What is a Fender Telecaster
Lesson time: (1min 5sec)
Course preview
This lesson is part of the course Guitar Method: Rock & Pop
Watch a preview of the full course below.
Lesson transcript:
Welcome to Section Two of Pop
You may have noticed in the previous section that I swapped guitars from the Les Paul to this.
The Fender Telecaster
It's a Fender Telecaster, similar to a Stratocaster, if you may have one at home. It's quite a common shape to have as a first guitar.
Why the Switch?
The reason I chose this guitar for this section is that pop music has a quite clean style. In terms of guitar playing:
- With my other guitar, the pickups were a bit too powerful, giving a distorted, thick tone.
- This style of music suits a thinner sort of tone.
By that, I mean you can hear my parts nice and clean ‚ really thin, crisp kinds of parts.
Whereas before, it was a nice big, bassy, distorted sound. That's why I've gone with this guitar again.
No Multiple Guitars? No Problem!
If you don't have multiple guitars right now, that's totally fine.
- It's all the same in terms of the fretboard and learning on the strings.
- It's just something to think about as we progress with our guitar playing.
You may not understand why your guitar doesn't sound like your favorite artists. It can come down to the gear.
But for now, we're just learning the fundamentals of playing guitar and working on some cool pieces while we do it.
About the instructor
Tommy Webb is a London-based guitarist who completed a BA(Hons) Degree in guitar at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, studying under Sandy Beales (One Direction, Wheatus) and Nicolas Meier (Jeff Beck). His own playing moves freely across rock, pop, indie, hip-hop, country and metal - the exact ground his guitar methods cover. Tommy has worked with a wide range of artists and bands across the country, including Jarki Monno and Indira May, sharing stages and sessions with guitarists Paul Murray (Jess Glynne, Zak Abel) and Adam Chetwood (Paolo Nutini, Mark Ronson), and drummers Alex Woodward (Black Honey), Luke Robinson and “Bambi Music” (N-Dubz, Lethal Bizzle, Wretch 32, Tinie Tempah). On stage, he has performed at the Jazz Cafe opening for soul singer Jocelyn Brown, plus venues and festivals including Ronnie Scott's, Troy Bar, The Watford Colosseum, Camden Assembly, Kensington Roof Gardens, Notting Hill Arts Club, Meraki Festival and Sundown Festival. On record and radio, Tommy has played live sessions for BBC Three Counties Introducing, Vibe FM and Pulse 88, with tracks featured on BBC Radio 1 and Radio 2. He has recorded at studios including South Lanes Brighton, Hempstead Road and Titan Studios with producers such as Steph Carter (Gallows, Lyoness) and TMS / Froe Barnes (Lewis Capaldi, Dua Lipa). In his guitar methods, Tommy passes all of that working-musician know-how on to you - teaching the techniques, tones and feel behind real styles, from rock and pop to indie, hip-hop, country and metal, so you can play the music you actually love. read more