Baroque guitar built by Matteo Salas, c. 1630–50 | |
String instrument | |
---|---|
Classification | String instrument (plucked) |
Hornbostel–Sachs classification | 321.322 (Composite chordophone) |
Developed | 17th century |
5-course guitar by Antonio Stradivarius, 1680. A sixth course of strings was added to the Italian "guitarra battente" in the 17th century, and guitar makers all over Europe followed the trend. The six-course arrangement gradually gave way to six single strings, and again it seems that the Italians were the driving force.
Sep 04, 2020 · The first-known guitar to have single strings rather than double courses was a 5 string guitar built in 1774 by Ferdinando Gagliano in Naples, which had the innovation of brass frets rather than tied gut frets. The first 6 string guitar to have survived was built in 1791 by Giovanni Battista Fabricatore, also in Naples.
The earliest attestation of a five-stringed guitar comes from the mid-sixteenth-century Spanish book Declaracion de Instrumentos Musicales by Juan Bermudo, published in 1555. The first treatise published for the Baroque guitar was Guitarra Española de cinco ordenes (The Five-course Spanish Guitar), c. 1590, by Juan Carlos Amat.
This guitar was made thanks to Antonio Stradicarius in 1680, who decided to evolutinate the four course guitar. The six course string or guitar was added to the Italian “guitarra battente” (five course guitar) in the 17th century, and guitar makers all over Europe followed the new tend. The transition from five courses to six courses had a new and more modified pattern.
The earliest six-string guitar is dated 1779, and is commonly believed to have been made by Gaetano Vinaccia, a member of the family of Italian luthiers, or stringed instrument builders, who developed the mandolin.Nov 27, 2011
Although steel-stringed acoustic guitars are now used all over the world, the person who is thought to have created the first of these guitars was a German immigrant to the United States named Christian Frederick Martin (1796-1867). Guitars at the time used so-called catgut strings created from the intestines of sheep.
The design of the modern classical guitar can be attributed to Antonio de Torres. The construction of these guitars has been considered the standard in "traditional" instruments since the mid 19th century.
0:5610:40Introducing: The Baroque Guitar - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipOne of the things I love so much about this guitar is that it was played everywhere. From the bars.MoreOne of the things I love so much about this guitar is that it was played everywhere. From the bars. And streets of eighteenth-century Madrid all the way to the court of king charles ii.
(July 1839 – February 23, 1919) was an American inventor and Union sailor in the American Civil War....Robert F. Flemming Jr.OccupationGuitar manufacturer, inventor, music teacherKnown forInvention of guitar-like instrument "Euphonica", spotting the H.L. Hunley12 more rows
It was around 1936 when a jazz guitarist named Charlie Christian (1916-1942) began using an acoustic guitar with a pickup attached to the body, with the intention of playing guitar solos in his band. This is said to be the birth of the electric guitar.
Matteo SalasThe Baroque guitar (c. 1600–1750) is a string instrument with five courses of gut strings and moveable gut frets....Baroque guitar.Baroque guitar built by Matteo Salas, c. 1630–50String instrumentClassificationString instrument (plucked)Hornbostel–Sachs classification321.322 (Composite chordophone)Developed17th century5 more rows
sixteenth centuryThe baroque guitar was invented in Spain in the sixteenth century and was a popular instrument through the eighteenth century, not only there but also in France and Italy. It had an innovative design, and it also had five strings, which was a new development.
The vihuela was an early form of a guitar. It had five to six doubled strings made of gut. This early instrument first emerged in Spain, Italy, and Portugal.
A vintage guitar is an older guitar usually sought after and maintained by avid collectors or musicians.
Tyler and Sparks point out that in Spain, in the 1700's, there were 2 styles of guitar playing: "noisy music" which consisted of much strumming by the commoners, and "court music" which consisted of refined compositions for the aristocracy. The term "musica ruidosa" was used by Gaspar Sanz in his method book of 1674.
The Baroque guitar had a much smaller body than its descendants. Despite the size of its body, the instrument had a long neck, and a fairly large scale string length, ranging from 60cm to 75cm from bridge to nut.
Part of Folias by Gaspar Sanz, 1675, played on 5 course baroque guitar by Ian Pittaway. Left we see the ‘thumb inside’ technique of the renaissance guitar (and renaissance lute), right is the ‘thumb outside’ technique of the baroque guitar (and baroque lute).
The guitar: a brief history from the renaissance to the modern day. The origins of the guitar are much-discussed and much-disputed, and some pretty wild and unsubstantiated claims are made for its heritage, based on vaguely guitary-looking instruments in medieval and even pre-medieval iconography, about which we often know little or nothing ...
In this source, the citole is called a cithara. The gittern underneath isn’t named. Cithara is the Latin for the Greek kithára (κιθάρα) and Assyrian chetarah, a lyre for which there is evidence dating back to 1700 BCE. In ancient usage, the word came to be used for any plucked stringed instrument.
In the 14th century Berkeley Theory Manuscript, for example, what appears to be a citole is called a cithara. An illustration of a citole in the Berkeley Theory Manuscript, written before 1361 (Berkeley, Library of the University of California MS. 744). In this source, the citole is called a cithara.
The gittern meaning guitar should also not be confused with the gittern (gitterne, gyttern, gyttron, etc.) that was a small cittern (cithern, cistre, psittyrne, cythara, etc.), known in England before 1550 and popular in the the 17th century.
The guitar on the left above shows 3 strings and 5 pegs, and on the right there are 3 strings and 3 pegs. It is possible to interpret this as a guitar with 3 courses (left), a single top course and 2 doubles, and another 3 course guitar (right) with 3 single strings.
No longer was the hand parallel to the strings with the thumb placed inside the hand for a smooth, full sound; now the hand was at an angle to the strings, with the thumb completely outside of the hand, to enable the strumming style and give a sharper, more trebly tone.
All three principal types of resonator guitars were invented by the Slovak-American John Dopyera (1893–1988) for the National and Dobro ( Do pyera Bro thers) companies. Similar to the flat top guitar in appearance, but with a body that may be made of brass, nickel-silver, or steel as well as wood, the sound of the resonator guitar is produced by one or more aluminum resonator cones mounted in the middle of the top. The physical principle of the guitar is therefore similar to the loudspeaker .
Renaissance and Baroque guitars are the ancestors of the modern classical and flamenco guitar. They are substantially smaller, more delicate in construction, and generate less volume. The strings are paired in courses as in a modern 12-string guitar, but they only have four or five courses of strings rather than six single strings normally used now. They were more often used as rhythm instruments in ensembles than as solo instruments, and can often be seen in that role in early music performances. ( Gaspar Sanz 's Instrucción de Música sobre la Guitarra Española of 1674 contains his whole output for the solo guitar.) Renaissance and Baroque guitars are easily distinguished, because the Renaissance guitar is very plain and the Baroque guitar is very ornate, with ivory or wood inlays all over the neck and body, and a paper-cutout inverted "wedding cake" inside the hole.
Pressing a string against a fret determines the strings' vibrating length and therefore its resultant pitch. The pitch of each consecutive fret is defined at a half-step interval on the chromatic scale. Standard classical guitars have 19 frets and electric guitars between 21 and 24 frets, although guitars have been made with as many as 27 frets . Frets are laid out to accomplish an equal tempered division of the octave. Each set of twelve frets represents an octave. The twelfth fret divides the scale length exactly into two halves, and the 24th fret position divides one of those halves in half again.
A capo (short for capotasto) is used to change the pitch of open strings. Capos are clipped onto the fretboard with the aid of spring tension or, in some models, elastic tension. To raise the guitar's pitch by one semitone, the player would clip the capo onto the fretboard just below the first fret. Its use allows players to play in different keys without having to change the chord formations they use. For example, if a folk guitar player wanted to play a song in the key of B Major, they could put a capo on the second fret of the instrument, and then play the song as if it were in the key of A Major, but with the capo the instrument would make the sounds of B Major. This is because, with the capo barring the entire second fret, open chords would all sound two semitones (in other words, one tone) higher in pitch. For example, if a guitarist played an open A Major chord (a very common open chord), it would sound like a B Major chord. All of the other open chords would be similarly modified in pitch. Because of the ease with which they allow guitar players to change keys, they are sometimes referred to with pejorative names, such as "cheaters" or the "hillbilly crutch". Despite this negative viewpoint, another benefit of the capo is that it enables guitarists to obtain the ringing, resonant sound of the common keys (C, G, A, etc.) in "harder" and less-commonly used keys. Classical performers are known to use them to enable modern instruments to match the pitch of historical instruments such as the Renaissance music lute .
The truss rod is a thin, strong metal rod that runs along the inside of the neck. It is used to correct changes to the neck's curvature caused by aging of the neck timbers, changes in humidity, or to compensate for changes in the tension of strings. The tension of the rod and neck assembly is adjusted by a hex nut or an allen-key bolt on the rod, usually located either at the headstock, sometimes under a cover, or just inside the body of the guitar underneath the fretboard and accessible through the sound hole. Some truss rods can only be accessed by removing the neck. The truss rod counteracts the immense amount of tension the strings place on the neck, bringing the neck back to a straighter position. Turning the truss rod clockwise tightens it, counteracting the tension of the strings and straightening the neck or creating a backward bow. Turning the truss rod counter-clockwise loosens it, allowing string tension to act on the neck and creating a forward bow.
There are three main types of modern guitar: the classical guitar (Spanish guitar/nylon-string guitar); the steel-string acoustic or electric guitar; and the Hawaiian guitar (played across the player's lap). Traditional acoustic guitars include the flat top guitar (typically with a large sound hole) or an archtop guitar, ...
At least two instruments called "guitars" were in use in Spain by 1200: the guitarra latina (Latin guitar) and the so-called guitarra morisca (Moorish guitar). The guitarra morisca had a rounded back, wide fingerboard, and several sound holes. The guitarra Latina had a single sound hole and a narrower neck.
Baroque guitar. The Baroque guitar (c. 1600–1750) is a string instrument with five courses of gut strings and moveable gut frets. The first (highest pitched) course sometimes used only a single string.
Patrick O'Brien. The Baroque guitar (c. 1600–1750) is a string instrument with five courses of gut strings and moveable gut frets. The first (highest pitched) course sometimes used only a single string.
History. The Baroque guitar replaced the Renaissance lute as the most common instrument found when one was at home. The earliest attestation of a five-stringed guitar comes from the mid-sixteenth-century Spanish book Declaracion de Instrumentos Musicales by Juan Bermudo, published in 1555. The first treatise published for ...
The baroque guitar in contemporary ensembles took on the role of a basso continuo instrument and players would be expected to improvise a chordal accompaniment. Several scholars have assumed that the guitar was used together with another basso continuo instrument playing the bass line.
The Rawlins guitar (1700), part of the Stradivarius collection at the National Music Museum. Chitarra battente. Modern copy of Baroque guitar. Baroque guitar at the Casa Museo Del Timple, Lanzarote, Spain. A baroque guitar by Joachim Tielke in the V&A Museum, London, UK.
Two other Stradivari guitars are in museums. An instrument of 1688 is in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, England, and an instrument of 1700 is in the National Music Museum in Vermillion, South Dakota . Nicholas Alexandre Voboam II (c. 1634/46–1692/1704).
The earliest known existing 6-string guitar was built in 1779 by Gaetano Vinaccia (1759 – 1831) in Naples, Italy. The Vinaccia family of luthiers is known for developing the mandolin. This guitar has been examined and does not show telltale signs of modifications from a double-course guitar. The authenticity of guitars allegedly produced before the 1790s is often in question.
During the Middle Ages, guitars with 3, 4 and 5 strings were already in use. The Guitarra Latina had curved sides and is thought to have come to Spain from elsewhere in Europe. The Guitarra Morisca, as brought to Spain by the Moors, had an oval soundbox and many sound holes on its soundboard.
Earliest surviving music for the vihuela consisting of Courtly dances and song accompaniments. Seven manuscripts survived; written for the upper classes. The music was transcribed in a form of tablature.
December 17th, Orville Wright piloted the first machine powered airplane 20 feet above a the beach at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet. Three more flights were made that day with Orville’s brother Wilbur piloting the record flight lasting 59 seconds over a distance of 852 feet.
This was possible because of a greatly increased vocal range in music — in the Middle Ages, the narrow range made necessary frequent crossing of parts, thus requiring a greater contrast between them.
Christianity becomes the official religion of the Roman Empire. As Emperor Constantine had converted to Christianity, he felt it was appropriate that the rest of the Empire should follow suit. This change was fertile ground for the creation of many new songs.
Music, especially songs with lyrics, is commonly written in response to current events – common experience seeking expression. The following timeline is a work-in-progress of the history of the guitar and its role in supporting musical styles.
The 6-course guitar arose first in Spain in the 1750's, with double strings (same as today's 12-string guitar) Merits of single vs. double stringing was debated on 5 and 6 course guitars since at least the 1770's. String improvements allowed cheap and readily accessible wire-wound basses in the 1780's.
The latter third of the book is by Paul Sparks, titled "The Origins of the Classical Guitar" which specifically details the invention and evolution of the 6-string modern guitar from 1750-1800.
String lengths on Baroque and early Spanish 6-string instruments were longer than a concert Ramirez. Treble clef notation replaced tablature in the 1760's. Guitar pitch was raised to standard orchestral pitch with the adoption of treble clef notation.
6-string guitars were around since the mid 1770's, but were not popular until the late 1790's. The 18th century was not a period of musical decline.
This instrument was made and played for over 70 years, from around 1780-1 850, though possibly as early as the 1770's.
String improvements allowed cheap and readily accessible wir e-wound basses in the 1780's. Wire-wound strings cut into gut frets and necessitated metal frets. Wire-wound bass strings were overpowering with double courses and required single courses for balance.
Tyler and Sparks point out that in Spain, in the 1700's, there were 2 styles of guitar playing: "noisy music" which consisted of much strumming by the commoners, and "court music" which consisted of refined compositions for the aristocracy. The term "musica ruidosa" was used by Gaspar Sanz in his method book of 1674.
The modern word guitar, and its antecedents, has been applied to a wide variety of chordophones since classical times and as such causes confusion. The English word guitar, the German Gitarre, and the French guitare were all adopted from the Spanish guitarra, which comes from the Andalusian Arabic قيثارة (qīthārah) and the Latin cithara, which in turn came from the Ancient Greek κιθάρα. Kitharaappears in the Bible four times (1 Cor. 14:7, Rev. 5:8, 14:2 and 15:2), and is usuall…
Guitars can be divided into two broad categories, acoustic and electric guitars. Within each of these categories, there are also further sub-categories. For example, an electric guitar can be purchased in a six-string model (the most common model) or in seven- or twelve-string models.
Acoustic guitars form several notable subcategories within the acoustic guitar group: classical and flamenco guitars; steel-string guitars, which include the flat-topped, or "folk", guitar; twelve-s…
Modern guitars can be constructed to suit both left- and right-handed players. Typically the dominant hand is used to pluck or strum the strings. This is similar to the violinfamily of instruments where the dominant hand controls the bow. Left-handed players usually play a mirror image instrument manufactured especially for left-handed players. There are other options, some unorthodox, including learn to play a right-handed guitar as if the player is right-handed or playin…
By the 16th century, the guitar tuning of ADGBE had already been adopted in Western culture; a lower E was later added on the bottom as a sixth string. The result, known as "standard tuning", has the strings tuned from a low E, to a high E, traversing a two-octave range—EADGBE. This tuning is a series of ascending fourths (and a single major third) from low to high. The reason for ascending fourths is to accommodate four fingers on four frets up a scale before moving to the …
Though a guitar may be played on its own, there are a variety of common accessories used for holding and playing the guitar.
A capo (short for capotasto) is used to change the pitch of open strings. Capos are clipped onto the fretboard with the aid of spring tension or, in some models, elastic tension. To raise the guitar's pitch by one semitone, the player would clip the capo onto the fretboard just below the fi…
• List of guitar manufacturers
• Outline of guitars
• Paracho de Verduzco
• Instruments In Depth: The Guitar An online feature from Bloomingdale School of Music (October 2007)
• International Guitar Research Archive
• The Guitar, Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art featuring many historic guitars from the Museum's collection