Guitar hero
This summer the Carnegie Science Center is hosting a special exhibit titled "The Guitar: The Instrument that Rocked the World." With a title holding so much promise of music, science, and just so much coolness, we knew we could not miss it.
Myles made sure he was in appropriate dress
More rocking after the jump
The exhibit was more than just a guitar show, though there were so many on display, like these below.
Disappointed with commercially available models, Eddie Van Halen built his own electric guitar, the Frankenstrat.
The body of this purple beauty was produced using stereolithography. I don't know how well it plays, but it was quite something.
There was even an air guitar (second from the right).
The kids also enjoyed the hands-on demonstrations that explained the science and mechanics of the guitar. A few dealt with the workings of the magnetic pickup, something Randy and I were more than happy to explain in greater detail to them. Probably the most instructive, to me, was the one about gears. Gears are used in any situation that requires applied torque to be transformed, and I usually think about this in terms of magnifying the torque or change direction. In a guitar, the gears are used to scale down the torque to make minute adjustments with even the clumsiest of human hands.
The highlight was the World's Largest Playable Guitar. Myles looked at it and said, "Of course it's in the shape of a Flying V."
He tried to direct us to hold down the strings so he could strum some proper chords. The guitar was not in tune, but we made noise that almost resembled music.
In this picture, you can see the real pickups tucked between the larger fake ones.
Coincidentally, in this month's beijing kids, I wrote about buying Myles his new guitar for his last birthday.
T
Myles made sure he was in appropriate dress
More rocking after the jump
The exhibit was more than just a guitar show, though there were so many on display, like these below.
Disappointed with commercially available models, Eddie Van Halen built his own electric guitar, the Frankenstrat.
The body of this purple beauty was produced using stereolithography. I don't know how well it plays, but it was quite something.
There was even an air guitar (second from the right).
The kids also enjoyed the hands-on demonstrations that explained the science and mechanics of the guitar. A few dealt with the workings of the magnetic pickup, something Randy and I were more than happy to explain in greater detail to them. Probably the most instructive, to me, was the one about gears. Gears are used in any situation that requires applied torque to be transformed, and I usually think about this in terms of magnifying the torque or change direction. In a guitar, the gears are used to scale down the torque to make minute adjustments with even the clumsiest of human hands.
The highlight was the World's Largest Playable Guitar. Myles looked at it and said, "Of course it's in the shape of a Flying V."
He tried to direct us to hold down the strings so he could strum some proper chords. The guitar was not in tune, but we made noise that almost resembled music.
In this picture, you can see the real pickups tucked between the larger fake ones.
Coincidentally, in this month's beijing kids, I wrote about buying Myles his new guitar for his last birthday.
Then we found ourselves in front of Rock Mei Mei, a store that oozed personality--but especially rock-n-roll. In my mind I flash-forwarded a few years and saw a teen aged Myles trying to impress some girl by boasting that he'd gotten his first guitar at Beijing's Rock Mei Mei. The swagger with which Future Myles carried himself was more than I could take; I was ready to reconsider in the hopes that my little boy would remain an eight-year-old innocent if he never owned a guitar in the first place. However, Myles and his father were already in the store.The whole thing can currently be found in the August issue if you are in Beijing, or by following this link to the publications' issuu.com format. Beijing's favorite Americana band Randy Abel Stable makes an appearance as well, and I rest my hopes on Myles not becoming a real rocker on their influence.
T
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