why did the four-course guitar fall out of favor

When did the four-course guitar become popular?

By the beginning of the Renaissance, the four-course (4 unison-tuned pairs of strings) guitar had become dominant, at least in most of Europe. (Sometimes a single first string was used.) The earliest known music for the four-course "chitarra" was written in 16th century Spain.

What is a 4 course guitar?

In the 16th century, the 4 course guitar was also known as the gittern or guiterne in England and France, so it must not be confused with the unrelated medieval gittern, carved from a solid piece of wood.

How did folk guitar become so popular?

In the 1960s and ’70s, ground-breaking English folk guitarists distilled the influences of blues and jazz on their technique, influenced in particular by the black American blues players who visited England, such as Bill Broonzy. They experimented with non-standard tunings to create, in effect, a different sort of instrument.

What are some of the most confusing ideas about guitars?

Another confused but often-repeated idea about the guitar in particular is the notion of instrument evolution. Guitar videos, websites and magazines repeatedly claim that anything with strings and a neck must be some kind of guitar, stretching back in an evolutionary line.

How were the renaissance lute and the vihuela similar?

Vihuelas were chromatically fretted in a manner similar to lutes, by means of movable, wrapped-around and tied-on gut frets. Vihuelas, however, usually had ten frets, whereas lutes had only seven. Unlike modern guitars, which often use steel and bronze strings, vihuelas were gut strung, and usually in paired courses.

Why is Lute not used?

I think the lute was forgotten, as was said above, because of its lack of volume. It could hold its own against the early violins, for example, but not against the XIX century ones, which are much more powerful.

What replaced the lute?

3140). The second half of the eighteenth century saw the decay of the lute. An important number of old lutes were transformed into guitars by narrowing the neck, adding metal or bone fixed frets, and replacing the bridge and pegbox to allow only six single strings.

Is Lute harder than guitar?

The main point is that the lute, which (compared to the guitar) is weak in the lower harmonics and strong in the higher, can sound tinny if played with nails.

Why do lutes have bent necks?

This bend helps keep the tension on the strings and keeps the lute in tune. As with many stringed instruments, such as the guitar, autoharp, or banjo, the lute player produces sound by plucking the strings.

Do people still use lutes?

Lute in the modern world Lute performances are now not uncommon; there are many professional lutenists, especially in Europe where the most employment is found, and new compositions for the instrument are being produced by composers.

What came first piano or guitar?

Interesting fact: the guitar is actually much older than the piano. In the evolution of musical instruments, ancestors of the modern guitar can be found back thousands of years.

Who invented guitar?

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.

Why is a guitar shaped the way it is?

A good reason is that the guitars in the old times were made by men, for men, the shape allows them to cradle the guitar similar to a woman's body. Now, the shape is kept for a couple of reasons: Tradition. Most Guitar Enthusiasts want to have the “traditional” shape of the instrument.

What is the easiest instrument to learn?

The piano is arguably the easiest musical instrument for kids to learn and there's a ton of easy songs to learn. It's a great way to introduce children to music, mostly thanks to the simple, logical layout of the keys.

Why do lutes have so many strings?

“Because the instrument was used as an accompanying instrument to virtuoso vocal music, it didn't matter what octave the notes were. So rather than invent a new tuning, they simply put thicker strings on in place of the first and second strings tuned an octave lower than the strings would normally sound.

Is playing the kazoo hard?

The kazoo is a fun and whimsical instrument. It is inexpensive and easy to play, but it's not just for kids.

Why is the thumb outside the hand on a guitar?

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.

Who played the 5 course guitar in Folias?

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).

What is a citole in the Berkeley theory?

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.

How many strings are on a guitar?

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.

When was the electric guitar invented?

Even before the invention of steel guitar strings, the technology that would lead to the electric guitar was discovered: electrical induction. This was in 1830, but it was to be another century before it was applied to the guitar, using up to three pickups – coiled copper wire around a magnet – to produce an electromagnetic signal when steel strings vibrate near to them, the signal then fed through a cable to an amplifier. The first move towards thus electrifying the guitar was seen by the public on 20th October 1928 in an article in The Music Trades. The Stromberg Electro was “an electronically operated device that produces an increased volume of tone for any stringed instrument.” In 1929 this was developed into the first specific electric guitar. The Chicago Musical Instrument Catalog featured an advertisement for an electric guitar with its amplifier: “Every tone is brought out distinctly and evenly, with a volume that will fill even a large hall.”

Where did the guitar come from?

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 ...

Is instrument evolution the same as biology?

The idea of instrument evolution itself needs to be examined. An assertion of evolution in the natural biological world within a genus or from one genus to another has to be backed by evidence, and there is plenty of data to provide it. But the ‘evolution’ of an instrument cannot develop on the same lines as biology.

How long has the guitar been around?

The guitar is an ancient and noble instrument, whose history can be traced back over 4000 years. Many theories have been advanced about the instrument's ancestry. It has often been claimed that the guitar is a development of the lute, or even of the ancient Greek kithara. Research done by Dr. Michael Kasha in the 1960's showed these claims ...

Where did the guitar originate?

As we have seen, the guitar's ancestors came to Europe from Egypt and Mesopotamia. These early instruments had, most often, four strings - as we have seen above, the word "guitar" is derived from the Old Persian "chartar", which, in direct translation, means "four strings".

What is the similarity between the Greek word "kithara" and the Spanish word "quitarra"?

The sole "evidence" for the kithara theory is the similarity between the greek word "kithara" and the Spanish word "quitarra". It is hard to imagine how the guitar could have evolved from the kithara, which was a completely different type of instrument - namely a square-framed lap harp, or "lyre". (Right)

How many strings did the Greek kithara have?

Dr. Kasha turns the question around and asks where the Greeks got the name "kithara", and points out that the earliest Greek kitharas had only 4 strings when they were introduced from abroad. He surmises that the Greeks hellenified the old Persian name for a 4-stringed instrument, "chartar". (See below.)

What is a guitar?

Dr. Kasha defines a guitar as having "a long, fretted neck, flat wooden soundboard, ribs, and a flat back, most often with incurved sides" .

When were harps and tanburs played in Egypt?

Tomb paintings and stone carvings in Egypt testify to the fact that harps and tanburs (together with flutes and percussion instruments) were being played in ensemble 3500 - 4000 years ago. Egyptian wall painting, Thebes, 1420 BCE.

Where did the guitarra battente originate?

The five-course guitarra battente (left) first appeared in Italy at around the same time, and gradually replaced the four-course instrument. The standard tuning had already settled at A, D, G, B, E, like the top five strings of the modern guitar.

What did George Harrison's guitars have?

His guitars featured a broadened body, thinned belly and increased curve at the waist. He also replaced wooden tuning pegs with a machined heads. His innovative approach to body design and fan bracing, which is that system of wooden struts inside the instrument, gave his classical guitars their distinctive, rich voice.

Who invented the flat top guitar?

German-born American guitar maker, Christian Frederick Martin, created the flat top.

How many strings does a lute have?

The lute had evolved significantly by the end of the Renaissance – many lutes had up to 20 or 30 strings – but the lute-like shape of the instrument was fading in popularity. By the 15th and 16th centuries, musicians in Spain began to favor instruments featuring the familiar curved shape we now associate with guitars.

What is the difference between a kithara and a guitar?

Solo musicians would sometimes pluck the strings with the fingers of both hands. Holding a kithara is similar to holding a guitar, and musicians would often use the early equivalent of a guitar strap with an over-the-shoulder band.

What instrument did Hermes use?

Mythology attributes Hermes with creating the first kithara from a tortoise shell, but many likenesses of Apollo show him with this instrument. This instrument had a wooden soundboard and box-shaped body, or resonator. Two hollow arms, connected by a crossbar, extended from the resonator.

What guitar did Mariachi use?

Mariachi groups still use a version of the vihuela today. The evolution of Spanish guitars settled by the 1790s; they had the standard body type and six courses of strings that resembles the modern guitar, but were smaller.

What does the position of the hands on the lute indicate?

The image depicts a female crouching on a boat; the position of her hands on the instrument indicates she is playing an instrument. Long- and short-necked varieties of lutes continued to appear in pictorial records throughout Mesopotamian and Egyptian history.