History of the Guitar

History of the Guitar
A guitar is a musical instrument, savored by any music
lover. It looks stylish, and produces great sound quality,
which makes a song sound simply magical. This wondrous
musical instrument is the combination of various woods
fitted together, and was once strung with animal guts;
however, the guitar strings of today are either made of
nylon or steel.

The history of guitar is shrouded in much controversy. The
instrument was not directly invented as we understand
today. The first origins of the stringed instrument are not
well-defined in the history pages. Some theories show a
similarity of the instrument with a Greek instrument called
the 'kithara', while many argue that the long neck with the
curved body at the rear resembles drawings depicted on the
walls of the tombs of Egypt.

The instrument was first discovered in the lands of Spain,
and was invented by the people of the Malaga region.
History holds an interesting tale to narrate. The story of
the guitar's origin can be traced back to the latter half
of the 13th century, when the Arabs brought with them the
long-necked instrument while passing through Egypt on their
way to Spain and North Africa. At that time, it was known
as the "Guitarra Morsica," and has been the display of many
artworks.

Initially, the Spaniards were not so interested in the
instrument, but later, they started to perfect the
"guitarra" with four strings. The guitar structure was made
in such a manner that it could not easily play any complex
or polyphonic music. Gradually, the guitar became a more
modern instrument associated with six strings, which came
to be known as the "vihuela". Still today, many of the
popular compositions played on the strings are resultant of
what evolved in the 16th century, and also of the vihuela
players.

The five-stringed guitar also emerged during the 16th
century, but its popularity spread during the 17th century.
This special form of the guitar was used mainly for bright
and high-pitched music. Many professional guitarists felt
the urge to create the loveliest music, which led to the
desire to compose a variety of melodious music on the
stringed instrument.

In the 18th century, the "chitarra battente" was developed.
This was another form of the modern guitar as it is known
today. This special form of the guitar was used mostly for
developing folk music. Musicians at the time started to
experiment with the various forms of music that could be
transformed on the strings. However, a great revolution of
guitar music started in the middle of the 18th century.
Guitarists found that they required bass notes on the
strings to bring out the extra effect of music. It is at
this time that the influence of the Baroque guitar is seen,
and the form of guitar seen today is the exact evolution of
this Baroque guitar.

The 19th century witnessed the birth of many renowned
guitarists. During the first period of the 19th century,
the instrument did contribute much to the realm of music.
Antonio de Torres, the popular guitarist, improved the
musical instrument by altering the design, thus improving
on the music. Next came Segovia, who gave guitar music a
new edge. As a result, guitar music changed over the years
and became more enchanting to the ears.

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Patrick Carpen is the designer, writer and owner of the
website http://guitaring.infobay.ws/
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