You Can Do With an Electric Guitar

Did you know that you can make your electric guitar sound like a banjo? How about an angry elephant? There are tons of fun things that you can do with an electric guitar. Some of them are more commonly used techniques such as alternate tunings, bending strings, pinch harmonics, feedback, and long legato runs among other things.

First, The Banjo. This one is pretty simple but it may take some trial and error. All you have to do is put a rag under the strings between the pickups so that it just slightly touches them. The trial and error comes in finding the right thickness of rag to use and exactly how to place it. I do it with a guitar polish rag folded over a couple of times. If the rag touches the strings too much, you may have to cut it down some. Don't do this with your good polish rag. Use an old sock or something if you have to. Another thing that will make it sound more like a banjo is playing a bluegrass or country style lick. Oh the fun things you can do with a guitar!

Second, the angry elephant. This one requires that you have a Floyd Rose style tremolo system on your electric guitar. Here's the steps to sounding like a mad elephant.

1. Turn your volume knob on the guitar all the way down.
2. Play a natural harmonic on the seventh fret of the high E, B, and G strings letting them ring together.
3. While your volume is still turned down, do a whammy bar dive with your FRETTING hand.
4. Next you're going to let the bar come back up as you fade your volume knob back up also.
5. After the bar comes back up and the volume is turned up, you quickly dive back down and turn the volume back down also.

There you have it! An angry elephant sound with your electric guitar! It will take some practice but as soon as you start hearing it, you'll be able to adjust it to make it sound even better.

These are just a few of the many fun things that you can do with an electric guitar. Have fun and don't be afraid to try some wacky things. Somebody thought to put a rag under their strings and play. What will you think of?

I have been a private guitar instructor for over 10 years in the Philadelphia area and Erie, PA and have played the guitar for over 20. I have successfully taught hundreds of people ranging from 5 years old to 80 years old. I have taught many styles of music and I have helped a lot of people develop a love of the guitar.

Private guitar instruction is the best way to go but it can be expensive and the quality of the instructors varies greatly. For those who live in small towns there may not be any. If you can't take lessons from me or another good guitar instructor, I suggest that you try one of these guitar systems. Here are my top recommendations for beginners and intermediate level players.