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A Potted History of the Guitar

The guitar is one of the most popular musical
instruments today. Most of the music that youEvolution
hear on the radio uses guitars in many
different ways: pop, rock, reggae, blues,The guitar, as we know it, is said to
ballads and everything else is influenced byoriginate in Spain. It is believed that the
the  guitar.people of Malaga invented the instrument.
The guitar evolved from having three pairs of
The guitar, together with the drums and thestrings to four pairs of strings and
piano compose the modern music sceneeventually  six  single  strings.
equipment set. The playability of the guitar
has made it one popular instrument. A guitarThe guitar began to become popular in the
can be played by a learning child or an16th century. It was played by the lower and
experienced guitar player. It's not "picky"middle classes as a counterpart for the
about  its  players.vihuela which was played by the aristocrats.
The vihuela was tuned like a lute but had a
Today, the electric type of guitar is mostbody  similar  to  that  of  the  guitar.
often used in musical production. The guitar
has been enhanced with a very goodThe guitar made a serious evolution during
accompaniment in the form of the effects box.the 18th century: the double strings where
Today, guitars can emulate the sounds of areplaced by single strings and a sixth string
piano, a violin, even the sounds of the humanwas added. In the 1800s, Antonio Torres de
voice and is continuously widening itsJurado gave birth to the classical guitar.
horizons.Basically, he increased the size of the body
of the guitar. The guitar still struggled
With the functions and features of the modernbecause it was considered as an instrument
electric guitar, one can't help thinkingfor the taverns - an instrument which could
about the beginnings of the instrument. Wherenot be used for classical music. In Spain,
did the guitar come from? This article trieswhere people hated the piano, the guitar
to give a brief history of the wonderfulfound refuge. However, it was also tainted by
musical  instrument,  which  is  the  guitar.the views that guitars were for gypsies and
for no-good bums who asked for loose change
The creation of the guitar cannot be tracedin  bars.
to a single person. The guitar came about
through the evolution of its predecessors.Electric  guitar
Its image has also undergone change
throughout the centuries. Today, playing theThe modern electric guitar was invented in
guitar is a symbol of talent and musical1931. The electric guitar uses electronic
prowess, but during the early times, the"pick-ups" to enable it to produce sound. The
guitar was actually a symbol of being poorpick-ups convert the vibrations from the
and it was refuted by most classicalstrings into electric signals. The body of
musicians.the electric guitar is semi-solid or solid,
depending on the design. The structure of the
Predecessorsguitar took a great leap when the electric
guitar was born, no longer did its sound
There have been many guitar-like musicaldepend on the structure and construction of
instruments in the ancient times, up to asthe body, but on the quality of the pick-ups
many as 5,000 years ago. Instruments whichand  soundboard.
look like the guitar were seen in statues
which were recovered in archeologicalThe sounds of the electric guitar can also be
expeditions in the Iranian region of Susa.altered to be able to achieve a desired tone.
However, the very first documented mention ofThe use of the guitar effects box has given
the instrument dates back to the fourteenththe guitar a wide array of sounds. I is
century. At that time the guitar-ancestor hadcontinuing to garner popularity in all fields
three pairs of strings (usually referred toof  music,  even  in  classical  music.
as double courses) and a single string with
the  highest  tone.The guitar is a very dynamic musical
instrument. Through evolution, the guitar has
Some say that the word "guitar" came from themade its mark on the modern music scene. From
word "qitara". Qitara is an Arabic name forcrude instruments with many variations, the
the different kinds of lutes during the earlyguitar has become a real and much-sought
times.after instrument.



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