Article by Pamela Weaver
Guitars are most musicians' best friends. They can accompany a voice to create sound and music in a relatively simple way. These musical instruments are common place within the music world and have been a major component to most types of music for decades. But where did these guitars that we so often take for granted come from and what type of history do they tell.
The original form of the guitar has been around for over 5,000 years but of course they have not always appeared like the ones we see today. Like nearly all stringed European instruments, the history of the guitar traces back thousands of years, from the Near East, to a common ancient origin from instruments that originated in central Asia and India. Their forms can be somewhat related with contemporary instruments such as the tanbur, setar, and the Indian sitar but on the large they appeared very different. A 3,300 year old stone carving is the oldest known iconographic demonstration of an instrument displaying all the necessary features of the modern guitar.
The modern guitar is descended from the Roman cithara brought by the Romans to Hispania around 40 AD, and was further adapted and developed with the arrival of the four-string oud. In other countries in Europe, the native six-string Scandinavian lute, was popular in areas of Viking settlements around the continent. However, by 1200 AD, the four string "guitar" had evolved into two types: the guitarra morisca (Moorish guitar) that had a rounded back, wide fingerboard and several sound holes, and the guitarra latina (Latin guitar) which resembled the modern guitar with one sound hole and a narrower neck.
There are many different kinds of guitars available today, all deriving from the many original sting instruments from centuries ago. But in general they can be defined as either acoustic guitars or electrical guitars. In the modern day and ages, guitars enjoyed a reinvention with the advent of rock music that dominated the 1980's. From them on, guitars have been the main focus in rock, indie and acoustic music. Because of this, acoustic artists have become more popular than ever, with many become successful international stars.
The success of the guitar as a popular musical instrument, can be directly related to its long history and the merging of different cultures. The guitar is universally known and loved, making it withstand the test of time, and continue to grow in popularity.
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Writing about music and every day issues.