Guitars Origin, Types, and Uses

Where did the guitar come from? Guitar-like instruments originated in Babylonia and Egypt. They moved to Europe During the Renaissance the guitar had 4-courses A course is one or more strings tuned to a single pitch This is the oldest preserved guitar-like instrument from Egypt. It is 3500 years old. Guy, Paul. “A Brief History of the Guitar.” Guitar Handbook. Web. 1 May 2012.

The 5-course guitar was created in Italy around the 16th century It gradually replaced the 4-course guitar. The 5-course guitar was tuned to A,D,G,B,E which is the standard tuning for the top five strings of today’s guitar This guitar had a thinner body and only 8-frets. 5-course guittara battente from Italy Guy, Paul. “A Brief History of the Guitar.” Guitar Handbook. Web. 1 May 2012.

Soon the frets were increased to 10 and then 12. This guitar has 12 frets so the neck is longer Guy, Paul. “A Brief History of the Guitar.” Guitar Handbook. Web. 1 May 2012.

A sixth course was added to the guitar in Italy during the 17th century. The modern looking guitar was created by Spanish guitar maker Antonio Torres around 1850 He increased the size of the body Changed the proportions Introduced the “fan” top bracing pattern Guy, Paul. “A Brief History of the Guitar.” Guitar Handbook. Web. 1 May 2012. Guy, Paul. “A Brief History of the Guitar.” Guitar Handbook. Web. 1 May 2012.

Modern Guitar Today’s guitar It has 6-strings tuned to E, A, D, G, B, E’ String length is typically 65 or 66 cm Early strings were made of gut and silk Since 1946 nylon strings have been used Lower three strings are wrapped with fine wire Geared tuning pegs Open round sound hole 19 inlaid metal frets Table or soundboard made of spruce or cedar Back and sides made of hardwood such as Brazilian rosewood Coppel Conservatory. “Types of Guitars” Coppell Conservatory: School of Comprehensive Music Education. Web. 1 May 2012.

Invention of Electric Guitar 2-types Accoustic steel string Sometimes is modified so that it can be plugged into and amplifier Electric solid body guitar Coppel Conservatory. “Types of Guitars” Coppell Conservatory: School of Comprehensive Music Education. Web. 1 May 2012. Coppel Conservatory. “Types of Guitars” Coppell Conservatory: School of Comprehensive Music Education. Web. 1 May 2012.

In 1850 German immigrants began making guitars with an x-braced top instead of the fan top Steel string guitars were made to increase volume, but the tension was to much for the fan-style guitar so they started using the x-brace At the end of the 19th century, Orville Gibson was building archtop guitars with oval sound holes He combined the steel-string guitar with a body similar to the cello The bridge exerted no torque on the top only pressure straight down which allowed the top to vibrate more freely and produce more volume The Electric guitar was invented in the 1920’s Lloyd Loar joined Gibson and refined the archtop “jazz” guitar into its now familiar form with f-holes, floating bridge and cello-type tailpiece. In the 1940’s Les Paul invented the solid-body guitar It transmits only string vibrations It can sustain notes longer It has a stronger amplification It is the principal instrument of Western Popular music.

Notation The earliest known music for a 4-course guitar was written during the 16th century in Spain. During the 16th century in France there were 9 books of tablature written The leading composer of 6-course guitar music was Spaniard Dionysio Aguado (1784-1849) His method book helped establish modern technique.

Until the 18th century guitar music was notated in tablature Today guitar music is written in the treble clef, one octave higher than it is sounded. The 1st and 3rd lines are tablature notation the 2 and 4th are modern guitar notation http://www.credoreference.com/entry.do?id=4666064

Types of Guitars Acoustic McFarlane, Patrick. “Guitar Anatomy” Guitar Lesson World. 2011. Web. 1 May 2012. This is an accoustic guitar and the basic parts of the guitar. To play the guitar, make sure it is tuned correctly and place your fingers on the fretboard on the correct frets to produce the desired note. You then strum the guitar with either your fingers or guitar pick. You can also pluck the strings to produce a different sound.

Electric This is an electric guitar. The diagram shows the basic parts of the electric guitar. The guitar is basically played the same as the acoustic but needs an amplifier to project the sound. The electric guitarist will often use a pick for a specific noise. Sometimes they will use just their fingers Other times they will use the pick and a finger. McFarlane, Patrick. “Guitar Anatomy” Guitar Lesson World. 2011. Web. 1 May 2012.

Uses for the Guitar The guitar has crossed geographical and social boundaries. It is accepted throughout most of the world “Aililiú na gamhna” by Solas Musicians have adapted the guitar to play local musical ideas-not just European forms “Yo Lé Lé” by Youssou N’Dour

Musical Genres that use the Electric Guitar The guitar has the strongest presence throughout Latin America “Ay Te Dejo en San Antonio” by Santiago Jiménez “Pajaro Campana” by Sergio Cueves “Get up, Stand up” by Peter Tosh

Guitar was used in Blues, Jazz, and Bluegrass music. “Bourgeois Blues” by Huddie Ledbetter “Uncle Pen” by Rickie Skaggs

The guitar is used in much of today’s popular music including country, rock & roll, and R&B. “Don’t Forget to Remember Me” by Carrie Underwood “Good Golly Miss Molly” by Little Richard “Un-break My Heart” by Toni Braxton

The guitar is even used in some gospel music. “I’m Headed to the Promised Land” by The Chuck Wagon Gang

Bibliography Beactivelife. (2012, Mar 8) “Lag T300 Acoustic Guitar Sound Sample.” [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpuHXyPdtgA Braxton, Toni. “Un-break My Heart.” LaFace Records LLC. 1996. Digital File. The Chuck Wagon Gang. “I’m Headed for the Promised Land” Sony Music Entertainment. 1957. Digital File. Coppel Conservatory. “Types of Guitars” Coppell Conservatory: School of Comprehensive Music Education. Web. 1 May 2012. Cuevas, Sergio. “Pájaro Campana.” Arion, Paris. Digital File. “Differences Between Electric & Acoustic Guitar Playing.” GuitarSite. Web. 1 May 2012 "guitar." Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2009. Credo Reference. Web. 01 May 2012. "Guitar [fr. Gr. kithara; Fr. guitare; Ger. Gitarre; It. chitarra; Sp. guitarra; Port. violão]." The Harvard Dictionary of Music. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003. Credo Reference. Web. 01 May 2012. "guitar." The Crystal Reference Encyclopedia. West Chiltington: Crystal Semantics, 2005. Credo Reference. Web. 01 May 2012. "guitar." The Macmillan Encyclopedia. Basingstoke: Macmillan Publishers Ltd, 2003. Credo Reference. Web. 01 May 2012. Guy, Paul. “A Brief History of the Guitar.” Guitar Handbook. Web. 1 May 2012. Jimenez, Santiago. “Ay Te Dejo en San Antonio.” Arhoolie Productions Inc. 1988. Digital File. Ledbetter, Huddie. “Bourgeois Blues.” Smithsonian Folkway Recordings. Digital File. McFarlane, Patrick. “Guitar Anatomy” Guitar Lesson World. 2011. Web. 1 May 2012. N’Dour, Youssou. “Yo Lé Lé.” Sony Music Entertainment. 1992. Digital File. Richard, Little. “Good Golly Miss Molly.” Sony Music Entertainment. 1967. Digital File. Rockongoodpeople. (2009, Jul 8). “Demo Electric Guitar Epiphone SG G400 Les Paul Gibson copy.” [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnwJjrXCV0Q SimPotts. (2010, Mar 22) “Guitar Tuning Gutar Standard Tuning and for both Acoustic and Electric EADGBE.” [Video File]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IYFmF85VT0&feature=related Skaggs, Ricky. “Uncle Pen.” Sony Music Entertainment. 1983. Digital File. Solas. “Aililiú na Gamhna.” Shanachie Entertainment Corp. 1997. Digital File. "Tablature [fr. Lat. tabula, table, score; Fr. tablature; Ger. Tabulatur; It. intavolatura; Sp. tablatura, cifra]." The Harvard Dictionary of Music. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2003. Credo Reference. Web. 01 May 2012. Tosh, Peter. “Get Up, Stand Up.” Sony Music Entertainment. 1977. Digital File. Underwood, Carrie. “Don’t Forget to Remember Me.” 19 Recordings Ltd. 2005. Digital File.