Guitar – Class, Origins, Types and Usages

Based on the method of origin of sound, western instruments are of 4 types, i.e. string instruments, wind instruments, percussion instruments and electronic instruments. String instruments or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums or plucks the strings in various ways. A guitar is classified as a string instrument or a chordophone i.e. the sound is produced by a vibrating string, stretched between 2 fixed points.

The modern guitar has historically developed from the gittern, the vihuela, the four-course Renaissance guitar and the five-course baroque guitar.

The gittern was a relatively small round-backed instrument that was used in 13th century in Western Europe. It was usually played with a quill plectrum and was popular among court musicians.

The vihuela was a 15th century Spanish string instrument, shaped like a guitar (the figure of 8 form providing strength and portability).

The first incarnation of what is now called the guitar, first appeared during the Renaissance. The Renaissance guitar contained 4 pairs of strings called courses. The Renaissance guitar shared mostsimilarities with the Spanish vihuela, a six-coursed instrument with similar tuning and construction.

The Baroque guitar was a string instrument with five courses of gut strings and moveable gut frets.

There are three main types of modern guitar – the classical guitar (Spanish guitar), the steel-string acoustic guitar and the Hawaiian guitar.

The classical guitar (Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music and other styles. An acoustic wooden string instrument with strings made of gut or nylon, it is a precursor of the modern steel-string acoustic and electric guitars, both of which use metal strings. They are mainly used in western classical music and genres like folk, jazz, pop and rock.

The steel-string acoustic guitar is a modern form of guitar that descends from the gut-strung Romantic guitar, but is strung with steel strings for a brighter, louder sound. They are mainly used in folk, country, pop, jazz and blues.

The Hawaiian guitar or Lap Steel guitar is a type of steel guitar that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer’s lap. They are mainly used in pop and country music.