Origin Of Guitar

The word modern guitar, and its antecedents, has been applied to a wide variety of accordions since classical times and, as such, causes confusion. The English guitar, the German guitar and the French guitar were all adopted from the Spanish guitar, which comes from the Andalusian Arabic قيثارة (qitara) and the Latin cithara, which in turn comes from the ancient Greek κιθάρα (kithara)) . Many influences are cited as background of the modern guitar. Although the development of the first "guitars" is lost in the history of medieval Spain, two instruments are commonly cited as their most influential predecessors, the European lute and its cousin, the oud of four strings; the latter was taken to Iberia by the Moors in the eighth century. At least two instruments called "guitars" were in use in Spain in 1200: the Latin guitar and the so-called Moorish guitar. The Moorish guitar had a rounded back, a wide fretboard and several sound holes. The Latin guitar had a single sound hole and a narrower neck. In the fourteenth century, the qualifiers "moresca" or "morisca" and "latina" had been eliminated, and these two cordophones were simply called guitars. The Spanish vihuela, called in Italian the "viola da mano", an instrument similar to the guitar of the XV and XVI centuries, is widely considered as the most important influence on the development of the Baroque guitar. He had six courses (usually), lute tuning in quarters and a body similar to the guitar, although the first performances reveal an instrument with a sharply cut waist. It was also bigger than contemporary four-stroke guitars. In the sixteenth century, the construction of the vihuela had more in common with the modern guitar, with its curved ribs in one piece, than with the violins, and more like a larger version of contemporary four-stroke guitars. The vihuela enjoyed a relatively short period of popularity in Spain and Italy during a time dominated elsewhere in Europe by the lute; the last surviving music for the instrument appeared in 1576. Meanwhile, the five-stage baroque guitar, documented in Spain since the mid-sixteenth century, enjoyed popularity, especially in Spain, Italy and France from the late sixteenth century to the mid-eighteenth century. In Portugal, the word viola referred to the guitar, since the guitar meant the "Portuguese guitar", a variety of cittern. Guitars can be divided into two broad categories, acoustic and electric guitars. Within each of these categories, there are also other subcategories. For example, an electric guitar can be purchased in a six-string model (the most common model) or in seven-string or 12-string models.