History of the guitar
History of the guitar:
Guitar is a very popular string musical instrument. Most guitar lovers know many techniques and chords of their instruments, but don’t know a thing about the history of their beloved musical instrument. If you are a guitar lover, you will find the history of guitar very fascinating.
There is no clear proof of guitar’s first appearance. It is believed that the guitar originated in Spain; however, the history of the guitar cannot be traced further back than the 15th century. The guitar is thought to have been invented by the people of Malaga.
Originally, the guitar had four courses. The first course being single and the rest three being double. The top course of the instrument extended from the pegbox to the tension bridge to the belly (sound board) which had a circular sound hole.
The “ukulele” is derived from this early version of the guitar. These “four course” guitars were very small in shape and each pair was known as a “course”. The pegbox was replaced by a flat head with rear tuning pegs in the 1600s.
The guitar lost favor in the Renaissance period. It was not considered a serious musical instrument and it could not compete with other popular musical instruments such as the lute; however, during the 17th century as the popularity of the vihuela and the lute declined, the popularity of the guitar began to rise.
Alonso Mudarra’s “Tres Libros de Musica en Cifras para en Vihuela ” is supposed to be the first book about guitar. From the 17th to the 19th century, the guitar was considered an amateur’s instrument.
LEARN GUITAR HOME STUDY COURSE
During the Baroque period in the 1600s, a fifth course was added to the guitar. The fifth course could be tuned in any of these three ways:
A low “A”
A low “A” with an octave for the second part of the courses
Both strings “A” and an octave higher than the modern guitar
Thus, the complexity of music produced by the guitar increased. After the Baroque period ended in the 18th century, the five course guitar was replaced by a six course guitar. The double strings were replaced by single strings. Thus, the guitar had six single strings. Another important change that the guitar underwent in this century was the replacement of tied-on gut frets by metal or ivory ones.
Antonio de Torres brought about many innovations in the design of the guitar in the 19th century. The fingerboard of the guitar used to end at the belly with several metal or ivory frets placed directly on the belly. It gave way to a fingerboard that was raised above the level of the belly and ran down to the edge of the sound hole. The body of the guitar changed to increase the sonority of the instrument. It was made shallower and broader, and the soundboard became very thin. The transverse bars used to reinforce the soundboard were replaced by radial bars. The stability of the instrument was increased by extending the neck into the body.
The instrument has undergone significant changes from the 15th century to the early 19th century to transform it into what we know today as the guitar. The history of the guitar is not only informative, but also very interesting.
