Guitar

What is a guitar?

The guitar is a musical instrument from the lute family. lute instruments (Spanish guitarra, this via Arabic mediation from ancient Greek kithara). In terms of sound production, it is a stringed instrumentinstrument, in terms of playing technique it is a plucked or strummed plucked instrument.

It is played with the fingers or a plectrum and is represented in various musical genres such as classical, rock and folk. The guitar offers a wide variety of sounds and flexibility. Whether you are a beginner or an advanced player, it invites you to make music and express yourself creatively.

History

Lute instruments have a long history that goes back up to 5000 years, especially in the Orient. A relief in the temple of the Babylonian ruler Hammurapi (1792-1750 BC) shows an instrument that resembles the European lute. Egyptian drawings show women playing lute instruments as early as the time of the pharaohs.

From 711, the Moorish rulers brought the oud, a fully developed Arabic lute without frets, to Spain. With the spread of polyphonic composition techniques in Christian church music, the demands on lute instruments also changed. This led to further developments such as the Renaissance lute, which emerged from the oud and was equipped with frets and a flatter body. The Arabic lute and its predecessors arrived in Spain in the 8th century and influenced the development of lute instruments throughout Europe.

Renaissance and Middle Ages

Guitars can be traced back to the 13th century, as documented in the Cantigas de Santa Maria. Here there are illustrations of the guitarra latina (also quitarra latina and guitare latine; “Latin guitar”) and the guitarra morisca, which originates from the former conquerors. The poet Juan Ruiz contrasted the two instruments around 1330, and in 1349 they were played at the court of the Duke of Normandy. Authors such as Guillaume de Machault and Johannes de Grocheo mentioned the Moorish guitar.

According to the Spanish music theorist Juan Bermudo, the Renaissance guitar of the 16th century usually had four strings, rarely five or six. This Spanish guitar had three double strings and a single string, which led to a limited range and a less demanding repertoire in the tablature literature. Johannes Tinctoris suspected the origin of the four-string Renaissance guitar in Catalonia. The Spaniards developed the vihuela from the lute, a prefiguration of today’s guitar with a narrow, eight-stringed curved body, flat back and typical guitar neck.

In the 16th century, the vihuela and the four-course guitar (guitarra de quarto órdenes) existed side by side. The music of this era has mainly survived in the form of tablatures. Compositions for the four-course guitar can be found in works by Alonso Mudarra, Miguel de Fuenllana and in French and Italian tablature editions by Robert Ballard, Adrian Le Roy, Melchior Barberis and Pierre Phalèse. Before the five-course chitarra spagnuola became established in Italy, the Italian guitar had been used for a long time until the middle of the 16th century. Towards the end of the 18th century, simple strings based on the French model prevailed.

Baroque

In the Baroque period, guitar music developed further, particularly in the use of different rhythmic strumming techniques (“batteries”). During this period, only the guitar underwent the necessary structural changes, while the vihuela receded into the background. These developments took place primarily in Spain under the influence of Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710) and his famous guitar school (Instrucción de música sobre la guitarra española). The guitar was referred to as the “Spanish guitar”, now with five courses, in contrast to the vihuela, which also had five courses but only one string in the first course.

The five-course baroque guitar, which was favored from the second half of the 16th century, became widespread in the 17th century. Louis XIV appreciated them at the French court. Joachim Tielke built such guitars in Hamburg around 1684, and they were already well known in German-speaking countries. The baroque guitar usually had four double strings and a single string tuned in fourths.

As the Baroque period progressed, the style of playing changed from chords and rasgueado (chord strumming) to contrapuntal and melodic playing, the punteado. This transition ultimately led to the early classical period. During this period, there was much experimentation with stringing, as the melody came to the fore. One of the techniques used was the use of campanelas (little bells) as a sound effect, which was first mentioned by Gaspar Sanz.

Shortly before 1800, an exchange took place between the mandora and the guitar. The guitar took over the sixth string and the tuning of the mandora, while the mandora took over the stringing of the guitar with single strings. The guitar lute was a later result of this development of the mandora.

In the In the 17th and 18th centuries, the guitar, like the lute, was used as a basso continuo instrument. Composers such as Giovanni Paolo Foscarini, Girolamo Montesardo, Robert de Visée and others contributed to the popularization of the guitar in the Baroque period. In Spain, Fernando Ferandiere published a textbook for the six-course Baroque guitar around 1799 and composed numerous works for this instrument.

Classicism and Romanticism

The baroque guitar, also known as the Spanish guitar, was made at the end of the 18th century. It originally had four to five strings and was made by Antonio Stradivari in Cremona. In the In the 19th century, it was converted into a six-string guitar. The new guitar was more functional and robust than the decorative baroque guitar. From around 1750, guitar literature emphasized differentiated tone formation and linear tuning. This shaped strumming and chord inversions during the Romantic and Impressionist periods. Resonance bars amplified the notes, made it possible to use them in smaller orchestras and characterized the sonorous sound corresponding to Romanticism and Impressionism. Federico Moretti and Dionisio Aguado published textbooks for the classical guitar with six strings in 1825.

The classical era of the guitar flourished above all in Vienna and Paris. Johann Georg Stauffer coined the Viennese guitar model. A little later, another center of European guitar music emerged in London. International guitar composers such as Niccolò Paganini had an influence on this era. Important composers for the six-string guitar lived in various European cities. In Paris, these included Fernando Sor, Ferdinando Carulli, Dionisio Aguado, Pierre-Jean Porro and Napoléon Coste. In Vienna, Mauro Giuliani, Johann Kaspar Mertz and Johann Dubez should be mentioned.

Guitarists such as Leonhard Schulz, Wilhelm Neuland, Luigi Sagrini, Felix Horetzky, Ferdinand Pelzer and Catharina Josepha Pratten were also active in London. After the Giuliani era, Francisco Tárrega introduced new fingering and touch techniques in Spain. At the same time, guitar maker Antonio de Torres perfected the shape, dimensions and mechanical details.

Construction and types of guitars

The guitar consists of a body, neck and strings, which influence the sound and playability. The guitar consists of a body, a neck and a headstock. The body has a top, back and sides. The frets on which the strings rest are located on the neck. The pegs that tension the strings are attached to the headstock. Pickups and tone holes influence the sound.

There are acoustic, electric and classical guitars for different musical genres and playing styles. Each type of guitar has its own characteristics and specifications. From the warm sound of the classical guitar to the distorted sound of the electric guitar, each type of guitar offers a unique playing experience and sound spectrum.

Body

Due to its body shape, the guitar is a box-necked lute. Its acoustic body consists of a light, waisted resonance body with back, sides and top. The top, which is decisive for the sound, has a circular sound hole. In contrast to basses such as the viola da gamba, the body shoulders merge into the neck at an almost right angle. Other designs are the semi-resonance guitar and the solid body guitar.

The bridge on the body, which is glued to the top of acoustic guitars, is used to attach the strings. There are various bridge designs with adjustment options for string action, scale length and special functions such as tremolo levers.

Neck

The neck of a guitar is an essential part of the instrument that has a significant influence on playability and sound characteristics. It extends between the nut on the headstock and the bridge on the body, over which the strings are stretched. On acoustic guitars, the neck often consists of several pieces of wood glued together crosswise and an attached fingerboard. This construction ensures stability and makes it possible to influence the sound and playability of the guitar in a targeted manner.

Classical guitars often have a wide, flat arched neck, while steel-string guitars tend to have narrow, almost semi-circular necks, often with an arched fingerboard. The choice of materials for the neck and fingerboard as well as the construction method have a decisive influence on the sound and feel of the guitar.

The fingerboard over which the strings run is fitted with frets that serve to precisely shorten the string when it is gripped. Today, these frets are usually made of nickel silver and allow the pitch to be set precisely. The frets are arranged at regular intervals on the fingerboard and allow different tones to be produced.

The nut, to which the strings are attached, is located at the beginning of the fingerboard. Saddles can be made of plastic or bone and influence the transmission of the string vibrations to the resonating body of the guitar. A distinction is made between bleached saddles and fat saddles, with the latter allowing natural lubrication of the strings.

The entire construction of the neck, fingerboard and nut contributes significantly to the playability and sound quality of a guitar, which is why these elements are carefully selected and designed.

Head

The headstock is usually located at the end of the guitar neck, to which the other end of the strings is attached to the rotating tuning pegs. With the tuning mechanism used since the 19th century, the strings are tensioned and tuned by regulating the tension. The necessary pressure of the strings on the nut is achieved by tilting the headstock towards the neck or by suitable auxiliary measures such as string hold-downs or “staggered” tuners, where the pegs are lower towards the end of the headstock.

There are different types of headstocks, including the window headstock, which is standard on concert guitars, and the solid headstock, which is mainly used on steel-string instruments or historical guitars. Clamp saddles are common on electric guitars, where the strings are clamped to the saddle in order to achieve better tuning stability in conjunction with vibrato systems. There are also headless guitars (headless design), where the pegs are replaced by tuning machines on the bridge, shifting the actual tuning function to the other end of the strings on the body. This design was made popular in the early 1980s by Ned Steinberger.

How is the sound of a guitar created?

A guitar essentially consists of a body, a fingerboard and six strings. The strings are made to vibrate by the player. They gradually release their vibrational energy into the air. This is how the sound we hear is created. The resonator resonates with the strings and thus amplifies the sound. Similar vibrations of solid plates can be observed in the “sound figures” post.

If the guitar is tuned correctly, the tone sequence e, a, d, g, h, e’ should sound from the lowest to the highest string. There is a fourth (5 semitones) between every two strings, and a major third (4 semitones) only between the fourth and fifth strings. The highest string therefore sounds exactly 2 octaves higher than the lowest. The pegs at the end of the fingerboard can be used to change the pitch of the strings and thus tune the guitar. If you pull on the peg of a string, the note becomes higher, if you release it, it becomes lower.

Of course, it would be boring if you could only play six notes on a guitar. That’s why there are “ribs” on the guitar fretboard. The space between two ribs is called a fret. The frets are numbered in ascending order from the pegs towards the body of the sound. They are used to produce notes other than the fundamental notes of the strings.

If a string in the first fret presses on the fingerboard just before the first rib, it sounds half a tone higher than the root note. In the second fret it is a whole tone and so on. The fifth fret (the fourth), the seventh fret (the fifth) and the twelfth fret (the octave) are marked with a dot on the side of most guitars. You can see that the frets become narrower and narrower towards the body. Think about why this has to be the case.

Playing technique

A basic distinction is made between playing techniques that are performed with the gripping hand and playing techniques that are performed with the striking hand. In practice, some techniques are also performed with both hands, e.g. tapping.

The fingering techniques on the guitar open up a wide range of sounds. With vibrato, a gentle tone modulation is produced by the trembling of the finger. Damping creates percussive effects by placing the finger on the frets. Harmonics produce overtones by lightly touching certain string points. When striking and releasing the string, tones are produced by striking or releasing the string forcefully. Bending enables a continuous change of tone by pulling or pushing the string. Glissando, the sliding from one fret to another, is an expressive technique, especially in the blueswhen a bottleneck is used.

Playing techniques of the touch hand

The strumming hand, usually the right hand for right-handed players, plays a decisive role in the sound of the guitar. Its fingers are labeled p (thumb), i (index finger), m (middle finger), a (ring finger) and M (little finger) according to the Spanish model.

Plucking or finger playing:
Plucking involves striking individual strings with the fingers or a pick. This technique enables not only monophonic but also polyphonic tone sequences. Special forms of this plucking technique are alternate strumming, tremolo and harmonics.

Strumming:
When strumming, several strings are struck at the same time. A distinction is made between the downstroke in the direction of the highest string and the upstroke in the direction of the lowest string. Rasgueado is a flamenco technique in which rattling noises are produced with the fingers.

Muting:
To produce muted tones, the strings are muted with the palm of the hand. This technique, known as palm mute or palm muting, is mainly used for metal and rock songs.

Staccato and percussive effects:
Staccato refers to muffling immediately after the strum. Percussive effects such as tambora create chords by hitting the guitar top.

Plucking techniques

Apoyando and tirando:
Apoyando is an applied attack in which the finger stops on the next lower string after striking a string. Tirando, on the other hand, is a free attack in which the finger does not touch the next string.

Strumming and special techniques:
Rasgueado is a flamenco technique with a fast, rattling finger stroke. Alternating strokes, sweep picking and golpe are further tapping techniques. Two-handed tapping extends tapping by using both hands.

Special techniques

Alzapúa and golpe:
Alzapúa is a flamenco technique in which the thumb is used like a plectrum. Golpe is a percussive effect that is achieved by hitting the guitar top with the fingers.

Sweep picking and tremolo:
Sweep picking involves playing several strings with a sliding pick stroke. Tremolo refers to the rapid repetition of a note to create a continuous sound.

The variety of these techniques enables a broad spectrum of musical expression on the guitar. From the precision of plucking to the passionate sound of strumming, each technique contributes to a unique sound.

Techniques of the gripping hand

The fretting hand plays a decisive role in various playing techniques on the guitar.

Vibrato:
The vibrato, a quick “trembling movement” of the fretting finger along the neck axis, gives the sound a slight vibration. Classical vibrato is performed parallel to the string, while electric guitarists often produce vibrato by pulling vertically on the strings.

Damping:
Muffled, percussive sounds can be produced by placing the fret finger on the frets (étouffez). When playing the electric guitar distorted, the unplucked strings are damped to avoid unwanted background noise and feedback.

Harmonics:
With harmonics, overtones are produced by lightly touching the string at certain points. A distinction is made between natural and artificial harmonics.

Natural harmonics:
Natural harmonics are produced with empty strings and mutes.

Artificial harmonics:
Artificial harmonics are produced by fingering in the semitone range. Tapping is used here.

Hammer-on binding:
One finger strikes the string forcefully, the sound is produced by “tapping” with the gripping hand.

Pull-off:
A finger that has previously picked a note quickly releases or plucks the string, causing the note of a lower fret to sound.

Bending:
When bending, you grab a string and change the tone continuously by pulling or pushing the string along the fret axis.

Glissando:
The finger glides from one fret to the other, keeping the string depressed. In the blues, this technique is often played with a bottleneck.

These finger techniques lend variety and expressiveness to guitar music.

The guitar in different musical genres

The guitar plays an important role in genres such as classical music, rock, pop, blues, jazz, country and folk. Each genre has its own playing methods, techniques and styles, which are adopted and developed by guitarists. The guitar is a versatile instrument that allows guitarists to express themselves and develop their own individual style. From virtuoso solos in rock’n’roll to subtle accompaniment in jazz, the guitar offers a wide range of expressive possibilities. Guitarists such as Carlos Santana, Jimmy Page and Django Reinhardt demonstrate the creativity and diversity of the guitar in various musical genres.

Instrument of the year 2013

The guitar has been voted Instrument of the Year 2013 by the music councils of the German federal states. This special award recognizes the importance and versatility of the guitar and its outstanding role in music.

List of famous guitarists

• Alexander Schmitz
• Andreas Lonardoni
• André Waldenmeier
• Carlo May
• Christopher Li
• Conny Restle
• Dave Hunter
• Franz Jahnel
• Frederick Noad
• Fritz Rössel
• Gerken Teja
• Hannes Fricke
• Harvey Turnbull
• Herbert Nobis
• Hugo Pinksterboer
• James Tyler
• Johannes Klier
• Johannes Monno
• Jürgen Meyer
• Josef von Schönbach
• Josef Zuth
• Józef Powroźniak
• Kathleen Schlesinger
• Konrad Ragossnig
• Martin Koch
• Michael Leonardl
• Michael Schneider
• Paul Day
• Paul Sparks
• Peter Päffgen
• Ruggero Chiesa
• Santiago Navascués
• Stefan Sell
• Tadashi Sasaki
• Teja Gerken
• Tony Bacon

Guitar manufacturer

• Aria
• Cort
• ESP
• Fender
• Gibson
• Godin
• Gretsch
• Hagstrom
• Hapas
• Harley Benton
• Ibanez
• Jackson
• Martin
• Ortega
• PRS
• Rickenbacker
• Schecter
• Squier
• Stagg
• Yamaha

How much does a guitar cost?

The cost of a guitar varies depending on the type, brand and quality. Entry-level guitars cost between 50 and 200 euros for acoustic guitars and between 100 and 300 euros for electric guitars. For example, the Yamaha C40 costs around 100 euros and the Squier Affinity Stratocaster around 200 euros.

Mid-range guitars are between 200 and 800 euros for acoustic guitars and between 300 and 1000 euros for electric guitars. A Seagull S6 Original costs around 500 euros and an Epiphone Les Paul Standard also costs around 500 euros.

Professional guitars start at around 800 euros and can cost several thousand euros. The Martin D-28 is around 3000 euros and the Fender American Professional II Stratocaster is around 1500 euros. Custom guitars can also cost several thousand euros, depending on the features.