About the Guitar

The Guitar

The guitar is classified as a plucked string instrument, or chordophone, which produces sound by creating a vibration of the strings. They can have up to 18 strings depending on the type of guitar but most only have six.
The sound is produced by creating vibration in the hollow body of an acoustic guitar or through an amplifier for an electric guitar. The guitar is traditionally made of wood and strings of gut, nylon or steel. Unlike hollow-bodied acoustic, electric guitars typically have a solid body to prevent feedback.

Structure

guitar sructure image

The first section of the guitar is called a headstock, on which you will find tuners and tuning pegs. The tuning pegs allow you tune the guitar by tightening or loosening the strings. The middle, narrow section of the guitar is called the neck. The nut is the white strip closest to the headstock. The front side of the neck is called the fretboard. And the metal wires on the fretboard are called the frets, which help your fingers find the right spots. The biggest part of the guitar is called the body, which has a hole in the middle called the sound hole. On the body, the bridge, the saddle, and the bridge pins hold the strings in place.

Classic VS Acustic

  • Shape

    Most acoustic guitars come in a dreadnought shape in a standard parlor size. Parlor size guitars are typically smaller than a classical guitar, but some are larger depending on the type of acoustic guitar manufacturer.

  • Neck

    Typically, a standard classical guitar has a wider neck than an acoustic guitar. Remember that an acoustic guitar is meant for strumming or fingerpicking; therefore, the smaller neck width and shorter string spacing make these techniques easier for players. It’s also best to keep in mind that classical guitars tend to not have fret markers, which may or may not pose a challenge to players.

  • Bridge

    A classic wrap-around bridge is used on a standard classical guitar. On this type of guitar, the strings are tied in a knot around the bridge to secure them in place, similar to a ukulele. But classical bridges also accept ball-end classical strings, which is the preferred string method for these types of rigs. In contrast, the bridge on an acoustic guitar has pegs that securely hold the strings in place.

  • String

    The ultimate difference between an acoustic and a classical guitar is the strings. Classical guitars use nylon strings as opposed to steel strings on an acoustic guitar. This is where the major differences in sound come from. Nylon strings are a lot thicker and produce a more mellow, softer sound than steel strings. The treble strings (G, B, high E) are made with nylon monofilament while the bass strings (E, A, D) feature a silver-plated copper wrapped around a nylon multifilament core. Nylon strings are softer to the touch and have a plastic feel, which makes them ideal for beginners. While the nylon strings might be easier to play for uncalloused hands, the sound is not as common in modern music. If you like Spanish, Flamenco, or Classical music, this type of sound can be achieved with a classical guitar. But most modern rock, folk, blues, and country performers use an acoustic guitar. The steel strings on an acoustic guitar produce a bright, crisp, even twangy sound that resonates more than a classical guitar. Acoustic guitar strings are manufactured in a variety of metals and materials, including nickel and bronze. These strings are thinner, making them extremely similar to electric guitar strings while also being somewhat sharper on the fingers.

A little bit of history

The original shape of the guitar in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries

A plucked stringed musical instrument that probably originated in Spain early in the 16th century, deriving from the guitarra latina, a late-medieval instrument with a waisted body and four strings. The early guitar was narrower and deeper than the modern guitar, with a less pronounced waist. It was closely related to the vihuela, the guitar-shaped instrument played in Spain in place of the lute.

The guitar originally had four courses of strings, three double, the top course single, that ran from a violin-like pegbox to a tension bridge glued to the soundboard, or belly; the bridge thus sustained the direct pull of the strings. In the belly was a circular sound hole, often ornamented with a carved wooden rose. The 16th-century guitar was tuned C–F–A–D′, the tuning of the centre four courses of the lute and of the vihuela. From the 16th to the 19th century several changes occurred in the instrument. A fifth course of strings was added before 1600; by the late 18th century a sixth course was added. Before 1800 the double courses were replaced by single strings tuned E–A–D–G–B–E′, still the standard tuning. The violin-type pegbox was replaced about 1600 by a flat, slightly reflexed head with rear tuning pegs; in the 19th century, metal screws were substituted for the tuning pegs. The early tied-on gut frets were replaced by built-on ivory or metal frets in the 18th century. The fingerboard was originally flush with and ended at the belly, and several metal or ivory frets were placed directly on the belly. In the 19th century the fingerboard was raised slightly above the level of the belly and was extended across it to the edge of the sound hole. In the 19th century the guitar’s body also underwent changes that resulted in increased sonority. It became broader and shallower, with an extremely thin soundboard. Internally, the transverse bars reinforcing the soundboard were replaced by radial bars that fanned out below the sound hole. The neck, formerly set into a wood block, was formed into a brace, or shoe, that projected a short distance inside the body and was glued to the back; this gave extra stability against the pull of the strings. The 19th-century innovations were largely the work of Antonio Torres. The instrument that resulted was the classical guitar, which is strung with three gut and three metal-spun silk strings. Nylon or other plastic was later used in place of gut. Among variant forms of the guitar are the 12-stringed, or double-course, guitar, and the Mexican jarana and the South American charango, both small five-course guitars. Lyre-shaped guitars were fashionable in 19th-century drawing rooms. Other forms of the guitar include the metal-strung guitar played with a plectrum in folk and popular music; the cello guitar, with a violin-type bridge and tailpiece; the Hawaiian, or steel guitar, in which the strings are stopped by the pressure of a metal bar, producing a sweet, gliding tone; and the electric guitar, in which the instrument’s sound and tone depend almost entirely on the electronic detection and amplification of its vibrating strings. Guitar music from the 16th to 18th century was notated either in tablature (showing the position of the fingers on the frets and the strings to be plucked) or in a system of alphabetical chord symbols. Jazz-guitar tablature shows chord symbols on a grid representing strings and frets. The guitar grew in popularity during the 17th century as the lute and vihuela declined. It remained an amateur’s instrument from the 17th to early 19th century. A few virtuoso guitarists, however, became known in Europe, among them Gaspar Sanz (flourished 1674), Robert de Visée (c. 1650–1725), Fernando Sor (1778–1839), and Joseph Kaspar Mertz (1806–56). Modern classical-guitar technique owes much to the Spaniard Francisco Tárrega (1852–1909), whose transcriptions of works by Bach, Mozart, and other composers formed the basis of the concert repertory.