Guitars (Made By Hand Series #4) by Patricia Lakin

 

Guitars by Patricia Lakin

(Made by Hand Series #4)

Aladdin, 2021, 32 pages

Available November 9, 2021

Guitars are such a popular instrument, but have you ever wondered about their history or how they are made? Well, just as she did in her previous Made by Hand books, author Patricia Lakin takes readers behind the scenes to learn all about both acoustic and electric guitars.

The first section begins with a definition a guitar as a long-necked, flat-backed string instrument with pear-shaped incurved sides, readers are introduced to the different parts of the two kinds of guitars. Not surprisingly, the acoustic guitar is a much simpler instrument than the electric guitar, which has so many more parts to it. And who would have guessed that the sounds a guitar makes is really just a matter of physics? But I leave that to the author to explain, who does a far better job than I could.

Next, the history of guitars in introduced. Interestingly, earliest guitar-like instrument dates back as far as 1490 BC, where it was found in Thebes, Egypt. In fact, cousins of today's guitars can be found throughout history and in various countries. 

Nowadays, electric guitars might be more popular than the acoustic guitar, but readers will learn exactly who an electric guitar works and it is way more complicated than I would have thought. But just how are these instruments made? To get a good idea about that, Lakin turned to Meredith Coloma, a luthier from Vancouver, Canada. A talented violinist since the age of 9, Meredith toured with a Celtic rock band. Once she graduated high school, she traveled to New York City and, instead of performing, apprenticed with an elderly violin maker there. Returning to Vancouver, Meredith took a course in guitar making, but something in her guitars was missing. She began an apprenticeship with luthier Roger Sadowsky in NYC, and began making guitars with just the right tone that she wanted. But Meredith wasn't quite satisfied, and apprenticed with luthier Michael Dunn in Vancouver. Now a luthier in her own right, Meredith makes unique guitars back in Vancouver. 

In the next section of the book, Meredith takes readers on a detailed tour of her workshop where she gives a step by step demonstration of how both an acoustic guitar and an electric guitar are made and it is fascinating to see. I had no idea just what went into producing a guitar that looks good and has great sound quality.

Finally (and this is one of my favorite sections of the books in the Made By Hand series), young readers can learn how to make their own telephone and harmonica using the science behind instruments like guitars or violins that vibrate when played by plucking strings. 

Guitars is a wonderfully informative book for budding musicians or really, for anyone interested in music, particularly guitars. The writing is accessible and there are lots of photographs and illustrations to help readers understand some of the finer, perhaps more complicated aspects of guitars (like the physics part that even I understood). Back matter consists of a list of great guitarists, a time line, and a glossary and list of resources.

This book is recommended for readers age 8+

This book was an eARC gratefully received from Casey Blackwell at Media Masters Publicity