What makes Jimi Hendrix’s sound easily recognizable from Carlos Santana? How can you easily tell metal from funk, even if let’s say the metal player and the funk player are playing the same song (very unlikely, but bear with me here)? The answer: guitarists use effects to color their sound and give it a kind of modification suited to the type of music involved.

Normally these effects can be housed separately in small effects pedals, or in multi-effects hardware, or built into amplifiers, or simulated in computer software. They can be used singly, or you can turn on combinations of effects to get a particular sound. Let’s try to identify the types of guitar effects available so you know which one is perfect for achieving the sound you want.

Distortion effects are popular in genres like rock, metal, etc. This is what produces the heavy, rough, raw sound you hear in these genres. Distortion effects can be divided into categories like overdrive/distortion (this is the well-known rough sound), fuzz (which is used to copy the sound of a vibrating torn speaker – thus being “fuzzy”), and high-gain (the thick, loud, “chugging” sound used in heavy metal). Almost all rock bands have these as a given, and is a good, basic investment.

Filtering effects are effects which shape the sound by enhancing or minimizing certain frequencies. Here you can find equalizers (similar to how normal equalizers work), and wahs (a foot-operated pedal that lets through increasingly higher or lower frequencies by rocking the pedal). The wah pedal is named because it sounds like a person saying a long “wah” when rocked (the low frequencies are the “w-“ and the high frequencies are the “-ah” part). You can hear this mostly in funky grooves.

Volume effects are just that, they modify the volume in different ways. Examples of these are volume pedals (these are just volume knobs in the shape of a pedal which you can rock back and forth), tremolos (which is used to copy the sound of a volume knob being turned up and down quickly, making the tone “fluctuate”), and compressors (used to preserve a certain volume level as the signal gets louder).

Time-based effects take a sound signal and copy it, making a kind of echoing sound. Delay pedals can change the delay time between the original sound and the copied sound, up to very long delay times, making a rolling echo-like sound (a notable user of delay effects is U2’s The Edge). Reverb pedals, however, copy the sound produced in a large space, where little echoes pile up and decay quickly. Aside from distortion effects, these are also popular, and may be an essential part of your rig.

Modulation effects are effects which actually change how the sound sounds. Examples of these are phase shifters (which makes a sort of whooshing sound by copying the original signal and then putting it out of phase regularly), flangers (which create a kind of speeding-up or slowing-down sound), chorus pedals (copying the sound of several guitarists playing at the same time), and rotary speakers (copying the sound of a signal going through spinning speakers, making a kind of wavy pitch-changing effect). These types of effects are used to create those experimental, space-age-sounds.

Pitch shifters change the pitch of a signal, then combines it with the original sound so that it sounds like two guitars blending together in harmony. It can even be used as a bass guitar if you set it one octave lower than normal, or produce a video-gamey sound if set one octave higher.

You can experiment with combinations of pedals and connect them in chains to figure out what type of sound you want to create. After a while you can tell which effects were used in your favorite songs, and I hope this introduction can help you on the road to creating your own sound, and adding new dimensions to your musical adventure.

There are some activities that left-handers can’t easily do. One of these things is playing guitar. If you terribly want to learn to play the guitar and are left-handed there is hope.

Even left-handed individuals should not worry if they too can play a guitar like the right handed individuals. There are some helpful tips that you can observe to make the learning process simpler.

You should be weary of difficulties, but that is the situation with anything exotic you wish to learn. Here are the helpful tips that will guide you while you’re learning to play guitar.

1. Most left-handed guitarists are confused when choosing the appropriate guitar. In the end, you have two options when it comes to buying a guitar. The first option is to get a guitar used by right handed individuals and then have the strings’ position changed. If you don’t know how to do this, you can ask help from expert guitarists. Some left-handers are not comfortable with this set up but if you can pull it through, go ahead.

The second option is to get a guitar for left-handers, as there are now guitars especially designed for left handed people. Before you make any guitar purchase, you have to determine first which of these two options suits you.

2. Guitar lessons are sometimes hard to understand especially for lefties. You see, most guitarists are right handed and so you might get confused with the lessons. The best suggestion for this problem is to take everything that you learned and do it in reverse.

3. When you’re shopping for a new guitar, make sure that you buy from a reputable store. There are some stores that deliver defective guitars. These stores may prey on an inexperienced left handed guitarist because you do not know the difference. Shop around and ask advice from other lefty guitarists on where to buy. Also ask if online buying would be the nest method.

4. Confidence is crucial in learning to play the guitar as a left-handed person. Being a left-handed guitarist is tough and if you have a defeated attitude, you will not thrive. In the end, there have been left-handed people that have played guitar and thrive. Many brilliant and famous guitarists are known all over the world like Paul McCartney, Kurt Cobain, and Jimmy Hendrix. These people show that it is possible to be a guitarist as a left-handed person

5. For beginners, it would be helpful not play a guitar for right handed people in a left handed way. You will surely encounter problems with the guitar chords if you do this. Some complicated chords will be very difficult to play.

6. What matters most when learning to play guitar is to have fun. If you’re comfortable with left hand guitars, don’t immediately replace them with right handed ones.

These are helpful tips that you should utilize, especially if you’re a lefty. If you’re equipped with the right knowledge, all of the guitar lessons will be very easy. In no time at all, you will be playing with fellow lefties as well as with right handed guitarists.

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