Thursday, May 21, 2009 History of the Classical Guitar
Before the development of the electric guitar and the use of synthetic materials, a guitar was defined as being an instrument having "a long, fretted neck, flat wooden soundboard, ribs, and a flat back, most often with incurved sides".[1] Instruments similar to the guitar have been popular for at least 4,000 years. While today's classical guitar first appeared in Spain, it was itself a product of the long and complex history that saw a number of related guitar types developed and used across Europe.[2] The roots of the guitar can be traced back thousands of years to an Indo-European origin in instruments, then known in central Asia and India. For this reason the guitar itself is distantly related to instruments such as the tanbur and setar, and the Indian sitar. The oldest known iconographic representation of an instrument displaying all the essential features of a guitar being played is a 3,300 year old stone carving of a Hittite bard.[3] The modern word, guitar, was adopted into English from Spanish guitarra (German Gitarre, French Guitare),[4] loaned from the medieval Andalusian Arabic qitara[5], itself derived from the Latin cithara, which in turn came from the earlier Greek word kithara,[6] a possible descendant of Old Persian sihtar.[7]
The modern guitar is descended from the Roman cithara brought by the Romans to Hispania around 40 AD, and further adapted and developed with the arrival of the four-string oud, brought by the Moors after their conquest of the Iberian peninsula in the 8th century.[8] Elsewhere in Europe, the indigenous six-string Scandinavian lut (lute), had gained in popularity in areas of Viking incursions across the continent. Often depicted in carvings c. 800 AD, the Norse hero Gunther (also known as Gunnar), played a lute with his toes as he lay dying in a snake-pit, in the legend of Siegfried.[9] By 1200 AD, the four string "guitar" had evolved into two types: the guitarra morisca (Moorish guitar) which had a rounded back, wide fingerboard and several soundholes, and the guitarra latina (Latin guitar) which resembled the modern guitar with one soundhole and a narrower neck.[10]
The Spanish vihuela or "viola da mano", a guitar-like instrument of the 15th and 16th centuries is, due to its similarities, is often considered an important influence in the development of the modern guitar. It had lute-style tuning and a guitar-like body. Its construction had as much in common with the modern guitar as with its contemporary four-course renaissance guitar. The vihuela enjoyed only a short period of popularity; the last surviving publication of music for the instrument appeared in 1576. It is not clear whether it represented a transitional form or was simply a design that combined features of the Arabic oud and the European lute. In favor of the latter view, the reshaping of the vihuela into a guitar-like form can be seen as a strategy of differentiating the European lute visually from the Moorish oud. Meanwhile, the five string renassance guitar and the baroque guitar enjoyed popularity, especially in Italy and France, and indeed, much of Europe from the 15th to the 18th centuries.
The Vinaccia family of luthiers is known for developing the mandolin, and may have built the oldest surviving six string guitar. Gaetano Vinaccia (1759 – after 1831)[11] has his signature on the label of a guitar built in Naples, Italy for six strings with the date of 1779.[12][13] This guitar has been examined and does not show tell-tale signs of modifications from a double-course guitar although fakes are known to exist of guitars and identifying labels from that period.
The dimensions of the modern classical guitar (also known as the Spanish guitar) were established by Antonio Torres Jurado (1817-1892), working in Seville in the 1850s. Torres and Louis Panormo of London (active 1820s-1840s) were both responsible for demonstrating the superiority of fan strutting over transverse table bracing.[14]
History of the Acoustic Guitar
The guitar had its primitive origins in the ancient Near East. Clay plaques excavated from Babylonia, dated circa 1850 B.C., show figures playing musical instruments, some bearing a general resemblance to a guitar and having a distinctly differentiated body and neck. Later evidence from ancient Egypt indicates a necked instrument with marked frets about the neck. A stringed instrument from ancient Rome incorporates a wood soundboard with five groups of small sound holes. During the Middle Ages, guitars with three, four, and five strings co-existed. The Guitarra Latina had curved sides and is thought to have come to Spain from elsewhere in Europe. The Guitarra Morisca, brought to Spain by the Moors, had an oval soundbox and many sound holes on its soundboard. By the fifteenth century, four double-string guitars, similar to lutes, became popular, and by the sixteenth century, a fifth double-string had been added.
In this period of time, composers wrote mostly in tablature notation. Italy was the center of guitar world during the 17th century, and the the Spanish school of guitar making only began to flourish late in the 18th century after the addition of the sixth string. During the 19th century, improved communication and transportation enabled performers to travel widely and the guitar became a widely known instrument. Guitar music became especially popular in Spain and Antonio de Torres developed the Spanish guitar in its modern form, with a broadened body, increased waist curve, thinned belly, improved internal bracing, single string courses replacing double courses, and a machined head replacing wooden tuning pegs.
While most of the credit for the early development of the acoustic guitar goes to Europeans, today's steel-string acoustic guitars were developed in America. During the early 20th century, when European emigrants were coming to America in droves, there were a number of highly skilled instrument makers among them, including those who specialized in the steel-stringed acoustic guitar. Two types of construction evolved: the flat-top guitar and the arch-top guitar. Martin and Gibson were two of the earliest — and most influential — American acoustic guitar makers.
Modern guitars have six strings. Andres Segovia, a Spanish guitarist who lived from 1893 to 1987, helped establish the guitar as a concert instrument, adapting it to the complex music of modern composers and transcribing early polyphonic music. His virtuoso playing inspired compositions by Manuel de Falla and Villa-Lobos. Acoustic guitars are used most often in folk and jazz music.
Personally i believed, the first guitar was born in Spain.
--kelvin at 1:36 PM Wednesday, May 13, 2009 Second guitar lesson was conducted on Monday with teacher Grace. I learnt few more chords today, including D,E. I learnt how to strum the correct way for the song Fall For You. Had been practising regularly. I still need approximately 1.5 second to change chords. Here's a short video of me playing. Finally know how a guitar tuner is used and how it works. Tested and amazed myself. I have more passion for guitar now, inspired by teacher Grace's professionalism. Well, take care. Cheers, kelvin
--kelvin at 11:20 AM Tuesday, May 12, 2009 Started on 10 of May. My first lesson on guitar. Met with teacher Jiayi for the basics of guitar. I learnt a few chords including A, Aminor, C, Cadd9, F, G. Learnt how to pluck and strum. Starting with the song, Fall For You by Secondhand Seranade. I can hardly change the chords on time in sequence with the song. It just crashes. I still need almost 5 seconds to change a chord. That's, really bad. Its not as easy as i thought it would be. When i see others play, they did it brilliantly and i thought it would be easy. Seriously, playing guitar requires practise and practise and practise. My strumming is bad too. I produce weird sounds. Oh well, i will work harder.
