G-U-I-T-A-R - Through the ages.. . Review on Musical Instruments in General

This review focuses on my current favourite instrument  - no points for guessing.the guitar!

How it all started

The guitar has a long, mysterious history. It began to take its modern form in the 16th  century, as an improvement to some forms of instruments that have existed for thousands of years. The earliest known references to the guitar are from images dating back over 3000 years. But by the 13th century, there were court performers hired by the British Emperors who played guiterre morishce, or Moorish Guitar, an early form of the lute. In fact, this instrument was so lightweight and gentle, it had to be played with quills and not the right hand.

Another important aspect of early guitars was that there were four strings, instead of the now standardized six strings. There were ten frets, and the four strings were tuned either FCEA or GCEA. The standard tuning nowadays for the six stringed guitars is EADGBE. Interestingly, the guitars had double strings instead of single strings.

During the 1600s and the 1700s, five stringed guitars became the par for the course, with ADGBE tuning. The first major guitar figure of this period is an Italian guitarist, Giovanni Paolo Foscarini.

The sixth lower string was added in the mid 1700s, tuned to E, setting the standardized tuning to EADGBE. At this point of time, guitar tutorial books started to appear, and stave notation took its primary form, replacing older tablature forms of writing music.

The earliest known six string guitar was made in 1793 in Naples, and is called Fabricatore.

19th Century and Guitar

London, Paris and Vienna were the major centres of guitar playing during this period and there was a renewed interest in the six single-stringed instrument.

As the guitar gained prominence, more and more musicians and composers started playing the guitar as well as composing music for the guitar. Notable among them were Mauro Giuliani and Dioniso Aguado. The great composer Schubert composed songs with guitar accompaniment, and the great violin virtuoso Paganini also played the guitar. Fransisco Tarrega emerged as an eminent musician who played in the classical style.

The Torres guitar, built in 1889 by Antonio de Torres has much resemblance to the modern form of acoustic guitars. It had a mahogany body and a spruce top, and the modern concept of the'bridge' was introduced in this model.

Steel String Acoustic Guitars

After focussing on classical guitars, it's time to take a look at the most common form of modern day guitars - the steel stringed guitars.

The steel stringed guitars took shape during 1860-1900. These guitars are constructed with heavier bracing and a stronger, reinforced bridge to withstand string tension. It produces a bright, clear tone and the sound can be made to differ in easier methods by playing either near the bridge or near the fingerboard, and by using a plectrum or using the fingers. 12 stringed guitars(6 double strings) also gained prominence during this period. The evolution of music in the 20th century led to the popularity of the steel stringed guitar, and many further improvisations like the attachment of a pickup, which helped in producing better sounds since the music would be amplified with the help of an amplifier. The Beatles recorded many popular songs using steel stringed acoustic guitars, primarily a model called the Gibson 1160E.

Steel string guitars(the good ones) are usually built from the finest wood available. Rosewood or Ebony is used for the fingerboard and the bridge, Mahogany for the neck, Spruce for the soundboard and maple for the back and the sides. There is a rod which runs through interior of the neck, which compensates for the flexing effects of string tension. The wires are usually made of brass, bronze or nickel-steel to achieve mass as well as flexibility.

Solid Body Electric Guitars

Solid body electric guitars have gained immense popularity in the 20th century, and most of the current models are improvisations of models which came into being during the 1950s.

There isn't any requirement for hollowness in this type of guitar, since the strings are connected to internal circuits which when connected to an amplifier produce the sound. The guitarist can control the tone of the sound and the volume using knobs on his soundboard. There are also switches on his soundboard called pickups which control the treble and bass effects. A small single coiled pickup produces good rhythmic sounds, while a larger coiled pickup is good for lead tones.

Perhaps the most famous of all Electric Guitar Models is the Fender Stratocaster, conceptualized and built by Leo Fender in 1954. The model has distinct contouring for ease-of-play, a double cutaway for easier access to the top of the fingerboard, a tremolo rod attached to the bridge which changes the pitch of the strings, three single coiled pickups and other controls. Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton are two musicians who regularly used this model.

Gibson's first solid body model, the Les Paul was also a very popular model, having two double coiled humbucker pickups. Jimmy Page and more recently Slash used Les Paul guitars.

Other popular Electric Guitar Models are the Jackson Soloist, used by most metal bands, and the Ibanez Gem, used by Joe Satriani and Steve Vai.

~

This review is a look at how the guitar evolved through the ages, what improvements characterized the changes in the styles of music through the years, as well as a look at a few people who took the guitar as an instrument to greater heights.