Guitar work

Guitar played with individual fingers plucking strings rather than a pick

Thick, overdriven, or heavily amplified guitar tones define the song's sonic identity

Guitar played with a capo, transposing the open strings to a higher pitch

Guitar and bass play the same line in unison or in octaves.

Guitar played with a metal or glass slide giving a singing, gliding tone

Guitar and piano play the same line in unison.

Bending a guitar string sideways to raise its pitch expressively.

Chord notes played individually in sequence rather than simultaneously strummed

Guitar's low E string tuned down a whole step to D for a heavier, fuller sound

The record opens on guitar alone, before any other instrument or voice enters.

A foot-rocked volume control that swells the guitar's signal level from silence to peak, removing the pick-attack transient so notes bloom into the mix – producing a violin-like, attack-less swell. Distinct from a wah-wah pedal, which sweeps a midrange formant filter to create the 'talking' vowel effect. George Harrison's signature pre-Revolver textural device – heard on Wait (Rubber Soul), Yes It Is, and I Need You (Help!).

Guitar deliberately tuned away from standard pitch.