genre company 
An electric guitar is a fretted string instrument that uses a pickup to convert the vibration of its strings  which are typically made of steel , and which occurs when a guitarist strums , plucks or fingerpicks the strings  into electrical signals . The vibrations of the strings are sensed by a pickup , of which the most common type is the magnetic pickup , which uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction . The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker , so it is plugged into a guitar amplifier before being sent to a loudspeaker , which makes a sound loud enough to hear . The output of an electric guitar is an electric signal , and the signal can easily be altered by electronic circuits to add " color " to the sound or change the sound . Often the signal is modified using effects such as reverb and distortion and " overdrive ", with the latter being a key element of the sound of the electric guitar as it is used in ___MASK90___ and rock ___MASK52___ . The guitar is a ___MASK11___ instrument classified as a string instrument with anywhere from four to 18 strings , usually having six . The sound is projected either acoustically , using a hollow wooden or plastic and wood box ( for an acoustic guitar ), or through electrical amplifier and a speaker ( for an electric guitar ). It is typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers , thumb and / or fingernails of the right hand or with a pick while fretting ( or pressing against the frets ) the strings with the fingers of the left hand . The guitar is a type of chordophone , traditionally constructed from wood and strung with either gut , nylon or steel strings and distinguished from other chordophones by its construction and tuning . The modern guitar was preceded by the gittern , the vihuela , the four - course Renaissance guitar , and the five - course baroque guitar , all of which contributed to the development of the modern six - string instrument . Company was an ever changing collection of free improvising musicians . The concept was devised by guitarist Derek Bailey in order to create challenging and artistically stimulating combinations of players who might not otherwise have had an opportunity to work together . At various times Company has included Evan Parker , Anthony Braxton , Tristan Honsinger , Misha Mengelberg , Lol Coxhill , Fred Frith , Steve Beresford , Steve Lacy , Jamie Muir , Johnny Dyani , Leo Smith , Han Bennink , Eugene Chadbourne , Henry Kaiser , John Zorn , Buckethead , Georgie Born and many others . Company Weeks , annual week - long free improvisational festivals organised by Bailey , ran from 1977 until 1994 . A guitarist ( or a guitar player ) is a person who plays the guitar . Guitarists may ___MASK8___ a ___MASK100___ of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars , acoustic guitars , electric guitars , and bass guitars . Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar by singing or playing the harmonica . Singing is the act of producing ___MASK11___ sounds with the voice , and augments regular speech by the use of sustained tonality , ___MASK59___ , and a ___MASK100___ of vocal techniques . A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist . Singers perform music ( arias , recitatives , songs , etc .) that can be sung with or without accompaniment by ___MASK11___ instruments . Singing is often done in an ensemble of musicians , such as a choir of singers or a band of instrumentalists . Singers may perform as soloists , or accompanied by anything from a single instrument ( as in art song or some ___MASK55___ styles ) up to a symphony orchestra or big band . Different singing styles include art music such as opera and Chinese opera , religious music styles such as gospel , traditional music styles , world music , ___MASK55___ , blues and popular music styles such as pop and rock . The classical guitar ( also known as ___MASK38___ guitar , classical acoustic , nylon - string guitar , or Spanish guitar ) is the member of the guitar ___MASK35___ used in classical music . It is an acoustical wooden guitar with strings made of nylon , rather than the metal strings used in acoustic and electric guitars . The traditional classical guitar has twelve frets clear of the body and is held on the left leg , so that the hand that plucks or strums the strings does so near the back of the soundhole ( this is called the classical position ). The modern steel string guitar , on the other hand , usually has fourteen frets clear of the body ( see Dreadnought ) and is commonly played off the hip .