Since the inception of communication, man was able to communicate with others by using symbols and actions. As man continued to develop, his knowledge continued to grow at an exceptional rate, and his communication development improved as sounds and simple words evolved.

As time passed society gradually developed small communities where people of the same class or group could relate to each other. Today communication has been transposed to a newer dimension: people are creating new words to fit their group. This is probably the why many musicians have created, and use musical jargon. Guitar playing jargon evolved so that guitar players could communicate within the context of their music.

This jargon in particular has created an exclusive social milieu where the people who know how to play the guitar are the only ones who can understand it. While many people are against it, the jargon used by the guitar players has in some way, protected the people. It enables musicians and artists to protect their intellectual rights from people who wish to take advantage of what they can provide.

The only problem with musical jargons like those used by the guitarists is that it becomes an exclusive form of communication that only those who understand it. People who are not familiar with this type of communication, but are interested in learning how to play the guitar find it really hard to understand or learn.

Some people contend that learning how to play the guitar as well as learning how to understand jargon would be a nice if learned in tandem. Knowing these things, you could not only learn to play the instrument but be able to take part in a social group where each could understand the other.

Guitar-playing jargons have the propensity to create an atmosphere of superiority and expertise, where people who understand the lingo can actually have an advantage over others.

It might be hard for a beginner to learn and master the jargon, but the benefit would be that they would able to communicate with others who play guitar when using their musical jargon. By learning the jargon it also enables the beginner to pick up tips from books, magazines and even the internet. It may also help in communicating with your instructor or tutor and hence gaining more benefits from your lessons. Of course if you already have friends who “speak guitar” this will also help you to pick up the lingo much faster.




By: Ian Williamson