The guitar itself is an instrument that dates back centuries before it’s common use today as a popular instrument in blues, rock and roll, and other types of music such as heavy metal. Early versions of stringed instruments are found all across the world, and in modern versions such as the sitar, the banjo, the violin, and the harp. The guitar was a popular instrument and continues to be so in classical music, but the popularization began in the early 20th century as part of the blues movement in the twenties and thirties that became known at the blues.

One of the first electric guitar uses was by well-known bands to claim they were influenced by blues was The Beatles, who were followed by Bob Dylan, a folk artist, who modernized the folk style and began using electric guitars in his performances. Needless to say, like any drastic change of method from the celebrated norm, this was met with a lot of resistance, but eventually the electric guitar had successfully permeated not only the blues and rock scene, but that of folk music, as well.

Among the many effects available on an electric guitar, as opposed to its acoustic counterpart, the sheer size of the growing concert hall called for more volume from any given musicians. Again, while they are fresh in mind, the Beatles played a concert at Shea Stadium in New York City– this certainly would not have been possible on the standard, acoustic guitars. Surely no one would have heard a note from the stage.

One more benefit to the electric guitar, as popularized by guitarist Eric Clapton during his Cream years, would be the many effects placed onto the guitar’s sound by tampering with the reverb, echo, and the tightening and loosening of the strings to create a heavily altered effect.