The Cambridge Companion to the Electric Guitar

A comprehensive introduction to the electric guitar's history and cultural impact, for students, guitar fans, and researchers.

Jan-Peter Herbst (Edited by), Steve Waksman (Edited by)

9781009224451, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 17 October 2024

376 pages
24.5 x 17 x 2 cm, 0.657 kg

The electric guitar is one of the most important musical instruments and cultural artifacts of the 20th and 21st centuries and enjoys popularity worldwide. Designed for students, this Companion explores electric guitar technology and performance, and the instrument's history and cultural impact. Chapters focused on the social significance of the electric guitar draw attention to the ways in which gender and race have shaped and been shaped by it, the ecology of electric guitar manufacturing, and the participation of electric guitarists in online communities. Contributions on electric guitar history stretch the chronology backwards in time and broaden our ideas of what belongs in that history, and those addressing musical style investigate the cultural value of virtuosity while providing material analysis of electric guitar technique. The Companion's final section considers the electric guitar's global circulation, particularly in Africa, the Afro-Caribbean, and Southeast Asia.

Contributors
1. Introduction Jan-Peter Herbst and Steve Waksman
Part I. History: 2. The misunderstood history and prehistory of the electric guitar Matthew W. Hill
3. The electric guitar's 'Golden Age' Steve Waksman
4. The guitar hero in classic rock John Covach
Part II. Technology and Timbre: 5. They don't make 'Em Like They Used To: Electric Guitar Design 1950–2022 Matt Brounley
6. Even in the quietest moments: amplifying the electric guitar Kyle Devine
7. Stompbox revolution: electric guitar pedals and tone Erik Broess
Part III. Musical Style and Technique: 8. Technique vs. Virtuosity in the instrumental gesture: from classical to rock and from rock to contemporary creation Philippe Gonin
9. The bass guitar in popular music Brian F. Wright
10. Thumping, glitch, and butterfly tapping: innovations in guitar technique in the new millennium Alexander Paul Vallejo and Jan-Peter Herbst
11. Rhythm changes: rhythm guitar from jazz to funk Kate Lewis
Part IV. The Electric Guitar in Society
12. Trailblazers, self-creators, and provers: celebrating women in electric guitar Sue Foley
13. Black women: race, gender, genre, and the electric guitar Mashadi Matabane
14. Ecological entanglements: following the electric guitar from factory to forest Chris Gibson and Andrew Warren
15. Electro-collectives: Virtual guitar communities Daniel Lee
Part V. The Global Instrument: 16. African electrical networks Nathaniel Braddock
17. Rhythm, rasta, rock, & 'Electric Avenue': the electric guitar in Anglo-Caribbean popular music Mike Alleyne
18. The electric guitar in Southeast Asia: a serpentine path Rebekah E. Moore
Index.

Subject Areas: 20th century & contemporary classical music [AVGC6]