Guitar Guitar Techniques & Playing Styles 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What playing style is characterized by using a glass or metal tube on the fretting hand finger to slide along the strings?
- Fingerstyle
- Tapping
- Slide guitar (Correct answer)
- Tremolo picking
Correct answer: Slide guitar
Slide guitar uses a glass or metal slide to glide along strings, producing a smooth, vocal-like tone associated with blues and country music.
Question 2: What is 'sweep picking' primarily used for in guitar playing?
- Strumming open chords
- Playing arpeggios at high speed (Correct answer)
- Producing harmonics
- Muting unwanted strings
Correct answer: Playing arpeggios at high speed
Sweep picking involves dragging the pick in one direction across multiple strings to play arpeggios smoothly and at high speed.
Question 3: What technique involves tapping the guitar body or strings with the picking hand fingers for percussive effect?
- Slap harmonics
- Percussive fingerstyle
- Body tapping (Correct answer)
- Muting
Correct answer: Body tapping
Body tapping is a percussive fingerstyle technique where the guitarist strikes the guitar body while playing notes to create a drum-like rhythm.
Question 4: In electric guitar playing, what does 'palm muting' achieve?
- A clean, sustained tone
- A muted, chunky percussive tone (Correct answer)
- A natural harmonic
- A whammy bar dive bomb
Correct answer: A muted, chunky percussive tone
Palm muting is accomplished by resting the edge of the picking hand's palm on the strings near the bridge, creating a muffled, percussive tone.
Question 5: What is the term for fretting technique where notes are connected smoothly without picking each note individually?
- Staccato
- Legato (Correct answer)
- Pizzicato
- Marcato
Correct answer: Legato
Legato playing on guitar uses hammer-ons and pull-offs to connect notes smoothly, minimizing pick attack for a fluid, singing quality.
Question 6: What two-hand technique, popularized by Eddie Van Halen, involves using picking hand fingers to fret notes on the neck?
- Sweep picking
- Two-hand tapping (Correct answer)
- Whammy dive
- Pinch harmonics
Correct answer: Two-hand tapping
Two-hand tapping uses both the fretting and picking hands on the fretboard to play fast, wide-interval melodic passages.
Guitar Guitar Techniques & Playing Styles 2
What playing style is characterized by using a glass or metal tube on the fretting hand finger to slide along the strings?