Translation & Subtitles: thoseguiltyeyes | scandal-heaven.com

Hello, I'm SCANDAL's vocalist HARUNA.

I'm guitarist MAMI.

Today, we'll be conveying the appeal of guitars to those considering taking it up.

The title is "Start Your Journey!"

Let's start your musical journey with this video.

It's rare for us to explain things about guitars via a video.

That's true.

Talking about things like what the guitar is,

-that's something we've never talked about in that much detail.
-That's true.

We've been playing the guitar since we formed 15 years ago,

so for this video we'll be basing things on our stories from back then.

Do you remember the first time you played a guitar?

The first time?

Middle--no, high school.

Maybe the summer before my first year of high school?

We formed at a vocal & dance training school,

and when we were attending, the dance school staff...

They asked me if I had a guitar.

I said I didn't, and they told me to somehow get my hands on one by tomorrow

and take it to school with me.

-They wanted to put together an all-girl band.
-That's right.

-Our first form of motivation was to be able to play a song.
-That's right.

That's how we started playing guitar.

What was something you found difficult then?

Let's see...

You have to link the movements of both hands, which I found really difficult.

I'd play one chord four times, then play the next one four times,

-but I wasn't sure when I should be moving my hands.
-I totally get that.

-Changing chords. That was hard.
-Yeah, that was difficult.

We were like, "First, let's all at least be able to play the intro."

It went slow, but the feeling of accomplishment when we all got through one song was...

-amazing.
-Amazing, right?

All you're doing is taking things in when you're a beginner,

so there are a lot of things that can be absorbed.

I remember that every day was a lot of fun.

Well, what is a guitar in the first place?

Beginners might not really understand the differences between the guitar and bass.

-We were like that as well.
-Yeah, it was like that for us.

Firstly, the guitar is an instrument with six strings.

There are two main types of guitars.

What are they?

-Two...guitars.
-Yes.

-Types, you mean?
-Yes, types of guitars.

I know!

-Electric guitars and acoustic guitars!
-Correct!

Thanks so much.

You can make sounds with an acoustic guitar on its own.

-Well, the ones around us are all electric guitars.
-Yes.

For electric guitars, you plug it into an amp via a cable to make sounds.

-With amps, right?
-Yes.

-There are some here.
-Here, too.

-Amps are so-called speakers.
-That's right.

This cable here is called a shielded cable,

so if you'd like to get this, you can go to an instrument store and ask for it.

There's an acoustic guitar next to you, MAMI.

What are the differences between acoustic and electric guitars?

Let's see.

You can see there's a hole in it,

and the inside of it is hollow.

It's lighter than an electric guitar.

Also, the strings are a little harder than electric ones.

It gives off a really powerful sound.

You can also plug a shielded cable into it, but that's not necessary.

One of its features is that it gives off a powerful sound.

Also, the body is very thick.

That's true.

Electric guitars are a bit thin.

Those are their differences, appearance-wise.

As you said earlier, acoustic guitar strings are a bit thicker.

So if you practice on an acoustic guitar first,

you might find an electric guitar a little easier to play.

That's true.

So, the main difference between an acoustic and an electric guitar

is whether or not it can be connected to an amp to produce sound.

Electric guitars have microphones that pick up the vibrating sound of the strings, which are called pickups.

They're attached here.

Yes, the guitar consists of various parts such as the headstock

as well as the body.

There are also pegs and different volume knobs.

Also, electric guitars come in different shapes,

meaning that they're further divided into various types.

So let's plug the cable into the amp and play some sounds.

Okay.

It's plugged in right now.

The volume's turned down,

and when you play it, it sounds like this.

Yeah.

-Well, you can hear it...
-Yeah.

But if I was on stage, for example,

the audience, who's a bit far away, wouldn't be able to hear it.

But when you put the sounds through the amp...

-That's how it'll sound.
-Yeah.

Another good thing about electric guitars is that...

Well, it also depends on the amp,

but if you connect them to effects pedals, you can produce all kinds of sounds.

So, with electric guitars you can freely use amps or effects pedals to produce sounds that you like.

Yes.

So let's play together.

As we've been talking about electric guitars,

I'd like for us to try something you can do with two guitars.

Let's start with the rhythm guitar.

The rhythm guitar...

It has a role in keeping the rhythm going.

While I'm playing that...

The lead guitar plays the melody.

I'll play it.

That's what I play.

We do completely different things,

but we're playing during the same parts of the song.

We'll show you what that sounds like combined.

Let's play.

That's how it sounds.

You can have a lot of fun when you start playing the guitar,

but there are also a lot of things you need to remember

as well as things you'll have trouble with.

When choosing a guitar to play,

I'm sure a lot of the time people choose them based on how cool they are, or that they like the appearance of it.

That's why we want to convey to everyone that you can totally pick one up even if you're not that knowledgeable about them.

It was the same for me.

MAMI, how did you decide on your first guitar?

Appearance was my first priority too.

I saw a cute pastel pink guitar,

and I decided on it because it was cute.

Of course I didn't know what kind of sounds the guitar would make,

Employees at the instrument store told me their thoughts on it, but I had no idea what they were talking about.

I was just like, "Oh, this is what a guitar sounds like."

You don't understand anything about sounds at first.

So even if you don't understand it,

I think it's a good idea to go with your intuition and choose one you think is good, and also to take care of it.

This was our guitar segment for beginners.

We recalled memories from 15 years ago.

Again, we don't really get chances to give breakdowns about guitars,

so this made us realize a few things once again.

-This was also a refresher for us.
-Yeah.

We'll continue to post reference videos like this, so please look forward to them!

We'll see you later!

This has been "Start Your Journey!" with SCANDAL's vocalist HARUNA and guitarist MAMI.

Bye bye!