Difference between accoustic and classical guitar?

Question

whats the difference betwen accoustic and classical guitar? the sound and the way it is played. if u know hw to play classical can u play accoustic quite easily?thanks!

Answer 1

They're both tuned and played exactly the same.

The difference is in the construction, and therefore in the sound each one produces.

Classical guitars are built to be strung with nylon strings (before the invention of nylon they were strung with gut strings, BTW), and acoustic guitars are built to be strung with steel strings.

Nylon strings exert far less tension and stress on the neck and body of a guitar than steel strings do, but they also don't generate as much volume as steel strings.  So classical guitars are built of thinner, lighter woods, with lighter (and less) internal bracing, to be as loud and responsive as possible to the vibrations of nylon strings.

Steel strings, OTOH, exert a lot more tension and stress on a guitar's neck and body, but they also generate more sound, so acoustic guitars are built of heavier, thicker woods, with more (and heavier) internal bracing inside the body, and a steel truss rod running down the inside of the neck -- all to withstand the greater string tension.

This difference in construction means that you should NEVER put steel strings on a classical guitar.  You will very quickly end up with a broken guitar as the greater string tension will warp the neck, pull the bridge off, and buckle the top.

Soundwise, classical guitars are usually warmer and mellower sounding, capable of a great variety of tonal variations.,  They're almost always played by being picked with the fingers, not strummed with a flat pick, so they have wider fingerboards and no pickguards on their face.  They're usually used for (no surprise) classical music, or acoustic jazz, or sometimes folk.

Acoustic guitars are the default choice of most guitarists looking for an acoustic (non-electric) sound for rock, country, folk, bluegrass, Americana, etc.  The sound is generally louder (especially if strummed or picked with a flatpick or thumb and fingerpicks), brighter, and crisper than a classical guitar.

Answer 2

There isnt, a classical guitar is an acoustic guitar,,

xx

Answer 3

The Term acoustic guitar means that the guitar is producing

the sound without the need of external amplification (like the electric guitars that need an amplifier added to the unit).

Acoustic guitars are manufactured to be played with either

steel-strings or nylon strings. Those guitar that use only nylon strings are also referred to as "classical guitars" and should never be strung with steel-strings because of the pressure of

the steel-strings will damage the neck of the guitar.

Both types of guitars (nylon or steel strings) can be used to play any type of music.

Classical guitar have a "mellower" sound and is the preferred

instruments of guitarist that concentrate on classical music.

Steel-strings guitars have a "brighter" sound and is the

preferred instrument of guitarist that like jazz.blues,folk, etc.

The only difference in the actual playing is that in the classical guitar 99% of the players use their fingers (no picks) and in the steel-strings guitar more than half the players use a pick to play. Possible reason: steel-strings are "punishing" on your fingers to the point that you will develope calouses on your fingers.

Nylon strings are much softer in your fingers and therefore many teachers recommend them for a beginner's instrument.

Remember Both types of guitars can play Any Kind of Music.

Classical guitar players tend to play melodic passages more than chords and the reverse is true for steel-string players who concentrate more on chords than the melody line of a musical piece.

It is a matter of choice, however a very high majority of the

classical guitar players know how to sight-read music and

In my experience with many friend guitarist not very many of

the steel-strings players know how to read the musical staff.

They depend on Tabs for their playing.

The problem is that is there are no tabs for a specific music piece they will be at a loss unless they "hear" the piece before-hand and then play"by ear".

Not the best way to play but better than nothing.

In your last question, Yes, if you can play classical (nylon-strings) guitars you should not have any problems (other than

the hardness of the steel-strings) playing the steel-string guitar. Remember they are both "acoustic instrunments" since the sound is reproduced in the body (box) of the guitar.

Answer 4

So you've already heard, classical is a nylon string instrument, while the other is steel string.

The classical or Spanish style will also usually have a wider neck, though I've seen narrow ones too.  Classicals won't have "dots" on the fret board to make you sight dependent for hand position, where it is common on steel guitars.

If you learn on a classical, I would argue your skills will be superior for one thing, you will be able to use your entire right hand, not just a plectrum (pick).  Learning to use the pick is easy btw.  The only thing that you really won't learn on a classical is strumming patterns, it just isn't played that way (though you can).  Oh, and you don't bend strings on a classical for a slur (though you can)  And yes, you can play a steel string with your right hand fingers, plenty of people play fingerstyle on steel and electric, you just have to use the softer strings if you don't want to shred your nails.  (they also make a spray on coating for the strings, but I don't find it necessary).  

So yes, everything you learn on a classical will carry over.

Good luck.