The Different Types of Music You Can Play on Guitar
Learning to play the guitar is very interesting!
The guitar is versatile, and you’re never done learning more about it. No matter which genre is your gateway into learning about the guitar, you’ll probably veer into others as you gain skills and experience. One reason for learning electric guitar is the number of effects you can play around with.
With so many guitar-playing styles, why limit yourself to just one genre?
Jazz
Impossible to pin down, jazz defies genre.
The improv technique that draws from and has evolved into so many styles, including bebop, swing, Latin, menouche, soul and neo-soul, and contemporary, jazz is the genre of exploration and discovery.
With a big role to play in supporting the melody, guiding the improvisation and shaping the sound of the rhythm, the guitar is one of jazz's most important chordal instruments. So why not take jazz guitar lessons with me?
Rock
Another style that’s tough to define, the rock guitar playing style, encompasses a lot of and merges with loads of popular modern guitar styles of playing.
Hard rock, progressive rock, country swing, metal, jamming, and other subgenres - you’ll learn about them all if you take rock guitar lessons with me.
Rock greats include Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, the Beatles, and many more.
Blues
The genre that makes up the root of so many guitar playing styles, blues guitar is a style with a few principles to get to grips with.
Listen to some Eric Clapton, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Muddy Waters and others, and you’ll hear the unique tone, groove, pacing and other one-of-a-kind hallmarks of blues. Soul, funk, jazz, bluegrass, metal, pop and more have their roots in this one style.
At Bryan Guitar, you can learn the slide, fingerstyle, and other guitar playing styles that are part of blues guitar.
Classical
Though it’s an instrument used in many modern music styles, the guitar is actually still a classical instrument. So, why not go back to the beginning and look into classical guitar styles of playing?
Classical guitar playing styles involve skills like arpeggios, pizzicati, tremolos, and scales - all things you might have already heard of if you’ve studied piano.
In addition, you can explore classical periods like the renaissance, classic, romantic, and baroque, and even branch out into traditional and other genres. Classical guitar isn’t just the grand old composers, but also living composers, too.
Rock n Roll
An evolution from country music and rhythm and blues, Rock ‘n’ Roll is the earlier form of rock.
Primarily characterised by the use of electric guitars and featuring riffs, rock and roll songs can be complex. However, once you’ve mastered power chords, string skipping and other fundamental rock and roll skills, you’ll be able to work your way up to these more challenging songs.
Hard Rock
A later form of rock, hard rock overlaps somewhat with metal.
Both guitar styles are precise and powerful, with similar techniques like sweep picking and tapping. Once you can play these at slower speeds, you can gradually learn to play them more quickly until you can emulate the artists you adore.
Then, after hours and hours of practice, you can move on to amp and pedal combinations that allow you to express your unique voice.
Metal
Metal and heavy metal are further rock spin-off guitar playing styles.
Harking from the hippie days when “heavy” meant serious, metal guitar styles feature heavy bass, drums, and heavily distorted guitar sounds. With plenty of pedals and effects to go with the strenuous guitar styles of playing you’ll be using, there’s a lot to learn if you want to become a master of metal.
Funk
Featuring hooks that draw you into a message that’s for everyone, this gospel, blues, and jazz-inspired genre is all about community. How can anyone not like funk?
Funk consists of numerous instrumental parts which meld together. Each player works together to keep the groove going. Anyone interested in funk guitar styles must develop good right-hand rhythm technique and a sense of time to keep in time with your bandmates’ groove.
Dive into James Brown, Jimmy Nolen, Nile Rogers and others to find out more.
Reggae
The genre that uses strumming techniques known as skank, bang, ska upstroke or ska stroke up, it’s no surprise that reggae is maybe the most universally liked genre.
Although it originates from a specific form of rhythm and blues called the shuffle, reggae guitar playing styles mainly include strumming on the offbeat.
Bob Marley is a big name in the reggae world. However, his lead guitarist was named Al Anderson when he wasn't playing himself. Another big name is Toots Hibbert, who many say invented reggae.
Country
Currently evolving into electric country and country rock, country guitar playing styles are at the heart of many genres. The guitar is at the heart of the country genre.
Country amalgamates elements from bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, and more. This mixture means the country genre features all sorts of unique guitar styles of playing and “licks''. Flatpicking and fingerpicking are just two guitar-playing styles you’ll need to master for country.
Soul
One of the guitar playing styles that’s a big part of many other genres, soul is a church-rooted music style with much overlap.
Soul guitar styles are characterised by grooves that work around a syncopated drum or bass patterns, doubling the bass, augmenting it with chord accents, or answering the bass line by filling in the rhythmic spaces. Again, just be guided by the rhythm.
Good soul guitar artists to listen to include Lowell George, George Benson, and Curtis Mayfield.
Flamenco
One of the styles of guitar playing that has its own type of guitar, flamenco music was first developed by the Andalusian Roma people of Southern Spain. Though flamenco music also features bells, tambourines, and castanets, the flamenco guitar is a big part in setting up the compás rhythms.
Though flamenco is traditional and paired with flamenco dance, there are plenty of modern flamenco artists and bands, too.
Want to Learn More Guitar Styles?
If you're interested in learning about any of these guitar styles, any styles not on this list, or just the basics of how to play guitar, contact me to find out more.
