Editing Guitarist

{{Short description|Musician who plays the guitar}}
{{About||the British magazine|Guitarist (magazine){{!}}''Guitarist'' (magazine)|the American magazine|Guitar Player{{!}}''Guitar Player''}}
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{{Use British English|date=May 2022}}
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[[File:Guitar players in the city centre of Buenos Aires.JPG|thumb|right|250px|Guitar players in the city centre of [[Buenos Aires]].]]
A '''guitarist''' (or a '''guitar player''') is a person who plays the [[guitar]]. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family [[musical instrument|instruments]] such as [[classical guitar]]s, [[acoustic guitar]]s, [[electric guitar]]s, and [[bass guitar]]s. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar by [[singing]] or playing the [[harmonica]], or both.

==Techniques==
The guitarist may employ any of several methods for sounding the guitar, including [[Fingerstyle guitar|finger-picking]], depending on the type of strings used (either [[Classical guitar strings|nylon]] or [[Steel-string acoustic guitar|steel]]), and including [[strumming]] with the fingers, or a [[guitar pick]] made of bone, horn, plastic, metal, felt, leather, or paper, and melodic [[flatpicking]] and finger-picking.

The guitarist may also employ various methods for selecting [[Musical note|notes]] and [[Chord (music)|chords]], including fingering, thumbing, the barre (a finger lying across many or all strings at a particular fret), and [[Slide guitar|guitar slides]], usually made of glass or metal. These left- and right-hand techniques may be intermixed in performance.

==Notable guitarists==
===Rock, metal, jazz, country and blues===
Several [[magazine]]s and [[website]]s have compiled what they intend as lists of the greatest guitarists—for example ''The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time'' by ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine, or ''100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time'' by ''[[Guitar World]]'' magazine.

==== Rolling Stone ====
The first in this list is the American guitarist [[Jimi Hendrix]], introduced by [[Pete Townshend]], guitarist for [[the Who]], who was, in his turn, ranked at #10 in the list.

In describing the list to readers, Paul MacInnes from British newspaper ''[[The Guardian]]'' wrote, "Surprisingly enough for an American magazine, the top 10 is fair jam-packed with Yanks", though he also noted three exceptions in the top 10.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2007/feb/13/whoarethe100greatestguita|title=Who are the 100 greatest guitarists of all time?|first=Paul|last=MacInnes|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|date=13 February 2007|access-date=18 November 2009 | location=London}}</ref> The online magazine ''[[Blogcritics]]'' criticized the list for introducing some allegedly undeserving guitarists while forgetting some artists the writer considered perhaps more worthy, such as [[Johnny Marr]], [[Al Di Meola]], [[Phil Keaggy]] or [[John Petrucci]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://blogcritics.org/the-top-100-guitarists-according-to/ |magazine=[[Blogcritics]] |title=The Top 100 Guitarists According to Rolling Stone |author=The Theory |date=28 August 2003 |access-date=18 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605091245/http://blogcritics.org/the-top-100-guitarists-according-to/ |archive-date=5 June 2013 }}</ref>

In 2011, ''Rolling Stone'' updated the list, which this time was chosen by a panel of guitarists and other experts with the top 100 consisting of [[Eric Clapton]], [[Eddie Van Halen]], [[Keith Richards]] and [[Tony Iommi]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/jimmy-page-eddie-van-halen-tony-iommi-among-100-greatest-guitarists-of-all-time/|title=Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, Tony Iommi Among '100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time'|date=23 November 2011}}</ref> Artists who had not been included in the previous list were added. [[Rory Gallagher]], for example, was ranked in 57th place.<ref name="Greatest guitarist Rory Gallagher">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-guitarists-20111123/rory-gallagher-19691231|title=100 Greatest Guitarists: Rory Gallagher|magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=31 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120712063544/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-guitarists-20111123/rory-gallagher-19691231|archive-date=12 July 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>

''The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time'' is mentioned in many biographies about artists who appear in the list.<ref>{{cite book|title=How to Succeed As a Female Guitarist: The Essential Guide for Working in a Male-dominated Industry|first=Vivian|last= Clement|page=1|publisher=Alfred Publishing|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7390-4304-2}}</ref>

====''Guitar World''====
''[[Guitar World]]'', a monthly music magazine devoted to the guitar, also published their list of 100 greatest guitarists in the book ''Guitar World Presents the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time from the Pages of Guitar World Magazine''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Guitar World Presents the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time from the Pages of Guitar World Magazine|publisher=Hal Leonard Corporation|author=Jeff Kitts, Brad Tolinski|year=2002|isbn=0-634-04619-5}}</ref> Different from the ''Rolling Stone'' list, which listed guitarists in descending order, ''Guitar World'' divided guitarists by [[music genre]]—such as "Lords of Hard Rock" for [[hard rock]] artists or "Jazzmen" for [[jazz]] players. Despite the appearance in other magazines like ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'',<ref>''Billboard'', vol. 117, n° 49, pp. 67</ref> this publication by ''Guitar World'' was criticized for including no female musicians within its selection.<ref>{{cite book|title=Gender in the music industry: Rock, discourse and girl power|page=38|first=Marion|last= Leonard|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd|year=2007|isbn=978-0-7546-3862-9}}</ref> However, ''Guitar World'' recently published a list of "Eight Amazing Female Acoustic Players", including [[Kaki King]], [[Muriel Anderson]] and [[Sharon Isbin]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Eight Amazing Female Acoustic Guitar Players|date = 24 August 2015|url = http://www.guitarworld.com/acoustic-nation-eight-amazing-female-acoustic-players|access-date = 4 October 2015}}</ref>

====''Time'' and others====
Following the death of [[Les Paul]], ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' website presented their list of 10 greatest artists in [[electric guitar]]. As in ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list, Jimi Hendrix was chosen as the greatest guitarist followed by [[Slash (musician)|Slash]] from [[Guns N' Roses]], [[B.B. King]], [[Keith Richards]], [[Jimmy Page]], and [[Eric Clapton]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1916544_1921910,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090817211654/http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1916544_1921910,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 August 2009|title=The 10 Greatest Electric-Guitar Players|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|access-date=18 November 2009 | date=14 August 2009}}</ref> ''[[Gigwise.com]]'', an online music magazine, also ranks Jimi Hendrix as the greatest guitarist ever, followed by Jimmy Page, B.B. King, Keith Richards and [[Kirk Hammett]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.gigwise.com/news/40852/The-50-Greatest-Guitarists-Ever|title=The 50 Greatest Guitarists... Ever!|work=[[Gigwise.com]]|access-date=14 January 2010}}</ref>

===Other genres===

The classical guitar is traditionally strung with gut or nylon strings for the treble notes, and wound strings for the bass. Often adorned with mother-of-pearl inlays, the instrument was once primarily played using the fingertips alone. Over time, however, guitarists began to use a combination of fingernail and flesh to achieve a clearer, more expressive sound, and allowing for many different changes in sound quality (or timbre). This guitar tradition dates back at least to the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when a four course instrument was popular among aristocrats. In the early nineteenth century there the guitar enjoyed a surge of popularity when composer/performers such as [[Fernando Sor]], [[Napoléon Coste]], [[Mauro Giuliani]], and many others published thousands of pieces for the concert hall and home gatherings. The classical guitar enjoyed another period of popularity in the twentieth century when recordings amplified the relatively quiet instrument. There are many [[List of classical guitarists|classical guitarists]] listed as "notable" in their respective epochs.

One of the most renowned [[flamenco guitarists]] in recent decades was [[Paco de Lucía]]. Flamenco music is a popular traditional music associated with the Andalucia region of southern Spain. It is characterized by intricate syncopated rhythms intimately informed by a gypsy dance style. Flamenco guitarists also often accompany flamenco singers performing "[[cante jondo]]" (deep song). De Lucía was also one of the first to have successfully crossed over into other genres of music such as classical and jazz.<ref>*{{cite book|last1=Chapman|first1=Richard|last2=Clapton|first2=Eric|title=Guitar: music, history, players|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hLUXAQAAIAAJ|year=2000|publisher=Dorling Kindersley Pub.|isbn=978-0-7894-5963-3|page=40}}</ref>

The '''cuatro''' guitar is a family of Latin American string [[Musical instrument|instruments]] played in [[Puerto Rico]], [[Venezuela]] and other [[Latin America]]n countries. It is derived from the [[Classical guitar|Spanish guitar]]. Although some have [[viola]]-like shapes, most cuatros resemble a small to mid-sized [[guitar|classical guitar]]. In Puerto Rico and Venezuela, the cuatro is an ensemble instrument for secular and religious music, and is played at parties and traditional gatherings.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stringedinstrumentdatabase.aornis.com/c.htm |website=Stringed Instrument Database |title=C |access-date=20 March 2018}}</ref> [[Christian Nieves]] is a Puerto Rican cuatro player and is recognized by the Institute of Puerto Rican culture as the most talented young of their national instrument, the [[Puerto Rican cuatro]].

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{wiktionary|guitarist}}
*{{Commons category-inline|Guitarists}}

{{Guitars}}

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[[Category:Guitarists| ]]
[[Category:Occupations in music]]
[[Category:Guitars]]