Guitar

The guitar is a popular musical instrument classified as a string instrument with anywhere from 4 to 18 strings, usually having 6. The sound is projected either acoustically or through electrical amplification (for an acoustic guitar or an electric guitar, respectively). It is typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the right hand 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.

There are three main types of modern acoustic guitar: the classical guitar (nylon-string guitar), the steel-string acoustic guitar, and the archtop guitar. The tone of an acoustic guitar is produced by the strings's vibration, amplified by the body of the guitar, which acts as a resonating chamber. The classical guitar is often played as a solo instrument using a comprehensive finger-picking technique. The term "finger-picking" can also refer to a specific tradition of folk, blues, bluegrass, and country guitar playing in the United States.

Guitar (Frank Zappa album)

Guitar is a 1988 album by Frank Zappa. It is the follow-up to 1981's Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar; like that album it features Zappa's guitar solos excerpted from live performances, recorded between 1979 and 1984. It garnered Zappa his 6th Grammy nomination for "Best Rock Instrumental Performance". This is Official Release #50.

Background

Guitar was originally intended to be a 3-record box set (like Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar), but Zappa decided, with this release, to start using compact discs as his primary media rather than records. As such, it was Zappa's first album to be released simultaneously on vinyl and CD. The double CD, released on Rykodisc in the US and Zappa Records in Europe, contained all 32 tracks while the double LP was pared down to 19 tracks and released on Zappa's Barking Pumpkin label (US) and Zappa Records (EU).

Aside from "Watermelon in Easter Hay", "Sexual Harassment In The Workplace" and "Outside Now," all tracks were derived from performances of other songs, as on Shut Up 'n Play Your Guitar. Other solos were excerpted from "The Black Page", "Let's Move to Cleveland", "Drowning Witch", "Zoot Allures", "Whipping Post", "City of Tiny Lites", "Advance Romance", "Hot-Plate Heaven at the Green Hotel", "King Kong", "Easy Meat", "Ride My Face to Chicago", "Sharleena", "A Pound for a Brown on the Bus", and "Inca Roads".

Guitar (song)

"Guitar" is the first single from Prince's 2007 album Planet Earth. This song was #39 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007.

The digital single was released in MP3 format through a partnership with Verizon Wireless, and O2. The music video for the song, featuring his current dancers "The Twinz" premiered on the Verizon website.

The song was released to radio stations on June 11, while the CD single format was released worldwide on July 9.

Although not as successful on the charts as many of his other songs, "Guitar" entered the Top 40 of the singles charts in four countries: Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, and Japan, where it peaked at #10 on the singles chart.

Track listing

References

Melanie

Melanie is a feminine given name derived from the Greek μελανία (melania), "blackness" and that from μέλας (melas), meaning "dark". Borne in its Latin form by two saints: Melania the Elder and her granddaughter Melania the Younger, the name was introduced to England by the Normans in its French form Melanie. However the name only became common in English usage in the 1930s due to the popularity of Margaret Mitchell's 1936 novel Gone with the Wind and its 1939 film adaptation, as one of the novel's main characters was named Melanie Hamilton. The name's popularity increased until the 1970s since remaining constant. Melanie was the 80th most popular name for girls born in the United States in 2007 and, as Mélanie, it was the 86th most popular name for girls born in France in 2004.

Notable people

Even Worse

Even Worse is the fifth studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released in 1988. The album was the fifth produced by former The McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between November 1987 and February 1988, this album helped to revitalize Yankovic's career after the critical and commercial disappointment of his previous album Polka Party! (1986).

The music on Even Worse is built around parodies and pastiches of pop and rock music of the mid-1980s. Half of the album is made up of parodies, featuring jabs at Michael Jackson, George Harrison, Tiffany, Los Lobos' version of the folk song "La Bamba", and Billy Idol. The other half of the album is original material, featuring many "style parodies", or musical imitations that come close to, but do not copy, existing artists. These style parodies include imitations of specific artists such as Oingo Boingo, Beastie Boys, and James Taylor. Even Worse has the distinction of being one of two albums by Yankovic lacking any polka renditions of pop songs or medleys, the other being his debut album "Weird Al" Yankovic (1983). This album's title and cover art are spoofs of Michael Jackson's 1987 album Bad.

Melanie (film)

Melanie is a 1982 Canadian film starring Glynnis O'Connor, Burton Cummings and Don Johnson.

Plot summary

Melanie (O'Connor) travels to Los Angeles in an effort to regain custody of her son from her ex-husband (Johnson). Her illiteracy poses a major obstacle. She meets a faded musician (Cummings) with whom she develops a relationship.

Cast

Production

Filming began in Toronto on 2 June 1980. Additional filming was conducted in Los Angeles.

Reception

Roger Ebert noted that Melanie was "an uneven and sometimes frustrating but very alive movie".

Awards

Melanie earned seven nominations for the 4th Genie Awards winning three of these:

Tuning

Tuning can refer to: