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Well I'm venturing forth into my new story and I need some research help. I want to make the main character a guitar player but I don't really know much about the subject. The kind of guitars he might own, the type of training he might need. I want to write it as accurate as I can so it looks good on the page.
If anyone knows anything about this, can you please PM me :)
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Some things that must be concidered
I don't know a lot about guitars, I've only tinkered with them. Do help the most you'll need to decide what kind of music your character plays. Also need to know the following;
Electric or acoustic.
If acoustic you have three choices of strings;
Steal, synthetic or gut.
That is about all I'll be able to come up with, good luck.
Huggles,
Winnie
Guitars
You could try contacting Paula Dillon who wrote Angel Marquez
Martina
Write What You Know
About fifteen years ago I wrote Baseball Annie. It was a story about baseball, a sport I thought I knew. Nearly everyone who commented thought it was a very good story. Then someone who REALLY knew the game took me to task. I was factually wrong in many, many ways.
For most of my stories I've put in two to three hours of research for every hour of writing. For some, five to six hours of research for every hour of writing. Even so, I know I'm going to be factually wrong when critiqued by someone who really knows the subject.
I'm happy when the average reader finds my story factually correct. That's my goal.
You need to decide what you know enough about to write about and how accurate you want to be.
Jill
Angela Rasch (Jill M I)
Quite a good insight IMHO
Was in Twelve Strings.
But... Does your story really need such a detailed background? There are nice stories with terrible factual errors. Loads of good stories with blatant stereotyping of things. Even one of my favorite authors here wrote improbable Russian mafia into her story. (I've decided to catch up with the story but as I don't remember on what part I lost it, I started rereading it from the first chapter, alredy done 10% :-) )
But still, the story is very good.
So once again, are you trying to write a "finer guitar thechinques for world renouned guitar virtuoso" or just a nice story to sate our slightly fetishistic desire to see some let it even be fictious girl realising her dream?
Semi-pro guitar player
I've been playing guitar since the age of about 14. my parents bought my first two, but I've purchased 6 more since then (including one for my late wife and one for a step son). I've not played much since my wife died ten years ago, but I'd be happy to answer any questions I can.
I still personally own two Sigma Martins ( 1 six string, 1 twelve string) and an off brand electric. The Sigma Martins are made by the Martin Company and are copies of their original Martins. The quality is very good. The Sigmas were at the time of purchase medium price guitars, and cost about $600-800. The 12 string I modified myself by installing an electric pickup. It has a much 'fuller' sound.
The one I purchased for my late wife was a Yamaha and was between medium and high end. It cost about $1500US. The sound and quality of manufacturing was excellent.
For my stepson we bought a Fender Stratocaster. It was and still is considered one of the best guitars available by professional musicians. It had been owned, used, and autographed by a former professional guitarist (I forget who after all these years) and cost us about $3000.
The best guitars, per professionals, are generally Fender, Yamaha, and Gibson. Although any pro will tell you they base their purchase on the quality of construction and the sound they want to produce, so spend a lot of time trying different brands and models to find the one with the "right sound". So they do sometimes get an 'off brand' guitar.
For training, it varies from person to person, I know many started with lessons through the local Recreation Department or local music store or school. Some grew up in a family of musicians, while others got beginner books and taught themselves. The most important training though is practice, practice, practice. It takes hours and hours every week. I use to spend 2-3 hours at least 4 days/week. I did play semi-professionally for about 15 years (mostly weddings, parties, etc).
Back in the 1960s-1990s many potential guitarists would form or join a 'garage band'. Most never made it past playing at local parties or bars. A few would catch a break and get a chance to open for a well know group at a local concert (stadium or park). And only a few of those were ever offered contracts, or become popular in their own right.
I hope this helps. If you have more specific questions, feel free to pm me.
Hugs,
Erin of Wis <3
Unless Your Main Character...
...is the narrator, you have the liberty of telling the story from someone else's point of view. As long as they're not presenting themselves as an expert, the description can be quite imprecise and you can easily get away with it.
adding even more complications
left handed guitar ( rare ) where it is built so your right hand does the fingering and left hand does the strumming.
fretless guitar ( extremely rare as in custom built ) this is normally the bass guitar, the lack of frets allows the player to slide into the notes and pull them for some very different sounds without using a synth. I have never heard of someone going fretless with a regular guitar, but it could be done. Fretless is more common in jazz / blues than rock or pop.
Stupidity is a capital offense. A summary not indictable.
Guitar Knowledge/Research
Pick a role model or two from existing guitarists, then read some bio info and look at vids to see what they play.
For example, Google 'what guitar does [fill in the blank] play'.
If the person is well-known there will be a ton of info.
Hope that helps.
Jen
Be kind to those who are unkind, tolerant toward those who treat you with intolerance, loving to those who withhold their love, and always smile through the pains of life.