The electric guitar was first created by George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker. This guitar is able to be played the way it is because of a branch of physics called electromagnetism, which is also one of nature’s four fundamental forces. Under the strings of the body of the guitar, there are electromagnets. When the strings are strummed, the movement of the strings against the electromagnets changes the magnetic field of these magnets, creating an electric current, which is ultimately the source of the sound. This current will then be transmitted through the amplifier. Because most of the world’s population is right-handed, it is very hard to find a left-handed guitar, which is why left-handed guitarists like, Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix decided to play their right-handed electric guitars upside down. Cobain was ambidextrous, but nobody knows why he flipped his guitar.
The song that I have chosen that includes the electric guitar is “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana. Some argue that this song has no actual meaning and is meant to be a joke. However, I like to believe that this song does have a meaning and that this instrument serves to emphasize the meaning of this song. Since, Cobain was a known advocate for gay and women’s rights and this song was meant to start a revolution, the loud and boisterous, yet, uplifting and energetic sound that the electric guitar produced helped captivate the young audience that made up most of Cobain’s fanbase and encouraged them to rebel against the restrictions that society had imposed on them.
I like how you included the physics involved in the making and the playing of the electric guitar. I never would have guessed that there were electromagnets under the strings of the guitars. I also found it interesting that the fact that most people in the world are right handed is a crucial part to the design of most electric guitars.