All of us have, at some point of time or the other, heard a guitar being played, and been captivated by the soulful sound of chords being strummed, the mesmerising magic of a well-plucked piece, or even the riveting intensity of an amplified power chord. A joy to listen to, to learn, and to play, the guitar is indeed a valuable and immensely entertaining musical instrument.
Whether as bass, rhythm, or lead, the guitar forms an essential component for almost all kinds and genres of music from rock n’roll to blues, jazz, flamenco, pop and metal. Even Bollywood numbers have the guitar as an essential ingredient.
But what a lot of people don’t know about this instrument is that it has a very long, and rich history; it has been played across cultures, and has also developed over time into the modern version that we see and hear today.
For thousands of years, different cultures have had stringed instruments. These instruments have developed to their modern form over all these years. So now we have the sitar, the banjo, the mandolin, the lute, the violin, and the evergreen guitar. The guitar as we now know it, first developed in Spain around the 14th and 15th century. It was known as the Vihuela. In the 18th century, Antonio Torres Jurado from Almeria, Spain, designed the first classical guitar and it evolved into a six stringed instrument.
The modern classical guitar is also called the Spanish guitar. There are different kinds of guitars, but the two main categories are acoustic and electric guitar. The acoustic guitar has a hollow body, in which the sound of the strings resonates.
There are different kinds of acoustic guitar, for instance the classical guitar which has nylon strings, and the steel stringed guitar. Electric guitars, on the other hand, have solid bodies, with electro-magnetic ‘pick-ups’ which convert the vibration of the strings into signals, which can then be converted into sound by using an amplifier. The first electric guitars were similar to the acoustic ones, until the famous American musician and inventor Les Paul developed the first solid bodied guitar. The Les Paul guitar is named after him. However it was Leo Fender who brought the electric guitar into mass production, by creating the famous ‘Telecaster’ followed by the ‘Stratocaster’.
The guitar has an intricate yet fascinating structure. The main section is the body, which is hollow and wooden in an acoustic guitar, and solid in an electric guitar. There are six strings, with different thickness, strung along the length of the ‘fretboard’, which is divided into several frets. Then there is the headstock, which is the farthest from the body, and has all the knobs. The electric guitar is more complicated, as it has pick-ups, amplifiers and wires.
The guitar is now immensely popular.
However, credit must be given to all the legends of guitar who have helped it become what it is now, from Andres Segovia for the classical guitar, to Jimi Hendrix for rock n’roll and blues. There are many others, whom you might get to know if you start playing. The most amazing aspect of the guitar is that it is rather easy to learn. All one needs is a guitar, a dedicated learner, a fair amount of practice, and some guidance — from the Internet or an experienced teacher. And undoubtedly, the best time to start is now.