Evolution of the Guitar
By Steve Krenz
Throughout the period of evolution of the guitar, a lot of famous musicians like Beatles or Gibson Les Paul have made very valuable contributions to perpetuate this category of stringed instruments and to promote this art form. In order to learn and master guitar, you need not compulsorily learn about these great guitarists and their contributions but familiarizing yourself with the history of guitar does make it a lot more interesting to learn & master guitar.
Stringed instruments came into existence during the ancient Egyptian civilization when people used bowl harps and tanburns for generating music. Similar instruments were also found in the ancient relics of Sumerian, Babylonian, Persian, Mesopotamian and Indian civilizations. Some of the instruments of this period such as Turkish saz, Balkan tamburitsa, Iranian setar, Afghan panchtar and Greek bouzouki have in fact survived all these years and are still used today.
During the same period, ancient guitar-like instruments have originated. As per available archaeological records, Egyptian singer Har-Mose used a guitar like instrument during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut some 3,500 years ago. From then onwards, these guitar-like instruments became widely popular and were introduced to the European community by Egyptians and Mesopotamians. During early days, guitars used to have a four-course arrangement containing 4 unison-tuned pairs of strings. Four-course guitars were widely used all over the Europe during the late medieval and early renaissance period. In the 16th century, the four-course arrangement gave way to a five-course arrangement. These renaissance-era guitars were much similar to a modern day 12-string guitar and had a richer sound. Gradually, a sixth-course was added in the 17th century that was later replaced by six-string instruments.
The credit of inventing modern and classical form of guitar goes through Antonio Torres, a Spanish guitarist who had introduced the revolutionary fan-braced guitars in Spain. Later, steel strings became available in around 1900. These strings offered more sound but had increased tension. Archtop guitars were introduced at the end of 19th century by Orville Gibson. And finally, electric guitars came into existence in the late 1920s.
There are also different theories regarding the origin of the word "guitar". While some consider the word as an adaptation from Spanish "Guittara", others consider it to have been derived from the Greek word "Kithara". However, the fact is that the name "guitar" has been derived from the ancient Sanskrit language where "guit" means music and "tar" means string or chord. In fact, many stringed instruments originating from Central Asia and India have the word "tar" as a suffix.
Stop wasting money on 1-on-1 guitar lessons! Check out Steve Krenz's Learn and Master Guitar, it beats the pants off anything out there. It's the most comprehensive and thorough instructional guitar course available today. Advanced guitarists should check out http://www.madguitarlicks.com for 35 killer licks to add to their arsenal.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Steve_Krenz
http://EzineArticles.com/?Evolution-of-the-Guitar&id=1397083
