Origins and history of the guitar
The origins of the modern guitar are not known. 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.”
The term is used to refer to a number of chordophones that were developed and used across Europe, beginning in the 12th century and, later, in the Americas.
A 3,300-year-old stone carving of a Hittite bard playing a stringed instrument is the oldest iconographic representation of a chordophone, and clay plaques from Babylonia show people playing a lute-like instrument which is similar to the guitar.
The design of the modern guitar began with the Roman cithara. The cithara was brought by the Romans to Spain around . In the 8th century the Moors brought the four-stringed oud into Spain. The introduction of the oud caused changes to the design of the cithara.
In other parts of Europe, the six-string Scandinavian lute became popular wherever the Vikings had been. By , there were two types of the four-string “guitar”: the guitarra morisca (Moorish guitar) from Spain, which had a rounded back, wide fingerboard and several sound holes, and the guitarra latina (Latin guitar), which was more like the modern guitar with one sound hole and a narrower neck.
The Spanish vihuela, of the 16th century, was another instrument similar to the guitar. It had lute-style tuning and a body that was like a guitar. The vihuela was only popular for a short time. It is not known whether it was simply a design that combined features of the oud and lute or a transition from the Renaissance instrument to the modern guitar.
Finally, c. , the form and structure of the modern guitar were developed by several Spanish makers such as Manuel de Soto y Solares and, perhaps the most important of all guitar makers, Antonio Torres Jurado, who increased the size of the guitar body, altered its proportions, and invented the breakthrough fan-braced pattern.
Fast-forward: The Electric Guitar
The electric guitar was made by George Beauchamp in . Beauchamp co-founded a company called Rickenbacker to make guitars. It was adopted by jazz guitar players, who wanted to play single-note guitar solos in large big band ensembles.
Early proponents of the electric guitar on record include Les Paul, Eddie Durham, George Barnes, Lonnie Johnson, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, T-Bone Walker, and Charlie Christian. During the 1950s and 1960s, the electric guitar became the most important instrument in popular music.
Electric guitar design and construction vary greatly in the shape of the body and the configuration of the neck, bridge, and pickups. Guitars may have a fixed bridge or a spring-loaded hinged bridge, which lets players “bend” the pitch of notes or chords up or down, or perform vibrato effects.
The sound of an electric guitar can be modified by techniques such as string bending, tapping, and hammer-ons, using audio feedback, or slide guitar playing.