The guitar is one of the most popular stringed instruments. Most modern guitars have 6 strings (although they can have up to 18), and come in two main varieties: acoustic and electric. Both types are played by either plucking or strumming the strings with the right hand (with or without a pick) and holding down the strings to change pitch (known as fingering or fretting) with the left hand. The body of a guitar is typically made out of wood, and the strings are usually either nylon (for classical guitars) or steel (for most other types). The neck of the guitar almost always has a number of raised elements, known as frets. These help guide the guitarist’s fingers to play pitches correctly and quickly. The most common tuning for a modern guitar is, from highest to lowest, E4-B3-G3-D3-A2-E2, although there are many alternate tunings used.
The acoustic guitar is named so because there is no external amplification required (although it may be used if desired). The construction of the instrument itself projects the sound. To this end, acoustic guitars have a hollow body for a resonance chamber and one or more sound holes. Classical guitars are the only modern acoustic guitars strung with nylon strings (as opposed to steel), in order to give a gentler, more refined sound. Other types of acoustic guitars include steel-string (including flat-topped and folk guitars), arched-top, and resonator. There are also variations in size, such as the guitarrón and tenor guitar.
Electric guitars, by contrast, almost always required external amplification. Since the body of the guitar is usually solid or not as deep as the typical acoustic guitar, the instrument is set up to be hooked up to an amplifier or speaker system. This is done through tiny transducers called pickups and a system of electrical wiring inside and outside of the guitar. Electric guitars can also have many accessories to change, distort, or enhance the sound, such as volume and tone knobs, whammy bars, and a wide variety of effects pedals (or stompboxes).
Because of its relatively easy-to-understand set up, the guitar’s use is widespread and shows up in almost every genre of Western popular music, including rock, jazz, blues, folk, country, reggae, flamenco, and mariachi. There is also quite a bit of classical music written for the guitar, such as the works of Berlioz, Boccherini, Britten, Carter, de Falla, Ginastera, Hindemith, Mancini, Paganini, Poulenc, Respighi, Rutter, Villa-Lobos, and Webern. Notable classical guitars of the 20th and 21st centuries include Andrés Segovia, Sergio Assad, Sharon Isbin, and John Williams (of Australia, not to be confused with the film composer!). There are far too many notable popular and electric guitarists to make a comprehensive list here; Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, and Jimmy Page are widely considered to be the best rock guitar players.
History
The lineage of the guitar goes back so far it is difficult to trace it exactly. Although the technique and appearance is somewhat similar to the lute and the oud, it is not believed that the guitar is closely related to either of them. The earliest instrument that we would consider a guitar most likely originated in ancient Egypt. During the Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical periods, the Spanish “chitarra” and the Italian “guitarra battente” slowly evolved from instruments with 4 to 6 pairs of doubled strings into the modern guitar with 6 unique strings. By the mid-19th century, the Spanish maker Antonio Torres had more or less established the form of the classical guitar, which we still use today.
Steel strings became more popular and available during the 20th century. This lead to the development of a stronger, more durable instrument that would become the standard flat-topped acoustic guitar. The electric guitar was developed in the 1920s but not popularized until the 30s and 40s, when amplification via electricity and electronics became easier, safer, and more accessible, and allowed for the advent of the solid-body guitar.
Brands and Makers
There are many guitar makers, including luthiers who make one-of-a-kind instruments. Some of the top companies that manufacture guitars include: Fender (both electric and acoustic), Gibson (also electric and acoustic), Gretsch, Ibanez, Martin, Paul Reed Smith, Takamine, Taylor, and Yamaha.
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Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_composers_for_the_classical_guitar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_classical_guitarists
http://www.famousguitaristscenter.com/2009/01/blog-post_20.html
http://www.guyguitars.com/eng/handbook/BriefHistory.html
http://www.guitarsite.com/database/Makers/
http://www.fanpop.com/clubs/guitar/images/27380269/title/guitar-wallpaper
Other links and resources
http://www.classicalguitar.org/
http://www.guitarfoundation.org/
http://library.csun.edu/SCA/IGRA
https://theguitarsociety.wordpress.com/