Citizendia

"Spanish guitar" redirects here. For the Toni Braxton song, see Spanish Guitar (song). " Spanish Guitar " is the third single from Toni Braxton 's third studio album The Heat (2000
Classical Guitar
Classical Guitar
Classification

String instrument (plucked)

Playing range
Related instruments
Musicians
  • List of classical guitarists

A classical guitar, also known as known as "nylon string guitar" or "Spanish guitar" (referring to its origin, not repertoire), is a musical instrument from the family of musical instruments called chordophones. A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. A string instrument (or stringed instrument) is a Musical instrument that produces Sound by means of Vibrating strings In the Hornbostel-Sachs Plucked string instruments are a subcategory of String instruments that are played by plucking the strings Plucking is a way of pulling and releasing the string in In Music, the range of a Musical instrument is the distance from the lowest to the highest pitch it can play A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. Plucked string instruments are a subcategory of String instruments that are played by plucking the strings Plucking is a way of pulling and releasing the string in A steel-string acoustic guitar, is a modern form of Guitar descended from the Classical guitar, but strung with steel strings for a brighter louder sound An electric guitar is a type of Guitar that uses pickups to convert the vibration of its steel-cored strings into an electrical current which is made louder A flamenco guitar is a type of Classical guitar, built for the purpose of playing Flamenco music The electric bass guitar (also called electric bass, or simply bass; ˈbeɪs as in "base" is a Stringed instrument played primarily with the Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck (either Fretted or unfretted and a deep round back or more specifically to an instrument from A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified for the purpose of making Music. A Chordophone is any Musical instrument which produces sound primarily by way of a vibrating string or strings stretched between two points

The classical guitar is characterised by:

The name classical guitar does not mean that only classical repertoire is performed on it (although classical music is a part of the instrument's core repertoire) - instead all kinds of music (classical, flamenco, jazz, etc. Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in or rooted in the traditions of Western liturgical and Secular music ) can be and are performed on it.

The classical guitar as an instrument has a long evolution, and while its modern form (modern classical guitar) is mainly available today, many luthiers today also build guitars with historic shapes (e. g. replicas of romantic guitars, . . . ): A Guitar Family Tree can be identified, which includes guitars from different periods, with different shapes and construction-features, as well as different string configurations (double-strung courses, or single strings, different tunings, different number of strings).

Contents

Background information

The evolution of the classical guitar and its repertoire spans more than four centuries. It has a history that was shaped by contributions from earlier instruments, such as the Renaissance guitar, vihuela and the baroque guitar. Vihuela is a name given to two different Guitar -like String instruments one from 15th and 16th century Spain, usually with 12 paired strings and the This article is about baroque guitars For the modern 10-string guitar see Ten-string guitar. The popularity of the classical guitar has been sustained over the years by many great players, arrangers, and composers. A very short list might include, Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710), Fernando Sor (1778-1839), Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829), Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909), Agustín Barrios Mangoré (1888-1944), Andrés Segovia (1893-1987), Alirio Diaz (1923), Presti-Lagoya Duo (active from 1955-1967: Ida Presti, Alexandre Lagoya), Julian Bream (1933), and John Williams (1941). Gaspar Sanz ( April 4, 1640 – 1710 was an Aragonese Spanish Composer and Priest born in Calanda in the area Fernando Sor (baptized February 14, 1778 &ndash July 10, 1839) was a Spanish guitarist and Composer, born Mauro Giuseppe Sergio Pantaleo Giuliani ( July 27, 1781 &ndash May 8, 1829) was an Italian guitarist and Composer Francisco de Asís Tárrega y Eixea, (21 November 1852 — 15 December 1909 was an influential Spanish Composer and guitarist. Agustín Pío Barrios (born May 5, 1885 in San Juan Bautista de las Misiones, Paraguay; died August 7, 1944 in San Andrés Torres Segovia 1st Marquess of Salobreña ( 21 February 1893 &ndash 2 June 1987) was a Spanish Classical guitarist Alirio Díaz (born November 12, 1923) is a Venezuelan Classical guitarist The eighth of eleven children Díaz was born in Caserio Ida Presti, ( 31 May 1924 - 24 April 1967) was a French Classical guitarist She has been called ‘the greatest guitarist of the 20th Alexandre Lagoya (June 21 1929 &ndash August 24 1999 was a Classical guitarist His early career included boxing and guitar and as he cites on the sleeve of his 1981 Columbia Julian Bream OBE (born July 15, 1933) is an internationally celebrated British guitarist and Lutenist widely recognized John Christopher Williams (born 24 April 1941 is a Grammy Award winning Australian-born British Classical guitarist Biography Born in Melbourne

Performance

The right and left hand descriptions in this section are typical for right-handed guitarists.

Plucking of the string

Right-handed players usually use the fingers of the right hand to pluck the strings (with the thumb plucking from the top of a string downward, and the other fingers plucking from the bottom of string upward). The little finger is seldom used because of its small size. (Some guitarists such as Štěpán Rak compensate this with an extremely long fingernail on the little finger. Štěpán Rak (born 1945) is a Czech Classical guitarist and composer )

Changing a string's active vibrating length (frets)

The fingers of the other hand are usually used to change the vibrating length of a string: the finger pushes the string towards a fret to achieve this. The shorter the string, the higher its pitch. Pitch represents the perceived Fundamental frequency of a sound

Direct contact with strings

As with other plucked instruments (such as the lute), the musician directly touches the strings (usually plucking) to produce the sound. This has important consequences: Different tone/timbre (of a single note) can be produced by plucking the string in different manners and in different positions. In Music, timbre (ˈtæm-bər' like timber, or, from Fr timbre tɛ̃bʁ is the quality of a Musical note or sound that distinguishes different

Tone production/variation and freedom of performance

Guitarists have a lot of freedom within the mechanics of playing the instrument. Often these decisions influence the tone/timbre - factors include:

Right Hand:

Left Hand:

Both Hands/Other:

Since it is the hands and fingers that pluck the string and every person has different fingers, there are great differences in playing between guitarists; who often spend a lot of time finding their own way of playing that suits them best in terms of specific objectives: tone-production ("beauty"/quality of tone), minimum noise (e. g. clicking), large dynamic range (from soft to controlled loud), minimum (muscle) effort, fast "motion-recovery" (fast plucking when desired), healthy movement in fingers, wrist, hand and arm

There is not one definite way of reaching these goals (there is not a single definite optimal guitar technique): rather there are different ways of reaching these goals, due to differences in the hands and fingers (including nails) of guitarists.

When guitarists are performing music (while playing), they continually search (by actively moving/changing their hands, fingers) for a good sound in terms of tone/timbre, to enhance the musical interpretation.

John Williams has remarked[4] that since guitarists find it superficially very easy to play even things such as melody with accompaniment (e. John Christopher Williams (born 24 April 1941 is a Grammy Award winning Australian-born British Classical guitarist Biography Born in Melbourne g. Giuliani), [some guitarists'] "approach to tone production is also superficial, with little or no consideration given to voice matching and tonal contrasts".

See also Classical guitar technique. The classical guitar technique is a fingerstyle technique used by Classical guitarists to play Classical guitar music on a Classical guitar

Pedagogy (Teaching, Learning)

Main article: Classical guitar pedagogy

History

Main article: History of the classical guitar

The history of the classical guitar and its repertoire span over four centuries. Pedagogy (teaching may include numerous topics (both practical and theoretical aspects Musical interpretation of a work in a specific style (renaissance baroque The history of the classical guitar and its repertoire spans over four centuries including its ancestor the Baroque guitar. Included in its ancestry is the baroque guitar. This article is about baroque guitars For the modern 10-string guitar see Ten-string guitar. Throughout the centuries, the classical guitar has evolved principally from three sources: the lute, the vihuela, and the Renaissance five-string guitar. Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck (either Fretted or unfretted and a deep round back or more specifically to an instrument from Vihuela is a name given to two different Guitar -like String instruments one from 15th and 16th century Spain, usually with 12 paired strings and the

Origins

Figurines playing the ancestor of the Guitar. Excavated in Susa, Iran. Dated 2000-1500 BCE. Kept at the National Museum of Iran.
Figurines playing the ancestor of the Guitar. Excavated in Susa, Iran. Susa ( Biblical שושן ( Shushan) also Greek: Σοῦσα Transliterated as Sousa; Latin Susa) For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Dated 2000-1500 BCE. Kept at the National Museum of Iran. The National Museum of Iran (in Persian: موزه ملي ايران Mūze-ye Millī-ye Irān, or موزه ایران باستان Muze-ye Irân-e Bâstân

Instruments similar to what we know as the guitar have been popular for at least 5,000 years. The guitar appears to be derived from earlier instruments known in ancient central Asia as the cithara. Ancient India and Instruments very similar to the guitar appear in ancient carvings and statues recovered from the old Iranian capital of Susa. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. Susa ( Biblical שושן ( Shushan) also Greek: Σοῦσα Transliterated as Sousa; Latin Susa)

Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages, guitars with three, four, and five strings existed. The Guitarra Latina had curved sides and is thought to have come to Spain from elsewhere in Europe. The Guitarra Morisca, brought to Spain by the Moors, had an oval soundbox and many sound holes on its soundboard. The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of Muslim (and earlier non-Muslim people of Berber and Arab descent By the fifteenth century, four double-string guitars, similar to lutes, became popular, and by the sixteenth century, a fifth double-string had been added. During this time, composers wrote mostly in tablature notation. Italy was the center of guitar world during the 17th century, and the Spanish school of guitar making only began to flourish late in the 18th century after the addition of the sixth string. During the 19th century, improved communication and transportation enabled performers to travel widely and the guitar became a widely known instrument. Guitar music became especially popular in Spain and Antonio de Torres developed the Spanish guitar in its modern form, with a broadened body, increased waist curve, thinned belly, improved internal bracing, single string courses replacing double courses, and a machined head replacing wooden tuning pegs. Antonio de Torres Jurado ( June 13, 1817 – November 19, 1892) was a Spanish guitarist and guitar maker

Renaissance

The Renaissance guitar

The gittern, English for Renaissance guitar, is a musical instrument resembling a small lute or guitar. It is related to but is not a citole, another medieval instrument. The gittern was carved from a single piece of wood with a curved ("sickle-shaped") pegbox. An example has survived from around 1450.

The Vihuela

The written history of the classical guitar can be traced back to the early sixteenth century with the development of the vihuela in Spain. Vihuela is a name given to two different Guitar -like String instruments one from 15th and 16th century Spain, usually with 12 paired strings and the While the lute was then becoming popular in other parts of Europe, the Spaniards did not take to it well because of its association with the Moors . They turned instead to the four string guitarra, adding two more strings to give it more range and complexity. In its most developed form, the vihuela was a guitar-like instrument with six double strings made of gut, tuned like a modern classical guitar with the exception of the third string, which was tuned half a step lower.

Baroque guitar

A Guitar from the Baroque era. Baroque art redirects here Please disambiguate such links to Baroque painting, Baroque sculpture, etc

The Guitar Player (c. 1672), by Johannes Vermeer, guitar Voboam
The Guitar Player (c. 1672), by Johannes Vermeer, guitar Voboam

"Early romantic guitar" or "Guitar during the Classical music era"

The earliest extant six string guitar was built in 1779 by Gaetano Vinaccia (1759 - after 1831) [5] [6] in Naples, Italy. Johannes or Jan Vermeer (baptized in Delft with the name Joannis on October 31 1632, and buried in the same city under the name Jan The dates of the Classical period in Western music are generally accepted as 1750 to 1810 Year 1779 ( MDCCLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Year 1759 ( MDCCLIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year Year 1831 ( MDCCCXXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Naples ( Napoli, Neapolitan: Nàpule) is a historic City in southern Italy, the Capital of the The Vinaccia family of luthiers is known for developing the mandolin. A mandolin is a musical instrument in the Lute family (plucked or strummed This guitar has been examined and does not show tell-tale signs of modifications from a double-course guitar. [7] The authenticity of guitars allegedly produced before the 1790s is often in question. This also corresponds to when Moretti's 6-string method appeared, in 1792.

Contemporary classical guitar

Contemporary concert guitars occasionally follow the Smallman design which replaces the fan braces with a much lighter balsa brace attached to the back of the sound board with carbon fiber. The balsa brace has a honeycomb pattern and allows the (now much thinner) sound board to support more vibrational modes. This leads to greater volume and longer sustain.

Multi-string classical guitar

Main article: Multi-string classical guitar

A multi-string classical guitar is a classical guitar with more than 6 strings, usually between 7 and 10.

Modern 10-string guitar

The Modern/Yepes 10-string guitar adds four strings (resonators) tuned in such a way that they (along with the other three bass strings) can resonate in unison with any of the 12 chromatic notes that can occur on the higher strings; the idea behind this being an attempt at enhancing and balancing sonority.

Main article: Ten-string guitar

Repertoire

Main article: Classical guitar repertoire

The classical guitar repertoire in practical terms includes not only music written specifically for the classical guitar, but also music written for the guitar's predecessors and related instruments. This article is about modern ten-string guitars For the five-course guitar with nine or ten strings see Baroque guitar. This article is a history of the classical guitar repertoire. These include the vihuela, popular in sixteenth-century Spain, and the lute used everywhere else in Europe in the Renaissance and Baroque eras. Vihuela is a name given to two different Guitar -like String instruments one from 15th and 16th century Spain, usually with 12 paired strings and the Lute can refer generally to any plucked string instrument with a neck (either Fretted or unfretted and a deep round back or more specifically to an instrument from The Renaissance (from French Renaissance, meaning "rebirth" Italian: Rinascimento, from re- "again" and nascere Baroque art redirects here Please disambiguate such links to Baroque painting, Baroque sculpture, etc Music written specifically for the classical guitar dates from the addition of the sixth string (the baroque guitar normally had five pairs of strings) in the late 18th century. This article is about baroque guitars For the modern 10-string guitar see Ten-string guitar.

A guitar recital may include a variety of works, e. g. works written originally for the lute or vihuela by composers such as John Dowland (b. John Dowland (1563 &ndash buried February 20, 1626) was an English Composer, singer and Lutenist He is best known today for his England 1563) and Luis de Narváez (b. Luis de Narváez (c 1500 &ndash 1555/1560 was a Spanish Composer, primarily of Polyphonic vocal music and only secondarily Spain c. 1500), and also music written for the harpsichord by Domenico Scarlatti (b. Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti (October 26 1685 – July 23 1757 was a Neapolitan Composer who spent much of his life in Spain and Portugal. Italy 1685), for the baroque lute by Sylvius Leopold Weiss (b. Silvius Leopold Weiss ( October 12, 1687 – October 16, 1750) was a German Composer and Lutenist Born in Germany 1687), for the baroque guitar by Robert de Visée (b. Robert de Visée (c 1650 - 1725 was a Lutenist, guitarist, theorbist and viol player at the court of Louis the XIV as well as a singer and France c. 1650) or even Spanish-flavored music written for the piano by Isaac Albéniz (b. Isaac Manuel Francisco Albéniz i Pascual (iˈsak alˈβeniθ ( May 29, 1860 &ndash May 18, 1909) was a Spanish Pianist Spain 1860) and Enrique Granados (b. Pantaléon Enrique Costanzo Granados y Campiña (27 July 1867 &ndash 24 March 1916 was a Spanish pianist and Composer of classical music. Spain 1867). The most important composer who did not write for the guitar but whose music is often played on guitar is Johann Sebastian Bach (b. WikipediaWikiProject Composers#Lead section.2 This article is written in British English including maximised use of "-ise" Germany 1685) whose works for solo violin and solo cello as well as those written for baroque lute have proved to be highly adaptable for the guitar. Indeed, they have become core repertoire for guitarists.

Of the music written originally for guitar the earliest important composers are from the classical period and include Fernando Sor (b. Fernando Sor (baptized February 14, 1778 &ndash July 10, 1839) was a Spanish guitarist and Composer, born Spain 1778) and Mauro Giuliani (b. Mauro Giuseppe Sergio Pantaleo Giuliani ( July 27, 1781 &ndash May 8, 1829) was an Italian guitarist and Composer Italy 1781) both of whom wrote in a style strongly influenced by Viennese classicism. In the nineteenth century guitar composers such as Johann Kaspar Mertz (b. Johann Kaspar Mertz ( August 17, 1806 - October 14, 1856) was a Slovak guitarist and Composer. Slovakia, Austria 1806) were strongly influenced by the dominance of the piano. It is not until the end of the century that the guitar began to emerge with its own unique atmosphere. Francisco Tárrega (b. Francisco de Asís Tárrega y Eixea, (21 November 1852 — 15 December 1909 was an influential Spanish Composer and guitarist. Spain 1852) was central to this, sometimes incorporating some stylized aspects of flamenco, which has Moorish influences, into his romantic miniatures. This was part of the phenomenon of musical nationalism that was part of the wider European mainstream in the late nineteenth century. The aforementioned piano composers Albéniz and Granados were central to this movement and their evocation of the guitar was so successful that guitarists have largely appropriated their music for piano to the guitar. Guitarists who were active at that time, such as Angel Barrios (Spain, 1882 - 1964) contributed to the incorporation of flamenco style (e. g. the Phrygian mode) and flamenco guitar techniques such as rasgueado. The Phrygian mode can refer to two different Musical modes or Diatonic scales the ancient Greek Phrygian mode and the Mediaeval Phrygian mode Rasgueado (also called Rajeo or Rasgeo in Flamenco is a Guitar finger Strumming technique commonly associated with Flamenco Guitar

With the twentieth century and the wide-ranging performances of artists such as Andrés Segovia and Agustin Barrios-Mangore the guitar began to regain some of the popularity it had lost to the harpsichord and piano in the eighteenth century. Andrés Torres Segovia 1st Marquess of Salobreña ( 21 February 1893 &ndash 2 June 1987) was a Spanish Classical guitarist Agustín Pío Barrios (born May 5, 1885 in San Juan Bautista de las Misiones, Paraguay; died August 7, 1944 in San It again became a popular instrument, but not always in its classical version. The steel-string and electric guitars, integral to the rise of rock and roll in the post-WWII era, became more widely played in North America and the English speaking world. The classical guitar also became widely popular again. Barrios composed many excellent works and brought into the mainstream the characteristics of Latin American music, as did the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos. Heitor Villa-Lobos (March 5 1887 &ndash November 17 1959 was a Brazilian Composer, possibly the best-known classical composer born in South America Andrés Segovia commissioned many works from Spanish composers such as Federico Moreno Torroba and Joaquin Rodrigo, Italians such as Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco and Latin American composers such as Manuel M. Ponce of Mexico, Agustin Barrios-Mangore of Paraguay, Leo Brouwer of Cuba, Antonio Lauro of Venezuela, Enrrique Solares of Guatemala. Federico Moreno Torroba (1891-1982 was a Spanish Composer, born in Madrid. Joaquín Rodrigo Vidre ( 22 November 1901 &ndash 6 July 1999) was a composer of classical music Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco ( April 3, 1895 &ndash March 16, 1968) was an Italian composer. Agustín Pío Barrios (born May 5, 1885 in San Juan Bautista de las Misiones, Paraguay; died August 7, 1944 in San Juan Leovigildo Brouwer Mezquida (born March 1, 1939) in Havana, is a Cuban Composer, guitarist and conductor Antonio Lauro ( August 3 1917 &ndash April 18 1986) was a Venezuelan Musician, considered to be one of the foremost Julian Bream of Great Britain managed to get nearly every British composer from William Walton to Benjamin Britten to Peter Maxwell Davies to write significant works for guitar. Julian Bream OBE (born July 15, 1933) is an internationally celebrated British guitarist and Lutenist widely recognized Sir William Turner Walton, OM ( March 29, 1902 &ndash March 8, 1983) was a British Composer and Edward Benjamin Britten Baron Britten, OM CH (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976 was an English Composer, conductor, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, CBE (b 8 September 1934 is an English Composer and conductor. Bream's collaborations with tenor Peter Pears also resulted in song-cycles by Britten, Lennox Berkeley and others. Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears (pronounced /piːrz/ "PEERS" Farnham, 22 June 1910 &ndash Aldeburgh, 3 April 1986 Song cycles in classical music The first generally accepted example of a song cycle is Ludwig van Beethoven 's An die ferne Geliebte (1816 There are also significant works by composers such as Hans Werner Henze of Germany. Hans Werner Henze (born July 1 1926 Gütersloh, Germany is a German composer well known for his left-wing political convictions

Classical guitar making

Main article: Classical guitar making

Physical characteristics

The classical guitar is distinguished by a number of characteristics:

Parts of the guitar

Parts of typical classical guitars, numbered
  1. 1 Headstock
  2. 2 Nut
  3. 3 Machine heads (or pegheads, tuning keys, tuning machines, tuners)
  4. 4 Fretwires
  5. 5 Truss rod (not shown)
  6. 7 Neck and 20 fretboard
  7. 8 Heel
  8. 9 Body
  9. 12 Bridge
  10. 14 Bottom deck
  11. 15 Face (top deck)
  12. 16 Body sides
  13. 17 Sound hole, with Rosette inlay
  14. 18 Strings
  15. 19 Bridge saddle (Bridge nut)
  16. 20 The Fretboard

Fretboard

The fretboard (also called the fingerboard) is a piece of wood embedded with metal fretwires that constitutes the top of the neck. This article is about part of a stringed instrument A headstock is also the motorized chuck on a Lathe. A machine head, also called a tuner, gear head, or tuning machine, is part of a string instrument ranging from guitars to double basses a geared apparatus A fret is a raised portion on the neck of a Stringed instrument, that extends generally across the full width of the neck A truss rod is a Guitar part used to stabilize and adjust the lengthwise forward curvature (also called relief) of the neck The neck is the part of certain String instruments that projects from the main body and is the base of the Fingerboard, where the fingers are placed to stop the strings The fingerboard (also known as a fretboard on fretted instruments is a part of most Stringed instruments It is a thin long strip of Wood that is A sound hole is an opening in the upper Sounding board of a stringed Musical instrument. A string is the vibrating element that is the source of vibration in String instruments such as the Guitar, Harp, Piano, and members It is flat or slightly curved. The curvature of the fretboard is measured by the fretboard radius, which is the radius of a hypothetical circle of which the fretboard's surface constitutes a segment. The smaller the fretboard radius, the more noticeably curved the fretboard is. Pinching a string against the fretboard effectively shortens the vibrating length of the string, producing a higher tone (a string, unfingered, will vibrate from the saddle to the nut; once fingered, it will vibrate only along the distance between the saddle and the fretwire directly before the finger). Fretboards are most commonly made of ebony, but may also be made of rosewood or of phenolic composite ("micarta"). Ebony ( Diospyros ebenum) also known as India Ebony or Ceylon Ebony depending on its origin is a Tree in the genus Diospyros

Frets

Frets are the metal strips (usually nickel alloy or stainless steel) embedded along the fingerboard and placed at points that divide the length of string mathematically. The fingerboard (also known as a fretboard on fretted instruments is a part of most Stringed instruments It is a thin long strip of Wood that is The strings' vibrating length is determined when the strings are pressed down behind the frets. Each fret produces a different pitch and each pitch spaced a half-step apart on the 12 tone scale. The ratio of the widths of two consecutive frets is the twelfth root of two \sqrt[12]{2}, whose numeric value is about 1. A ratio is an expression which compares quantities relative to each other The twelfth root of two or \sqrt{2} is an algebraic Irrational number, representing the Frequency Ratio between any two consecutive 059463. The twelfth fret divides the string in two exact halves and the 24th fret (if present) divides the string in half yet again. Every twelve frets represents one octave. This arrangement of frets results in equal tempered tuning. Equal temperament is a Musical temperament, or a system of tuning in which every pair of adjacent notes has an identical Frequency ratio. For more on fret spacing, see the Strings and Tuning section. The guitar is a Musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles

Frets are placed at fractions of the length of a string (the string midpoint is at the 12th fret; one-third the length of the string reaches from the nut to the 7th fret, the 7th fret to the 19th, and the 19th to the saddle; one-quarter reaches from nut to fifth to twelfth to twenty-fourth to saddle). This feature is helpful when playing harmonics. In Acoustics and Telecommunication, the harmonic of a Wave is a component Frequency of the signal that is an Integer

Frets are usually the first permanent part to wear out on a heavily played guitar. They can be re-shaped to a certain extent and can be replaced as needed. Frets are available in several different gauges, depending on the type of guitar and the player's requirements.

Truss rod

The truss rod is an adjustable metal rod that runs along the inside of the neck, adjusted by a hex key or an allen-wrench bolt usually located either at the headstock (under a cover) or just inside the body of the guitar, underneath the fretboard (accessible through the sound hole). Most classical guitars do not have truss rods, as the nylon strings do not put enough tension on the neck for one to be needed. The truss rod counteracts the immense amount of tension the strings place on the neck, bringing the neck back to a straighter position. The truss rod can be adjusted to compensate for changes in the neck wood due to changes in humidity or to compensate for changes in the tension of strings. Tightening the rod will curve the neck back and loosening it will return it forward. Adjusting the truss rod affects the intonation of a guitar as well as affecting the action (the height of the strings from the fingerboard). Some truss rod systems, called "double action" truss systems, will tighten both ways, allowing the neck to be pushed both forward and backward (most truss rods can only be loosened so much, beyond which the bolt will just come loose and the neck will no longer be pulled backward).

Neck

A classical guitar's frets, fretboard, tuners, headstock, and truss rod, all attached to a long wooden extension, collectively constitute its neck. The neck is the part of certain String instruments that projects from the main body and is the base of the Fingerboard, where the fingers are placed to stop the strings The wood used to make the fretboard will usually differ from the wood in the rest of the neck. The bending stress on the neck is considerable, particularly when heavier gauge strings are used (see Strings and tuning), and the ability of the neck to resist bending (see Truss rod) is important to the guitar's ability to hold a constant pitch during tuning or when strings are fretted. The rigidity of the neck with respect to the body of the guitar is one determinant of a good instrument versus a poor one. The shape of the back of the neck can also vary, from a gentle "C" curve to a more pronounced "V" curve.

Neck joint or 'heel'

This is the point at which the neck meets the body of the guitar. In the traditional Spanish neck joint the neck and block are one piece with the sides inserted into slots cut in the block. Other necks are built separately and joined to the body either with a dovetail joint, mortise or flush joint. These joints are usually glued and can be reinforced with mechanical fasteners. Recently many manufacturers use bolt on fasteners. Bolt on neck joints were once associated only with less expensive instruments but now some top manufacturers and hand builders are using variations of this method. Some people believed that the Spanish style one piece neck/block and glued dovetail necks have better sustain, but testing has failed to confirm this. While most traditional Spanish style builders use the one piece neck/heel block, Fleta a prominent Spanish builder used a dovetail joint due to the influence of his early training in violin making. One reason for the introduction of the mechanical joints was to make it easier to repair necks. This is more of a problem with steel string guitars than with nylon strings which have about half the string tension. This is why nylon string guitars often don't include a truss rod either.

Body

The body of the instrument is a major determinant of the overall sound variety for acoustic guitars. The guitar top, or soundboard, is a finely crafted and engineered element often made of spruce, red cedar or mahogany. Spruce refers to Trees of the genus Picea, a genus of about 35 species of Coniferous Evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored wood originally the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West This thin (often 2 or 3 mm thick) piece of wood, strengthened by different types of internal bracing, is considered to be the most prominent factor in determining the sound quality of a guitar. The majority of the sound is caused by vibration of the guitar top as the energy of the vibrating strings is transferred to it. Different patterns of wood bracing have been used through the years by luthiers (Torres, Hauser, Ramirez, Fleta, and C.F. Martin being among the most influential designers of their times); to not only strengthen the top against collapsing under the tremendous stress exerted by the tensioned strings, but also to affect the resonation of the top. Antonio de Torres Jurado ( June 13, 1817 – November 19, 1892) was a Spanish guitarist and guitar maker José I Ramírez was the founder of the Spanish Luthier dynasty The CF Martin & Company is a US Guitar manufacturer established in 1833 by Christian Frederick Martin. The back and sides are made out of a variety of woods such as mahogany, Indian rosewood and highly regarded Brazilian rosewood (Dalbergia nigra). Each one is chosen for its aesthetic effect and structural strength, and such choice can also play a significant role in determining the instrument's timbre. In Music, timbre (ˈtæm-bər' like timber, or, from Fr timbre tɛ̃bʁ is the quality of a Musical note or sound that distinguishes different These are also strengthened with internal bracing, and decorated with inlays and purfling.

The body of a classical guitar is a resonating chamber which projects the vibrations of the body through a sound hole, allowing the acoustic guitar to be heard without amplification. The sound hole is normally a round hole in the top of the guitar (under the strings), though some may have different placement, shapes or multiple holes.

An instrument's maximum volume is determined by how much air it can move.

Binding, purfling and kerfing

The top, back and rim of a classical guitar body are very thin (1-2 mm), so a flexible piece of wood called kerfing (because it is often scored, or kerfed to allow it to bend with the shape of the rim) is glued into the corners where the rim meets the top and back. This interior reinforcement provides 5 to 20 mm or solid gluing area for these corner joints.

During final construction, a small section of the outside corners is carved or routed out and then filled with binding material on the outside corners and decorative strips of material next to the binding, which are called purfling. This binding serves to seal off the endgrain of the top and back. Binding and purfling materials are generally made of either wood or high quality plastic materials.

Bridge

The main purpose of the bridge on a classical guitar is to transfer the vibration from the strings to the soundboard, which vibrates the air inside of the guitar, thereby amplifying the sound produced by the strings. The bridge holds the strings in place on the body. Also, the position of the saddle, usually a strip of bone or plastic across the bridge upon which the strings rest, determines the distance to the nut (at the top of the fingerboard). This distance defines the positions of the harmonic nodes for the strings over the fretboard, and is the basis of intonation. Intonation refers to the property that the actual frequency of each string at each fret matches what those frequencies should be according to music theory. Because of the physical limitations of fretted instruments, intonation is at best approximate; thus, the guitar's intonation is said to be tempered. The twelfth, or octave, fret resides directly under the first harmonic node (half-length of the string), and in the tempered fretboard, the ratio of distances between consecutive frets is approximately 1. 06 (see "Frets" above).

Tuning

Main article: Guitar tuning

A variety of different tunings are used. Guitar tunings are differing pitch arrangements of open (unfretted strings used for the Guitar. The most common by far, known as "standard tuning" (E A d g b e'), is as follows:

A guitar using this tuning can tune to itself by the fact the 5th fret on one string is the same note as the next open string i. e. a 5th fret note on the 6th string is the same note as the 5th string, apart from between the third and second string, where the 4th fret note on the third string equals the second string. Standard tuning has evolved to provide a good compromise between simple fingering for many chords and the ability to play common scales with minimal left hand movement. A guitar chord is a chord, a collection of tones usually sounded together at once played on a Guitar, a type of chromatically fretted String There are also a variety of commonly used alternate tunings - most of which are just common chord shapes that can be played open or made by moving the capo. Guitar tunings are differing pitch arrangements of open (unfretted strings used for the Guitar. A capo tasto (from Italian capo, "head" and tasto, "tie or fret" or simply capo, is a device

Classical electric guitar

Gibson guitars marketed a new hybrid in 1982. The Gibson Guitar Corporation of Nashville Tennessee, USA is a manufacturer of acoustic and Electric guitars The company's most popular guitar Developed with guitarist Chet Atkins and Kentucky luthier Hascal Haile, the Chet Atkins CEC (Cutaway Electric Classical) merged solid-body electric guitar with classical guitar, resulting in a nylon-string instrument that could be played at high volumes in large auditoriums without feedback. Chester Burton "Chet" Atkins ( June 20, 1924 &ndash June 30, 2001) was an influential Guitarist and Record producer Classical guitarists have given the innovation little credence, but pop music stars like Sting, Earl Klugh, Jack Johnson and Gipsy Kings have played it to millions of concert-goers. Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner, CBE (born October 2, 1951) better known by his Stage name Sting, is a three time Academy Award Earl Klugh (pronounced "Clue" (born September 16, 1954 in Detroit Michigan) is an American Smooth jazz / Jazz Jack Johnson may refer to Jack Johnson (boxer (1878–1946 African-American boxer Jack Johnson (musician (born 1975 Hawaii-born singer-songwriter-director-surfer Gipsy Kings are a music group from Arles and Montpellier, France.

Bibliography

Main article: Classical guitar bibliography

References

  1. ^ The Guitar Family Tree. Dennis Cinelli.
  2. ^ Two String Trills. Tip of the Season. David Russell.
  3. ^ Interview with David Russell - mp3 (tracktime 10:35 - 24:00). Two string trills. Classical Guitar Alive.
  4. ^ John Williams Interview with Austin Prichard-Levy. The Twang Box Dynasty.
  5. ^ The Classical Mandolin by Paul Sparks (1995)
  6. ^ Early Romantic Guitar
  7. ^ Stalking the Oldest Six String Guitar

External links

Scores (Sheetmusic)

in the public domain

includes Sor, Giuliani, autographs by J. K. Mertz, etc.
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Dictionary

classical guitar

-noun

  1. a variety of guitar of Spanish origin used primarily for classical music, flamenco, and Latin American music, with six nylon (formerly gut) strings, usually played with the fingers rather than with a plectrum
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