Classification for Classical Guitar & Acoustic Guitar

The unique feature between classical guitar and acoustic guitar should be discussed from several aspects:

  1) The Body Structure
  The classical guitar uses the nylon strings which are more suitable for solo performance and musical expressiveness. The leading brand in the world of classic guitar strings will be– Daddario, Sava Antilles, and Augustine. Good classical guitar with such good strings will extremely improve their performance. It will be the truth for our models, such as ACM30, ACM30A, ACH130, etc. While the acoustic guitar uses the steel string, because of the nature of play.

Normal acoustic guitar is different from classical guitar in the quantity of fret. A standard classic guitar has 19frets while acoustic guitar with 21frets. Also, in acoustic guitar there are 14 frets on the fingerboard above the conjoint place of fingerboard and body. While, the classical guitar just has 12 frets. However, some acoustic guitars are made like classical guitar. This is another story! The acoustic guitar is prepared for accompaniment, so it must have the straps and the strap buckle. That will be carefully identified by the beginners. Besides, steel-string guitars use different bracing systems from classical guitars, typically using X-bracing instead of the fan bracing used on classical and flamenco guitars. The ways and setting to tie the strings are completely different between the classical guitar and formal acoustic guitar, but not much to say here.

  2) The performance forms
  The classical guitar can mainly be engaged in the following ways: the guitar solo, ensemble, concerto and accompaniment, but the acoustic guitar is playing a single way, only accompaniment. There are also many people use steel string guitar to play the finger style guitar songs, then creating a lot of alternative style repertoire. But classical guitar have the stronger expressiveness in musicality. I suggest that beginners learn classical guitar, and the electric guitars / bass is the modern instruments also from the classical guitar used to the accompaniment in the band.

  3) Learning Methods
  Just from the performance forms, you will see the different learning methods of these two guitars. In the process of learning classical guitar, you need to go through the formal posture, training and gradual learning exercises. And strictly and professional learning are the characteristics of improvement.
While leaning the acoustic guitar has a lot of freedom, but you need spend more time to practice on the type and rhythm of accompaniment.
Generally, the beginning of learning acoustic guitar is quite simple, but it really difficult to improve. Once the acoustic guitar learning is very well, you may feel so hard to study classical guitar. It may spend you a long time to correct some finger errors and wrong techniques, also need the formal training on the performance speed.

  4) Art Connotation
  The classical guitar represents continuation of the development of the musical arts. As the world’s three major instruments, classical guitar is to inherit and develop the art of music, its expression even more than all other musical instruments. Beethoven, Buluoweier (World Music spokesman for the 20th century) have high comment on classical guitar. So the classical guitar represents a higher level of art, meanwhile the people who enjoy it are required high quality of music
The art connotation of acoustic guitar performance is subordinate to singer and songs. The real meaning of the songs is expressed through the accompaniment, of course, that requires the both sides’ ability to cope with it.

  These are just part of the differences between them, in fact, classical guitar and acoustic guitar are of so many differences, only you know the guitar, you can appreciate the differences between them.