lower
.
Strum as you wo
uld normally.
this makes the p
itch lower
because the vibr
ations now have
a longer distan
ce to travel
unlike the high
pitched position
.

E
M
U
L
O
DE/V

U
T
I
L
P
M
A
E
H
T
G Changing the amplitude is pretty
N
I
G
N
HA

you have to do is
ll
a
;
rd
a
rw
fo
th
ig
stra
ghtly to create
li
re
o
m
r
o
er
rd
a
h
strum
you put more
en
h
W
e.
m
lu
vo
d
re
the desi
tes a higher
energy into it, it crea
es sense because
k
a
m
h
ic
h
(w
de
u
it
pl
am
ith electric
W
y)
g
er
en
is
de
u
it
ampl
up to an
it
k
o
o
h
n
ca
u
yo
,
rs
guita
e volume via
th
l
o
tr
n
co
d
n
a
r
ie
amplif
dials.

WHAT

.
.
.
D
E
N
R
A
E
IL

1. The word guitar is not only

derived from the Spanish four
stringed instrument quitarra, but
also includes the ancient sanskrit
word tar, meaning string.
2. Rock legend Eric Clapton is the
only three time inductee to the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame EVER.
3. Fender (FMIC) produces 20,000
miles (approx.) of guitar string per
year.
4. A person who makes and repairs
guitars is a luthier.

Bibliography