HISTORY OF GUITAR

Guitar History

The guitar's roots are in Spain. Realistically, it cannot be traced back further than the 15th Century. It is thought to have been invented by the people of Malaga. This early instrument was a "four course" guitar, from which the ukulele is derived. The first guitars were very small, and were originally strung with four pair of strings. Each pair was call a course.

During the Renaissance, the guitar never had the respect the lute enjoyed. It was not considered a serious instrument. The first publication for guitar is thought to have been Alonso Mudarra's "Tres Libros de Musica en Cifras para Vihuela." Eventually, the guitar began to attract players, more publications and music began to appear.

During the During the Baroque period, A fifth course was added. Even more music became available. It's repertoire and the complexity of the music increased.

The fifth course was tuned in one of three ways.

1. A low "A" as it is now.
2. A low "A" plus an octave for the second part of the course
3. Both strings an "A" an octave higher than the modern guitar.

If a modern player really wants to have a complete, accurate repertoire of the Baroque Guitar, it would be necessary to either re-string for different pieces, or have at least three instruments for the different tunings.

At the end of the Baroque period two significant changes were made. The double strings were replaced by single strings, and instead of five pari, there were six single strings.

During the Classical period there were many publications, composers and performers. Fernando Sor, Mauro Guilliani, Matteo Carcassi, Fernando Carulli and many others wrote music, published methods and performed concerts. The guitar was very popular and guitar concerts were common.

Sor played the guitar as a solo instrument at the London Philharmonic Concert in 1817. In memoirs, George Hogarth stated: "He astonished the audience by his unrivaled execution." Paganinni was also active, playing and writing for the guitar as well as the violin. Stradivarius made guitars as well as violins.

At the end of the 19th century, the guitar had fallen out of favor, but was resurrected by Francisco Tarrega. His best piece in my opinion is the now very famous "Receurdos De La Alhambra." He did few public performances and chose to perform for friends at his home. He did compose, and he wrote a method for teaching guitar. He also transcribed many pieces of music for the guitar. Segovia was one of many guitarists that were influenced by him. Tarrega began the tradition of playing with the fingernails.

Up until this point the instrument itself was small and narrow. Antonio de Torres (1817 - 1892) worked with the design and construction of the guitar. He increased the size and experimented with anything that would improve the sound, and was especially interested in volume. He was the first maker to use "fan" bracing underneath the top. He once built a Guitar with a spruce top and paper mache back and sides to prove his theory that it was the top that produced most of the volume. He was the father of the modern guitar.

Some well known composers who played the guitar are Carl Maria Von Weber, Rossini and his wife, Verdi, and for many years Franz Schubert did his composing on his guitar which hung over his bed. He didn't have a piano at the time. Berlioz also composed the guitar.

Segovia performed, transcribed, taught and discovered a tremendous amount of music. He also encouraged many composers to write for the guitar. He was the first person to perform in a concert hall... Before Segovia, people believed this could not be done.

Although Segovia did all these things, the real debt that we owe to him is that of making the guitar truly a world instrument. By traveling and performing throughout the world, he brought respect and recognition to the instrument.

Nylon strings were a big improvement over gut strings. They replaced gut in 1946.

Today there are many concerts of guitar music. There are many societies and magazines devoted to the guitar.

Here follows a brief Timeline

• 1265 Juan Gil of Zamora mentions the early guitar in "Ars Musica.
• 1283-1350 Guitarra Latina & Guitar Moresca are mentioned multiple times in the poems of the Archpriest of Hita
• 1306 A "gitarer" was played at the Feast of Westminster in England
• 1404 "Der mynnen regein" by Eberhard Von Cersne makes reference to a "quinterne."
• 1487 Johannes Tinctoris described the guitarra as being invented by the Catalans. This refers to the four course guitar. Each course represents one pair of double strings.
• 1546 "Tres Libros de Musica en Cifras para Vihuela" by Alonso Mudarra is the first publication to include music for guitar.
• 1551-1555 Nine books of tablature were published by Adrian Le Roy. These include the first pieces for 5 course guitar. The addition of the fifth course was attributed to Vicente Espinel
• 1600-1650 Many publications of tablature for the guitar. It's popularity begins to rival the lute.
• 1674 Publication of "Guitarre Royal" by F. Corbetta increased the guitar's popularity. It was dedicated to Louis XIV.
• 1770-1800 A sixth string was added to the guitar and the courses were replaced by single strings.
• 1800-1850 Guitar enjoyed a large popularity both in performances and publishing. Fernando Sor, Mauro Guiliani, Matteo Carcassi and Dioniso Aguado all performed, taught, wrote and had published their compositions.
• 1850-1892 Guitar maker Antonio de Torres develops the larger more resonant instrument we know today.
• 1916 Segovia performs at Ateneo, the most important concert hall in Madrid. Before this it was thought that the guitar did not have the volume for this type of venue.
• 1946 Nylon replaces gut as a string material

History of the Guitar

Musical instruments similar to the modern guitar have been used throughout much of history and by many different cultures and peoples. Instruments like the guitar may have been played as far back as 3,000 years ago. 

The Name Guitar 

The English word "guitar" comes from the Spanish word guitarra. Prior to that, it likely was formed from the Latin word "cithara" and an ancient Sanskrit "tar", which meant string. 

Ancient Guitars 

The oldest surviving guitar-like instrument comes from Ancient Egypt. It was used by a singer to the Egyptian queen Hatshepsut named Har-Mose. You can see this guitar today in Cairo, Egypt at the Archaeological Museum. 

The Lute came to Europe between the 6th and the 9th century in many forms. It was brought to the Byzantine Empire as the Barbat. Later it showed up Spain from the Moors who brought the Oud. These instruments became the Lute which was a popular instrument in the European Middle Ages. 

Baroque Guitar 

One of the predecessors to the modern day classical guitar was the Baroque guitar. It was played during the European Renaissance in the 1600s. The Baroque guitar had 9 or 10 strings with 2 string generally tuned to the same course or note. A lower E string was added later as the form moved toward the modern guitar. 

Antonio Torres Jurado 

In the 1800s Antonio Torres Jurado started building guitars in a similar fashion to the modern classical and acoustic guitars. Most of today's guitars are derivatives, or alterations, of guitars that Torres designed and built. He is often called the Stradivari of guitars (Antonio Stradivari being the world famous violin maker). 

Electric Guitar 

The electric guitar was invented in the United States in the 1930s. The first patent for the electric guitar was awarded to George Beauchamp for a guitar he made with partner Adolph Rickenbacker in 1931. A lot of other inventors and guitar makers were working on electric guitars at the same time. Famous electric guitar makers included Les Paul who pioneered the solid body guitar made by Gibson Guitars. 

Electric guitar maker Les Paul

In 1951 Leo Fender invented the Fender Telecaster. This guitar, together with the Gibson Les Paul, the Fender Telecaster, and the Gibson SG would make solid-body electric guitars hugely popular. These are still the most popular styles and models made today. 

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Famous Guitarists

There have been many famous guitarists over the years. Especially in the last 60 years with the popularity of rock music and the electric guitar. Many of the most famous guitarists are rock guitarists most known for their work in a rock band and with the electric guitar. 

Who the best guitarists are is really a personal opinion and taste. We will list some of the most famous and influential for each style of music, with a focus on rock music. 

Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones Playing guitar

Rock

• Jimi Hendrix (1942 - 1970) - Jimi is considered by many people to be the greatest electrical guitarist ever. He was number 1 on Rolling Stones list of top 100 guitarists. Hendrix's live performances were some of the best ever. He made sounds and used feedback that was unique and many guitarists since have tried to emulate him.
• Jimmy Page (1944 - ) - Jimmy Page was lead guitarist for the rock band Led Zeppelin. He wrote rock riffs on the guitar like never before and was one of the influential guitarists in the history of rock music.
• Eddie Van Halen (1955 - ) - Eddie played the guitar with a speed an energy like no one before him. He was the power in the power rock band Van Halen. Many a kid picked up the guitar in the 1980s wanting to play like Eddie Van Halen.
• Duane Allman (1946 - 1971) - Duane Allman played southern Rock in the Allman Brothers band. He was known for his improvisational and live performances.
• Eric Clapton (1945 - ) - Eric took his blues style into rock and roll and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times: once for his solo career and for his membership in the bands Cream and the Yardbirds.
• Keith Richards - (1943 - ) - Lead guitarist for the Rolling Stones, Kieth Richard's song and guitar riffs have had a huge influence over rock and pop music for the last 50 years.

BB King and Eric Clapton Playing Guitar

Blues

• Stevie Ray Vaughn (1954 - 1990) - A great blues and rock guitarist who could put on an amazing live performance.
• B.B. King (1925 - ) - B.B. King was ranked #3 on Rolling Stones all time great guitarists, the highest of all the blues players. He introduced the electric guitar solo which many after him copied.
• Robert Johnson (1911 - 1938) - Perhaps the first great blues guitarist, Johnson's early work had a great influence on blue and later rock n' roll.

Country

• Chet Atkins (1924 - 2001) - Chet Atkins guitar picking style had great influence over many country musicians. He created a country music style call the Nashville Sound.
• Brad Paisley (1972 - ) - Brad plays a style that mixes country with southern rock. He is one of the best guitarists in country music today.
• Jerry Reed (1937 - 2008) - Jerry was an influential country guitarist. He wrote the song Guitar Man.
• Keith Urban (1967 - ) - Keith is one of today's best country music performers.

Fun Facts about Famous Guitarists

• Some of the world's greatest guitarists have been left handed including Jimi Hendrix, Paul McCartney, and Kurt Cobain.
• The tombstone of Jimi Hendrix has a Fender Stratocaster carved on it.
• Duane Allman's nickname was Skydog.
• Keith Urban is married to movie star Nichole Kidman.
• Keith Richards was in two of the Pirate's of the Caribbean movies. Johnny Depp said he modeled the character of Jack Sparrow after Keith Richards.
• Brian May, lead guitarist for the rock band Queen, has a PHD in astrophysics.