A Short History of the Guitar

Playing the guitar, be it a beginner electric guitar or an acoustic electric guitar for advanced players, is not just an intellectual exercise or a way to please your senses and find the sonic you. It is also a way to connect with the many people who did so over the last centuries.

And a proof of that is the fact that the use of this instrument can be traced way back to the 13th century. With quite a rich history, an interesting evolution, and significant transformations behind, this string instrument holds a noteworthy place in the musical journey of mankind.

Whether you’re a beginner guitar player or you’ve already reached a senior level, we have highlighted below some of the most important stages in the history of this noble instrument.

Controversial beginnings

Today’s resources as far as the guitar history is regarded are easily accessible and one Google search will get you quick yet diverse answers to various questions. Some history books say that this instrument was invented by the classical-era Greeks.

However, some historians disagree saying that the well-known Greek instrument called Kithara is not the starting point, even though it is a string instrument. This version is based on the fact that the Kithara was actually a type of lyra or harp.

To further spice up the evolution of this musical item, we can also add that archaeologists have found stringed guitars from the ancient Babylonian, Sumerian, and Egyptian civilizations, some of the earliest stringed instruments including the bowl harps and the tanburs.

If the guitar is defined as a musical instrument that features a flat wooden soundboard, a long fretted neck, a flat back, and ribs, then its beginnings can also be related to Turkey as the first image of such an instrument was found there and it pictures a 3300-year-old Hittite guitar.

The name of the instrument itself points to another specific “birth land” as it comes from the ancient Sanskrit word “ Tar” which means string. The guitar is said to have reached Europe from the Persian Chartar, an instrument that featured 4 strings only to evolve to variations of 3 to 5 strings from Roman times till the Middle Ages.

Guitar’s mom and dad

With so many string instruments traced in different eras and in different places, identifying the first time and place where an instrument boasting the features of a guitar might take us to another row of debates and different theories.

To get closer to an answer and to our times, we will embrace the generally accepted version of the lute as the guitar’s direct ancestor. It was based on the oud that was brought to Spain by the Moors. The Europeans took the oud, added frets to it, and developed what was called the lute.

Most guitar players and historians think of this instrument as of the father of the guitar. Resembling more a modern bass than a guitar, the lute was the troubadours’ favorite during the Dark Ages and the Renaissance. Thus, the lutes were the first travel guitars. They usually had four strings, an oval body, and a rounded back. Still, this lute lacks many of the elements we now find in guitars.

Here’s where the vihuela comes into sight. Developed in Spain in the 15th century, this instrument is regarded as the mother of the guitar featuring a smaller body and treble strings that could be strummed. It is said that during the 16th century, the two instruments were mixed together to create something closer in appearance and sound to what we call a guitar today.

The mixing resulted in an instrument that had the body and neck closer to those of a vihuela yet the size of a lute. The instrument also had bass and treble strings, which is the foundation of the modern guitar.

Modern age and guitars

The 18th century is the one hosting the development of the modern guitar. While some sources say the first modern guitar was then seen in Italy, others go for France as the motherland of this guitar version. Regardless of the actual place where it was seen, the item we’re talking about is a 6-string instrument similar to what we see today.

It is during the same century that the machine head was invented and replaced the wooden pegbox. This is also when fan-shaped struts were added inside the guitar to amplify the sound and when the “floating arm technique” was used.

It is Antonio de Torres Jurado, though, the one who brought significant changes to what was then a guitar. He increased the size of the instrument as well as the distance between the nut and the bridge. Moreover, he improved the fan shape of the struts. All these changes made it possible for the guitar to be played along with other instruments. Until then, the sound of it would have been completely covered by other instruments.

Later on, during the 20th century, the guitar suffered further changes and its catgut strings were then replaced with nylon and metal strings. It’s now that the classical guitar gets modifications that resulted in the acoustic guitar. And it was not long before attempts to electrify the guitar were carried out.

The electric guitars were born in the late 1920s when the Hawaiian and jazz guitars received pickups. Only a decade later, in 1936, Gibson introduced the ES150 model. The evolution and transformation of this instrument did not end here, though, as Fender created a bass based on a guitar, now known as the Fender Precision Bass. Once amplification allowed the removal of the soundbox, inventors such as Les Paul and Leo Fender started to make solid-body guitars.

With the evolution of guitars, various accessories needed to get the best out of this instrument were also developed. Although briefly described here, the history of this popular instrument is a history of the humans’ desire to achieve more through music and a perfect example of what creativity, ingenuity, and craftsmanship can lead to.