History Of The Guitar

2 Pages 474 Words

The guitar's roots are in believed to be in Spain because realistically, it cannot be traced back further than the 15th Century. It is thought to have been invented by the people of Malaga. This early instrument was a "four course" guitar, from which the ukulele is derived. The first guitars were very small, and were originally strung with four pair of strings. Each pair was called a course.

During the Renaissance, the guitar never had the respect the lute enjoyed. It was not considered a serious instrument. The first publication for guitar is thought to have been Alonso Mudarra's "Tres Libros de Musica en Cifras para Vihuela." Eventually though, the guitar began to attract players and more publications and music began to appear.

At the end of the Baroque period two significant changes were made to the guitar. The double strings were replaced by single strings, and instead of four pair, there were six single strings.

During the Classical period there were many publications, composers and performers. Fernando Sor, Mauro Guilliani, Matteo Carcassi, Fernando Carulli and many others who wrote music, published methods and performed concerts. The guitar became very popular and guitar concerts were common.

Sor played the guitar as a solo instrument at the London Philharmonic Concert in 1817. In memoirs, George Hogarth stated: "He astonished the audience by his unrivaled execution." Paganinni was also active, playing and writing for the guitar as well as the violin. Another famous name is Stradivarius, who, made guitars as well as violins.

At the end of the 19th century, the guitar had fallen out of favor, but was resurrected later by Francisco Tarrega. He did few public performances though, and chose to perform for friends at his home. He did compose, and he wrote a method for teaching guitar. He also transcribed many pieces of music for the guitar. Segovia was one of many guitarists that were influenced by him. Tarrega also beg...