By Shawn Leonhardt for Guitar Tricks and 30 Day Singer
The guitar was one of the most popular instruments of the 20th century and while its genre dominance waned there are still so many people who love it. It can be found across the world and in most musical styles as lead, rhythm, accompaniment, and a solo instrument. Any aspiring musician has thought about using a guitar at least once on their journey. It’s engrained in our culture. And with beginner guitar lessons being so accessible, anyone can learn how to play guitar within a matter of a couple of videos. Understanding where this behemoth of an instrument came from will show us where it’s headed into the future.
What is a Guitar and Where Did It Come From?
The guitar is a fretted chordophone which means the sound is made by vibrating strings attached at two ends. A piano is also a chordophone as it works on the same premise except there we are hammering the strings instead of plucking them. Acoustic guitars use a sound hole to amplify the vibrations and electric guitars use magnetic pickups, both usually have 6 strings and are tuned EADGBE.
Tracing the history of any musical instrument is not easy as sound was only recently recorded and people mimic and copy other cultures with them so it’s difficult to find origins. Often the lute was assumed to be the ancestor of the guitar but instead that is more related to the oud, mandolin, and uke. Many peoples across the Old World stretched strings out over a sound body and made music with it!
Different names and origins have been given for guitars like Spain or even still musicologists trace the words back to Arabic, Greek, and Persian. Builds like the “gittern,” “ghiterra,” “ghiterna,” “qīthārah,” “sihtar,” “ κιθάρα,” “guitarra,” and of the many models that existed the “vihuela” is one of the clear ancestors compared to others. It had double course strings in 4th tuning and was probably the closest to our modern concept of the guitar.
Early Guitar History
Plucked string instruments go back further than recorded history and have times of popularity depending upon cultures, wars, and trade. It was always assumed that guitars were mostly influenced through Europe but as far back as the 8th century they were popular from North African groups moving to Spain. This was a region known for its influence on various chordophones.
Our guitar history became clearer in Spain and Europe by the 16th and 17th century with traveling composers rising to fame like Francesco Corbetta, Fernando Sor, and Dionisio Aguado. This was around the period that the “vihuela” and “baroque guitar” were used in popular music, which had a softer sound with a Medieval vibe. From here on, the course of the guitar, lute, mandolin, and other strings were on distinct paths.
It wasn’t until the mid 19th century that a guitar was made which finally began to resemble what we see today. One reason it took so long was that builders needed to find a way to keep the guitar from collapsing with the tension of the strings. The better construction and bracing also allowed guitars to get a little bigger and have fuller and more resonant sounds with more space.
Guitar playing at this time was centered around classical and aristocratic players as the cost and time to make them were not like today’s mass production. Musicians like Sidney Pratton and Tárrega embodied the style that was popular during their eras. As the century progressed makers like Martin, Loar, Gibson, and Epiphone changed how the guitar looked and sounded with the flat-top and arch-top.
20th Century Rise of the Guitar
In the 1900’s the All-American instrument was the banjo as it had a lot more volume for live performances. But specific material and technological aspects began to change like metal frets and most of all electricity. At the turn of the century electric guitars were decades away from being usable, however audio setups like PA systems and speakers allowed for more intimate instruments to be heard. Plus the recording of music allowed everyone to reach new audiences.
Along with electric power came new techniques on the guitar popularized by Lonnie Johnson and Eddie Lang, the licks and methods they used were adapted to the new ragtime, jazz, and blues genres. Incredible looking guitars like the D’Angelico, Benedetto, National Reso-Phonic and flat-top country and bluegrass jumbo models were being produced more. However it was rhythm and blues that pushed the guitar into the cultural icon it is now.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe and other early electric guitar players took advantage of the grit and distortion that could push the lead guitar through the mix. Amplification allowed one musician with a guitar the ability to compete with a jazz band and put on a whole show. Soon these jump blues bands became rock once artists like Elvis and Buddy Holly took them up.
The post WWII era was making a ton of music instruments and shipping them everywhere including to an army base outside Liverpool in England. The Beatles looking to copy the idols they heard on records created a massive fanbase that also wanted to play guitar. This series of incidents would create a world where a band could be a drummer, bass, lead, and rhythm guitar.
The Future of Guitar
The latter half of the 20th century was dominated by guitarists from across the world, the archetype of the male Rockstar became the ideal media specimen. By the 90’s the original classical guitar player image was taken over by the grunge, punk, and heavy metal shredder. This style of music and guitarists is still present in the current era, it has just been overshadowed by dance and HipHop artists.
One positive change is the rise of more female guitarists in those other popular genres as they help keep the interest of it going. In modern times there is also more exploration of tunings (even microtonal), string amounts (7 and 8 string guitars), and unique playing styles (tapping and slapping). People never cease to amaze with the variety of ways that they find to play notes and grooves on the guitar.
One of the best methods to study the history of guitar is to listen to it! Find different genres and styles dating back as far as you can to now and hear what has been played. The instrument is so versatile that it can be found in music across the globe, and there is never a shortage of future players that want to join the club of being a guitarist. Whether you play the music of others or want to write your own, many people throughout history have used the guitar and other chordophones to do both!
