What is this - a guitar? History, description of the instrument, classification

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

What is a guitar? What is the history of the invention of this musical instrument? What is the classification of guitars? What elements does the tool consist of? The answers to these and other questions can be found in our publication.

History of the guitar

The first written mention of a stringed instrument, which was the progenitor of the modern guitar, dates back to the 2nd millennium BC. The corresponding images were found during the excavation of clay bas-reliefs in the area where ancient Mesopotamia was located.

At the turn of the 3rd and 4th centuries AD, Chinese craftsmen invented an instrument called ruan. It consisted of a lower and upper deck, as well as a wooden case.

In the Middle Ages, the instrument was widely used in Spain. The guitar was brought here from ancient Rome. The Spanish masters made several improvements. In particular, they increased the number of strings to 5. At the end of the 18th century, the instrument received another string, as a result of which the repertoire of performers expanded significantly.

In domestic open spaces, they learned quite late thatwhat is a guitar. This happened around the beginning of the 18th century, when Italian musicians and composers began to visit us en masse. The first Russian master who perfectly comprehended the technique of playing the instrument was a certain Nikolai Petrovich Makarov. It was thanks to his efforts that the guitar became extremely popular among the people. In the future, the composer and virtuoso musician Andrei Sikhry developed interest in the instrument. The latter wrote more than a thousand relevant games.

Origin of the name

Where did the name guitar come from? This concept probably comes from the ancient Greek word sitra or the Indian sitar. In ancient Rome, the instrument began to be called a cithara, in its own way.

Today, the guitar is called roughly the same in different languages. From the above names come the modern concepts of guitar, uitarra, guitare.

Guitar - description of a musical instrument

Structurally, the guitar is presented in the form of a body with an elongated neck, the front side of which is flat or has a slight bulge. Strings are stretched along such a neck. The latter are fixed on one side on the stand of the body, and on the other side they are attached to the lambs on the fingerboard.

The presence of special pins allows you to adjust the tension of such metal threads. The strings lie on several nut. The top one is at the head of the neck. The lower one is located near the stand on the instrument body.

Materialsworkmanship

The guitar is an instrument traditionally made from wood. The cheapest, simplest models are made of plywood. The body of the most expensive guitars is made of mahogany, maple or rosewood. Some modern electric guitars are made of plastic and graphite composites.

As for the necks, they are made from a wide variety of woods and their combinations. At the same time, the main emphasis is on creating the most durable structural element that can withstand increased loads.

Who invented the electric guitar?

The American engineer George Bisham is considered the author of the modification of the classic version. In the 1930s, this man was fired from a large stringed instrument company. Subsequently, he decided to conduct his own work to find new methods to increase the volume of the guitar. The engineer came up with a variant with the creation of sound vibrations around magnets with a winding in the form of a metal wire. A similar principle has already been used in the production of acoustic speakers, as well as phonograph needles.

After several setbacks, Bisham finally succeeded in creating a working pickup. Each string of an electric guitar passed over a separate magnet. The current that flowed through the metal winding of the pickup allowed the signal to be transmitted to the speakers. Convinced that the device was working, the inventor enlisted the help of woodworker Harry Watson. Within a few hours, the first corps in history was carvedelectric guitars.

In the 50s, famed performer Les Paul modified the instrument with a solid wood body instead of a hollow one. The solution made it possible to reproduce the widest variety of sounds and spawned a whole host of new genres in music.

Classification

According to the method of amplifying sound vibrations, the following types of guitars are distinguished:

• Acoustic guitar is an instrument where the resonator is a hollow body.
• Electrical - the sound is reproduced due to the electronic signal conversion. Vibrations from string vibrations are transmitted to the speakers through the pickup.
• Semi-acoustic - acts as a combination of electric and acoustic models. The hollow body houses the pickups to make the sound clearer and more accentuated.
• Electro-acoustic - a classical guitar, in the body of which an electronic device is installed, which makes it possible to amplify and correct the sound.

There are actually many more varieties of guitars. In hybrid models, there is often an increase in the number of strings, their doubling, the use of several necks. Such solutions make it possible to add variety to the sound of the instrument, and also facilitate the solo performance of complex works. With the advent of rock music, bass guitars arose, which have extremely thick strings and make it possible to reproduce the sounds of the lowest frequency.