Electric Guitar
The earliest known recorded performance featuring the electric guitar was in 1938 by a jazz guitarist named George Barnes. The song was called Sweetheart Land and it was recorded in the NBC studios in Chicago, Illinois. George Barnes was just 16 years old when he played the electric guitar for this historic piece of music. Here is a link to the song: Sweetheart Land
Riff Solos vs Carrying Rhythm and Melodies
The first musical element that stood out to me the most was how mellow and clean the guitar riffs are. The song starts off with piano and vocals, and then tenor sax is added along with a string bass. After a while, the electric guitar plays its first riff and sounds very clean and precise. The tenor sax then gets small solos, and by the middle of the song we can hear the electric guitar being played in the background holding the rhythm. The electric guitar was used in jazz and blues songs back in the 1930's through the 40's as more of an instrument to further the melodies and rhythms of the songs being played. It wasn't until the 1980's that the genre of grunge rock was first introduced. In the song Smells Like Teen Spirit the electric guitar is heavily introduced right in the beginning of the song, followed by a mash up of drums and even more electric guitar as back up. There is a clear difference between the jazzy feel of the electric guitar in Sweetheart Land and the heavy grunge feel of Smells Like Teen Spirit. In this song by Kurt Cobain, the electric guitar can be clearly heard throughout the whole piece, but unlike Sweetheart Land, it is heavily featured as the carrier of the rhythm and melodies of the song along with the drums.
Instrument Sound and Playing Style
The second musical element of the electric guitar that has changed throughout the years is the actual sound of the instrument. In the first song from the 1930's, the electric guitar simply sounds like a louder version of the acoustic guitar, and is plucked the same way. Plugging an electric guitar into an amp created more dynamic range and introduced different playing styles. In the song by Nirvana, the electric guitar sounds so much fuller and completely unlike an acoustic guitar. In the beginning riffs, the sound of the guitar explodes and fills up the entire melody. In Smells Like Teen Spirit the listener can tell without a doubt that the instrument being played is an electric guitar. The guitar is strummed in Smells Like Teen Spirit rather than precisely plucked in Sweetheart Land.
2 comments:
First of all I didn't realize the electric guitar dated that far back. The first sample of the original electric guitar it almost seemed like it was more of a background instrument. I heard more of the bass over it. I do agree that it was treated and played more cleanly than how we here it now. I do perfer todays version a lot better. I always think of the electric guitar in these genres as the lead and powerhouse next to the drums.
Thanks for the overview of the electric guitar. I am from the "hair band" era so listening to songs that feature the electric guitar is very familiar to my ears. And you're right, you can't miss the sound of the electric guitar in a song. It's easily identifiable. I didn't know that it was played for Jazz and Blues songs. I guess I just identify its use with rock songs. I liked the Nirvana song you posted. Kurt holding the guitar as he carried a chord and walking toward the camera was something to see. And I didn't know that the first versions sounded like an acoustic guitar. Thank you for your informative blog.
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