Guitar: history, video, interesting facts, listen. The history of the creation of the guitar All information about the classical guitar

The guitar is an ancient stringed plucked musical instrument. Nowadays, the guitar is one of the most common and popular musical instruments in the world.

Today, there are more than seven types of different guitars, each of which has its own history, sound and features. The guitar is used in the vast majority of genres of modern music due to the wide range of sounds and capabilities of this instrument. History of the guitar as a musical instrument we capture centuries and entire epochs. Let's briefly describe the origin of the guitar.

History and origins of the guitar

The origin of the guitar has many different roots. The ancestors of modern guitars appeared as early as the 2nd millennium BC and find echoes in almost all world cultures. One of the most ancient relatives of the guitar is the Sumerian-Babylonian instrument " kinnor" (in the image on the right). It is also a direct relative of the Jewish psaltery or hymnal(In the Old Testament of the Bible there are many references to the harp and the psalter, the ten-stringed instrument on which King David performed his psalms).
known in Egypt and India sitar, nabla, zither, wine. In ancient Rus' were widespread harp. In ancient Greece and Rome they played kithara. Stringed instruments appeared in China in the 3rd-4th centuries AD ruan And yueqin.

Japanese inventions appealed to the Europeans, who also began to experiment with stringed musical instruments. The appearance and characteristics of modern guitars were influenced by European instruments of the 6th century: Moorish and Latin guitars. Later, in the 15th and 16th centuries, vihuela, which is most similar to the modern classical guitar.

Origin of the word "guitar"

Probably the earliest "ancestor" of the word "guitar" was the ancient Egyptian "sitra" and the Indian "sitar". In ancient Greece and Rome, "cithara" was formed, which later migrated to Europe as the Latin "cithara" (chitarra). From here let's go modern words: "guitarra" (Spanish), "guitare" (French), "guitar" (English), etc. In different languages, this word sounds almost the same, which indicates common roots and its final design in medieval Europe.

Further development of the musical instrument "guitar"

In the 15th century in Spain they invent stringed instrument with five paired strings, which was called the Spanish guitar. FROM the modern guitar, it was also distinguished by an elongated body and a small scale. The Spanish guitar acquires its final design in the 18th century in the same country. The musical instrument guitar has received all-European distribution and many works from great composers. Today, this tool is still as popular and is called classical guitar .

The classical guitar came to Russia in the 18th century and underwent minor changes in our homeland. The most basic thing: one string was added and the guitar's tuning changed. All this led to the creation separate species - Russian seven-string guitar . It was very popular until the middle of the 20th century, but after the 2nd World War, its influence weakened, and in Russia they began to play the classical six-string guitar more often.

In the second half of the 19th century, the piano came to the fore in music, which temporarily overshadowed the guitar championship. But the 20th century was a real triumph for the guitar. Its popularity has risen to become global due to the rise of the electric guitar and other new styles.

Electric guitar

The discovery and introduction of electricity into human life also influenced the guitar. The idea of ​​picking up sound through magnetic pickups and amplifying it through speakers came from Adolf Rickenbecker, and the first electric guitar was patented in 1936. In the 50s of the 20th century, Lester William Polfuss (the famous Les Paul) introduced the first solid-body electric guitar (without cavities in the body). Electric guitar had a powerful influence on modern music and even spawned several new genres (rock and roll, rock, metal...).

American acoustic guitar

The development of American culture and music led to the emergence of a separate type of acoustic guitar - pop / American / non-classical. The Americans modified the classical guitar: they changed the strings to metal, narrowed the neck and changed the shape of the body (the options are different, but everything is mostly in the direction of increase). They inserted a truss rod into the neck to control the deflection. The pop American guitar became the ancestor of the genres "country", "bluegrass" and some others. Depending on the shape of the body, these guitars are also called

One of the most widespread in the world. It is used as an accompanying instrument in many musical styles, as well as solo classical instrument. It is the main instrument in styles of music such as blues, country, flamenco, rock music and many forms of popular music. Invented in the 20th century, the electric guitar had a profound effect on popular culture.

The guitarist is called guitar player. A person who makes and repairs guitars is called guitar master or luthier.

Device

Main parts

The guitar is a body with a long, flat neck called a "neck". The front, working side of the neck is flat or slightly convex. Strings are stretched along it, fixed at one end on the body, with the other at the end of the fretboard, which is called the “head” or “head” of the fretboard.

On the body, the strings are fixed motionlessly by means of a stand, on the headstock by means of a peg mechanism, which allows adjusting the tension of the strings.

The string lies on two saddles, lower and upper, the distance between them, which determines the length of the working part of the string, is the scale of the guitar.

The nut is located at the top of the neck, near the head. The lower one is mounted on a stand on the body of the guitar. As the saddle can be used so-called. saddles are simple mechanisms that allow the length of each string to be adjusted.

frets

The sound source in the guitar is the vibration of the stretched strings. The pitch of the extracted sound is determined by the tension of the string, the length of the vibrating part and the thickness of the string itself. The dependence here is this - the thinner the string, the shorter and the stronger it is stretched - the higher it sounds.

The main way to control the pitch when playing a guitar is to change the length of the vibrating part of the string. The guitarist presses the string against the fretboard, causing the working part of the string to shorten and the tone emitted by the string to rise ( working part strings in this case will be the part of the string from the saddle to the guitarist's finger). Halving the length of a string causes the pitch to rise by an octave.

Modern Western music uses an equal temperament scale. To facilitate playing in such a scale, the guitar uses the so-called. "frets". A fret is a section of the fretboard with a length that causes the string to rise by one semitone. On the border of the frets in the fretboard, metal frets are strengthened. In the presence of fret thresholds, changing the length of the string and, accordingly, the pitch, becomes possible only in a discrete way.

strings

Modern guitars use metal or nylon strings. The strings are numbered in order of increasing string thickness (and decreasing pitch), with the thinnest string numbered 1.

The guitar uses a set of strings - a set of strings of different thicknesses, selected in such a way that at one tension each string gives a sound of a certain height. The strings are set on the guitar in order of thickness - thick strings, giving a lower sound - on the left, thin - on the right. For left-handed guitarists, the string order can be reversed. String sets also vary in thickness. Although there are quite a few different thickness variations for different strings in a set, it is usually enough to know the thickness of only the first string (the most popular is 0.009″, “nine”).

Standard guitar tuning

The correspondence between the string number and the musical note produced by that string is called "guitar tuning" (guitar tuning). There are many tuning options available for different types guitars, different genres of music and different techniques execution. The most famous and common is the so-called "standard tuning" (standard tuning), suitable for a 6-string guitar. In this tuning, the strings are tuned as follows:

1st string- note " mi» first octave (e1)
2nd string- note " si» small octave (h)
3rd string- note " salt» small octave (g)
4th string- note " re» small octave (d)
5th string- note " la» big octave (A)
6th string- note " mi» big octave (E)

Guitar technique

When playing the guitar, the guitarist pinches the strings on the fretboard with the fingers of the left hand, and uses the fingers of the right hand to produce sound in one of several ways. At the same time, the guitar is in front of the guitarist (horizontally or at an angle, with the neck raised to 45 degrees) leaning on the knee or hanging on a belt thrown over the shoulder.

Left-handed guitarists turn the guitar neck to the right and change the functions of the hands - clamp the strings with the right hand, extract the sound with the left. The following hand names are for a right-handed guitarist.

Sound extraction

The main method of sound production on the guitar is the plucking - the guitarist hooks the string with the tip of his finger or fingernail, slightly pulls it back and releases it. When playing with fingers, two types of plucking are used: apoyando - with support on the adjacent string and tirando - without support.

Also, the guitarist can strike all or several adjacent strings at once with little effort. This method of sound production is called impact. The name "battle" is also common.

Mediator

The pinch and strike can be performed with the fingers of the right hand or with the help of a special device called a plectrum (or plectrum). A plectrum is a small, flat plate of hard material such as bone, plastic, or metal. The guitarist holds it in the fingers of his right hand and plucks or strikes the strings with it.

In many modern styles of music, the slapping method is widely used, when the string begins to sound when it hits the frets. To do this, the guitarist either hits a single string hard with his thumb, or picks up and releases a string. These techniques are called slap (hit) and pop (hook), respectively. Slap is mainly used when playing on.

It is also possible to produce a sound when the string starts to sound from hitting the fret nut when it is sharply clamped. This method of sound extraction is called "tapping". Tapping can be played with both hands.

Left hand

With the left hand, the guitarist clasps the neck from below, leaning his thumb on its back side. The remaining fingers are used to clamp the strings on the working surface of the neck. The fingers are designated and numbered as follows: 1 - index, 2 - middle, 3 - ring, 4 - little finger. The position of the hand relative to the frets is called "position" and is indicated by a Roman numeral. For example, if a guitarist pinches the 2nd string with the 1st finger at the 4th fret, then they say that the hand is in the IV position. An unstretched string is called an "open" string.

big barre

The strings are clamped with the fingertips, thus, with one finger, the guitarist has the opportunity to clamp one string on one fret (however, there are chords in which, in addition to the big barre, clamped with the first finger, it is necessary to clamp two strings on the same fret with the second finger). The exception is the index finger (and sometimes other fingers), which can be “put” on the fretboard “flat” and in this way hold several, or even all, strings on one fret at once. This very common technique is called "barre".

There is a big barre (full barre), when the guitarist clamps all the strings, and a small barre (half-barre), when the guitarist clamps a smaller number of strings (up to 2). The rest of the fingers remain free during the barre and can be used to pinch the strings at other frets.

tricks

In addition to the basic guitar playing technique described above, there are a variety of techniques widely used by guitarists in different styles of music.

Arpeggio (brute force)- Sequential extraction of consonant sounds. It is performed by sequentially plucking different strings with one or more fingers.

Arpeggio- very fast sequential extraction of chord sounds located on different strings.

Tremolo- very fast multiple repetition of the pluck, without changing the note.

Legato- continuous performance of notes. The guitar is played with the left hand.

Rising legato- an already sounding string is clamped by a sharp and strong movement of the finger of the left hand, while the sound does not have time to stop.

Descending Legato- the finger is pulled off the string, slightly picking it up at the same time.

Bend (lift)- raising the tone of a note by transverse displacement of the string along the fret nut. Depending on the experience of the guitarist and the strings used, this technique can raise the extracted note by one and a half to two tones.

vibrato- periodic slight change in the pitch of the extracted sound. It is performed with the help of vibrations of the left hand along the neck, while the force of pressing the string changes, as well as the force of its tension and, accordingly, the pitch. Another way to perform vibrato is to consistently perform the "bend" technique at a low pitch from time to time.

Glissando- smooth transition between notes. In the guitar, it is possible between notes located on the same string and is performed by moving the hand from one position to another without releasing the finger pressing the string.

Staccato- Short, staccato notes. It is performed by muting the strings with the right or left hand.

Tambourine- percussion technique, consists in tapping the strings in the area of ​​​​the stand, suitable for guitars with a hollow body, acoustic and semi-acoustic.

Golpe- another percussion technique, tapping the deck with a fingernail, while playing. It is mainly used in flamenco music.

flageolet- muffling the main harmonic of the string by touching the sounding string exactly in the place that divides it into an integer number of parts. There are natural harmonics, played on an open string, and artificial, played on a clamped string.

Story

Origin

The predecessors of the guitar had an elongated round hollow resonating body and a long neck with strings stretched on it. The body was made in one piece - from a dried pumpkin, tortoise shell, or hollowed out from a single piece of wood. III -IV centuries n. e. in China, the ruan (or yuan) and yueqin instruments appeared, in which the wooden case was assembled from the upper and lower soundboards and the sides connecting them. In Europe, this caused the introduction of the Latin and Moorish guitars around the 6th century. Later, in the XV-XVI centuries, an instrument appeared that also influenced the formation of the design of the modern guitar.

origin of name

The word "guitar" comes from the fusion of two words: the Sanskrit word "sangita" which means "music" and the Old Persian "tar" which means "string". According to another version, the word "guitar" comes from the Sanskrit word "kutur", meaning "four-stringed" (compare - seven-stringed). As the guitar spread from Central Asia through Greece to Western Europe the word "guitar" has undergone changes: "" in ancient greece, Latin "cithara", "guitarra" in Spain, "chitarra" in Italy, "guitare" in France, "guitar" in England and finally "guitar" in Russia. For the first time the name "guitar" appeared in the European medieval literature in the thirteenth century.

In the Middle Ages, the main center for the development of the guitar was Spain, where the guitar came from ancient Rome (Latin guitar) and together with the Arab conquerors (Moorish guitar). In the 15th century, a guitar invented in Spain with 5 double strings (the first string could have been single) became widespread. Such guitars are called Spanish guitars. By the end of the 18th century, the Spanish guitar in the process of evolution acquires 6 single strings and a considerable repertoire of works, the formation of which was significantly influenced by the man who lived at the end of the 18th century. early XIX century italian composer and virtuoso guitarist Mauro Giuliani.

Russian guitar

In Russia at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, a version of the Spanish guitar became popular, largely due to the activities of the talented composer and virtuoso guitarist Andrei Sikhra who lived at that time, who wrote more than a thousand works for this instrument, called "".

During the XVIII-XIX centuries, the design of the Spanish guitar undergoes significant changes, the masters experiment with the size and shape of the body, neck fastening, the design of the peg mechanism, and so on. Finally, in the 19th century, the Spanish guitar master Antonio Torres gave the guitar modern shape and size. Guitars designed by Torres are today called classical. Most famous guitarist of that time is the Spanish composer and guitarist Francisco Tarrega, who laid the foundations of the classical technique of playing the guitar. In the 20th century, his work was continued by the Spanish composer, guitarist and teacher Andres Segovia.

In the 20th century, with the advent of electronic amplification and sound processing technology, new type guitars - electric guitar. In 1936, Georges Beauchamp and Adolphe Rickenbacker, the founders of the Rickenbacker company, patented the first electric guitar with magnetic pickups and a metal case (the so-called "frying pan"). In the early 1950s, American engineer and entrepreneur Leo Fender and engineer and musician Les Paul independently invent electric guitar with a solid wooden body, the design of which has remained unchanged to this day. The most influential electric guitar player is (according to Rolling Stone magazine) the American guitarist Jimi Hendrix who lived in the middle of the 20th century.

Video: Guitar on video + sound

Thanks to these videos, you can get acquainted with the tool, see real game on it, listen to its sound, feel the specifics of the technique:

Acoustic guitar:

Classical guitar:

Seven-string (Russian) guitar:

Electric guitar:

Bas-guitar:

Baritone guitar:

Guitar Warr:

Chapman Stick:

Musical Instrument: Guitar

Guitar… What associations arise when you hear this word? A passionate Spaniard dances an incendiary dance, playing along with her castanets. Noisy gypsies singing their cheerful songs. Or maybe a quiet summer evening, a river bank, where a soulful song sounds under the glow of a fire. Everywhere we hear the captivating timbre of the guitar - an instrument that has conquered the peoples of the whole world. She is trusted soul feelings and share their joy, poets dedicate poems to her. Many celebrities loved to listen to the guitar, I. Goethe, J. Byron, A.S. Pushkin, M.Yu. Lermontov, L.N. Tolstoy devoted many lines to her in his great works.

The history of the guitar and many interesting facts about it musical instrument read on our page.

Sound

« ... The guitar has a gentle sound, like the touch of hands. The guitar has a quiet sound, as if a friend is whispering!... » - this is how the wonderful Spanish virtuoso guitarist F. Tarrega wrote about his favorite instrument. Velvet and soft guitar tone harmonizes perfectly with the sound different instruments, For example, mandolins, balalaikas, violins.

The sound on the instrument is the result of the vibration of the stretched strings, pressing them with the fingers of the left hand on the frets, the performer receives the desired pitch.

guitar range is almost four octaves (from "mi" of a large octave to "si" of the second octave).
System: 6 string - "mi" of a large octave; 5 - "la" of a large octave; 4 - "re" of a small octave; 3 - "salt" of a small octave; 2 - "si" of the second octave; 1 - "mi" of the first octave. The instrument sounds an octave lower than its actual musical notation.

The basic ways of extracting sound on the guitar are plucking and hitting the strings. There are two types of pluck: apoyando (leaning on the lower adjacent string) and tirando (without stops).The blow and pinch are performed with the fingers of the right hand, as well as with the help of a mediator (plectrum).

Guitar players use additional interesting sound production techniques widely used in various styles of music: barre, arpeggio, arpeggio, legato, tremolo, ascending and descending legato, bend (tightening), vibrato, glissando, staccato, tambourine, golpe, harmonics.

Photo:

Interesting Facts :

• The National Archaeological Museum of Athens has a sculpture dating from the fourth century BC, depicting a girl playing the guitar.
• Antonio Torres, who was called the guitar "Stradivarius", is still considered the most the best master for the manufacture of these instruments.
• In the Museum of Musical Instruments, located in the Paris Conservatory, there is a guitar belonging to the work of the Venetian master C. Coco. The sample, which bears the date - 1602, is the first instrument of the 17th century that has come down to us.
• Nicolo Paganini , an outstanding Italian violinist, masterfully played both the violin and the guitar. He transferred many technical guitar techniques to the violin, and according to the statements of his contemporaries, Paganini owes his incredible skill to the guitar. The maestro liked to say: "I am the king of the violin, and the guitar is my queen." The guitar of the famous violinist is an exhibit of the Paris Conservatory Museum.

• Such famous composers as K.M. weber, D. Verdi , A. Diabelli.
• Outstanding German composer F. Schubert was very kind to the guitar. The instrument, on which the musician played and did not part with it all his life, is now an exhibit of the museum - the apartment of Franz Schubert in Vienna.
• The famous Spanish composer and guitarist Fernand Sor, referred to by his contemporaries as the "Mendelssohn of the guitar", lived in Moscow for five years at the beginning of the 19th century with his wife, who served as a choreographer at the Imperial Theater. Güllen Sor staged mainly ballet performances, the music for which her husband wrote.
• The Housten Academy of Science and Technology (USA) produced the world's largest guitar. It has a length of more than 13 meters, which is 6-7 times more than human height. Since all the proportions of the instrument are respected and the thick strings made of aircraft cable are of the appropriate length, the sound is the same as on a conventional guitar.

• The largest ensemble of guitarists performed in Poland on May 1, 2009 and consisted of 6346 members.
• The American musical instrument company Fender produces about 90,000 strings a day. This is over 30,000 km. per year, which is equal to the distance traveled around the world.
• In 1997, the smallest guitar was made at Carnel University in New York. The instrument, which was 10 micrometers long, was made of silicon. The strings of the guitar vibrated at a purity 1000 times greater than the sensitivity of the human ear.
• The longest uninterrupted guitar performance lasted 114 hours 6 minutes and 30 seconds, it took place in June 2011. This record was set by David Brown in Dublin (Ireland) in the Temple Bar pub.
• The electrically amplified guitar was invented by George Beechamp in 1931, and in 1936 the world famous American firm Gibson created its first electric guitar.
• Some of the most popular guitar manufacturers are Gibson, Dean, PRS, Ibanez, Jackson, Fender, Martin, Gretsch, Hohner, Takamine, Strunal. , "Furch", "Almansa", "Amistar", "Godin" and others.

• The guitar of B. Dylan, the acclaimed American actor, author and performer, sold for exactly $965,000 in December 2013 through Christie's auction house. Before that, the most expensive guitar was Eric Clapton's Blackie Stratocaster, sold in 2004 for $959,500.
• BB King - American blues guitarist, singer, referred to by fans as the "King of the Blues", is the first musician to use the electric guitar in rock music.
• Monuments to the guitar are installed in Naberezhnye Chelny (Russia), in Paracho (Mexico), in Beirut (Lebanon), on the Katun River (Russia), in Aberdeen, Washington (USA), in the village of Morskoye (Russia) , in Cleveland (USA), in Kitchener (Canada), in Chelyabinsk (Russia), in Potosi (Bolivia), in Miami (USA).

Design

The principle of construction of stringed instruments is almost always the same and includes the body (body) of the instrument and the neck with the head.

• The lower and upper decks that make up the body of the guitar are connected to each other by shells, curved in the form of a figure-eight. Depending on the type of guitar, the top deck is equipped with one or more sound holes, as well as a string rest and saddle. The widest (bottom) part of the body of the guitar is 36 cm, and the top is 28 cm. The body of a concert guitar is usually made of resonator spruce or white maple.
• The neck, machined from durable wood, on the one hand has a so-called heel attached to the shell. On the other side, the neck ends with a head with peg mechanics, which serves to tension the strings. A fretboard with built-in metal frets is glued onto the neck, separating the frets, which are arranged in chromatic order. Between the neck and the headstock is a nut that controls the height of the strings.

Modern guitars usually use synthetic or metal strings.

The total length of the instrument is 100 cm.

Varieties

Currently, all guitars are divided into two types: acoustic and electric.

Acoustic guitar has a hollow body with a resonating hole in it. She is a queen on the concert stage and a participant in simple yard gatherings.

The acoustic guitar is very versatile, as it has different options, here are some of them:

• Classical - is a direct descendant of the Spanish guitar. It features a wide neck and the obligatory presence of nylon strings that sound soft and quiet. This type of guitar is used on the academic concert stage, as well as in classrooms.
• Dreadnought - has the names Country and Western. Due to the presence of metal strings, it sounds loud and loud. On such an instrument, the sound is extracted using a mediator. This type of instrument is used to perform in different styles.
• Jumbo - a guitar with an enlarged body and a loud sound, most in demand in rock, pop, blues, country music. Because of the metal strings, sound extraction occurs with the help of a pick.
• Ukulele- the second name is the ukulele. A miniature instrument with four nylon strings and playing technique similar to an ordinary guitar. Sound extraction takes place with the fingertips or with a special pick made of felt.
• Seven-string - (Gypsy or Russian). It has seven strings tuned in thirds. Vladimir Vysotsky, Bulat Okudzhava and Sergey Nikitin preferred this type of guitar.
• The 12 string is a very large and massive instrument. The main difference is the presence of 12 paired strings.
• Electro-acoustic - a type of hybrid instrument in which the presence of a built-in piezo pickup makes it possible to connect to an amplifier.
• Semi-acoustic - a transitional instrument from acoustic to electric guitar. The presence of a hollow body makes it similar to an acoustic guitar, and the presence of a pickup and tone controls brings it closer to an electric guitar. The instrument has a second name jazz guitar, as it is mainly used in jazz. The semi-acoustic guitar is shaped like a violin. It has two resonator holes like a violin - in the form of the letter "f".
• Bass - one of the varieties of acoustic guitars. The instrument has 4 strings and is designed for playing parts in the low range.

The second type of guitar is the electric guitar., which is today an independent type of musical instrument that has the ability to process sound, which allows musicians to achieve various desired sound effects.

Application and repertoire

The scope of the guitar is very wide, it is subject to a lot. In the most various forms popular music, as well as in styles such as jazz, blues, rock, funk, soul, metal, country, rock music, folk, flamenco, mariachi, the main instrument is the guitar. She can accompany, and can act as a solo instrument.

The repertoire library for the instrument is huge, there are even concert pieces with symphony orchestra. Talented composers-performers, among them: F. Tarrega, D. Aguado, M. Giuliani, F. Sor, F. Carulli, A. Segovia, M. Carcassi left a great creative legacy. They loved the guitar very much, were fond of playing it, and such great masters as L. Spohr, G. Berlioz, F. Schubert, K. M. Weber, A. Diabelli, R. Kreutzer, I. Hummel did not bypass their composer's attention. Composers C. Monteverdi, G. Donizetti, D. Rossini, D. Verdi, J. Massenet used the sound of the guitar in their opera performances.

I would especially like to note the merit in enriching the guitar repertoire of the legend of violin performance N. Paganini. His legacy is about two hundred various essays- These are solo pieces, as well as various ensembles for guitar and violin instruments.

Popular works

I. Albeniz - Leyenda (listen)

Flor De Luna

Performers

Each period of development of the instrument revealed remarkable musicians-performers. They not only captivated the audience with their brilliant and virtuoso playing, but, writing works for the guitar, made an invaluable contribution to expanding the repertoire for the instrument,

The first famous guitar virtuosos were musicians who shone at the courts of kings and nobles, among them: J. Palencia, A. Peñefiel, A. Toledo, M. Toledo, R. Gitarra, F. Cabezon, L. Milan, L. Narvaez, J. Bermudo, A. Mudarra, E. Valderrabano, D. Pisador, M. Fuegyama, L. Inestres, E. Daza, J. Amat, P. Cerone, F. Corbetta, N. Velasco, G. Granatta, D. Foscarini, G. Sanz, L. Ribaillas, R. Viseo and F. Gerau, F. Aspasi, L. Roncalli, D. Kellner, S. Weiss, F. Corbetta, R. Wiese, F. Campion, G. Sanz. All the legacy left by these musicians is highly valued and in demand at the present time.

The next stage in the history of the instrument, called the “golden age of the guitar”, is inseparable from the work of outstanding musicians who have achieved worldwide recognition and proved that the guitar can compete with other instruments on the concert stage. D. Aguado, F. Sor, F. Carulli, D. Regondi, M. Giuliani, J. Arkas, M. Carcassi, A. Nava, Z. Feranti, L. Legnani, L. Moretti – the professional skills of these concert players raised the art guitar performance to a very high level.

Development performing arts in the 19th century is closely associated with the name of the outstanding guitarist F. Tarrega, in whose hands the guitar could sound like chamber orchestra. Laid the foundation in classical technique performing on the instrument, he brought up a constellation of talents, including: D. Prat, I. Lelupe, E. Puhol, M. Llobet, D. Fortea.

The 20th century gave the world wonderful guitarists, innovators in various styles and musical genres. A. Segovia, BB King , D. Page, D. Gilmour, S. Vaughn, D. Hendrix, P. Nelson E. Sheeran, R. Johnson, I. Malmsteen, D. Satriani, R. Blackmore left an indelible mark on the improvement of technical capabilities in the guitar art.

From Russian contemporary performers I would especially like to highlight the names of such virtuosos as N. Koshkin, L. Karpov, M. Yablokov, V. Kozlov, I. Rekhin, V. Chebanov, N. Komoliatov, D. Illarionov, V. Shirokov, V. Tervo.

Story

The history of the guitar is rooted in ancient times when the hunter, pulling the string of the bow, heard a sound that pleased him. He realized that this can not only get food for himself, but also delight the soul, using it as a musical instrument. The ancestors of the guitar were known as early as the 15th century BC. Archaeologists have found drawings dating from this period depicting people with musical instruments that closely resembled a guitar. Art historians believe that her cradle is in the countries of the Near and Middle East. peoples ancient civilizations: Egypt, Sumer, Mesopathamia, India and China had instruments with various titles, which may have been the ancestor of the guitar. Kinnor, cithara, nefer, sitar, nabla, sumerer, samblek, samblus, sambuit, pandura, kutur, gazur, mahal - there are many names, but the principle of construction is identical: a convex body, which was usually made from dried gourd or tortoise shell and a neck with frets . And in the third or fourth century, as a result of evolution in China, the yuan instrument appears, which has structural elements in common with the guitar - this is a resonator body, consisting of two soundboards interconnected by shells.

So who exactly was the ancestor of the guitar, and when it came to Europe is not known for certain. Historians and art historians still do not know the exact answer, perhaps it was an Arabic lute, an Asian kithara, or an ancient kithara.

The beginning of the formation of the guitar as we are used to seeing it dates back to about the 12th century.. She, displacing other musical instruments, becomes one of the most popular in European countries Oh. The tool is dynamically used in France, England, Germany, but it gains special recognition in Italy and Spain.

In the middle of the 13th century information about the guitar becomes more reliable. She gets her real name and more accurate data comes to us about her participation in the musical life of various countries. In Spain, the instrument, actively used as a soloist and accompanist, becomes truly popular.

Renaissance, which is characterized by the rapid flourishing of culture, had a very fruitful effect on the development of the guitar. In Spain, where the instrument received a special people's love, its development proceeded most intensively. A fifth was added to the four strings that previously existed on the instrument, and four strings were doubled, and one was left single. They changed the system, which later gets the name Spanish (E, H, G, D, A). The improved guitar enters into successful competition with the vihuela and lute known at that time, gradually ousting them from musical life.

The instrument penetrates deeper and deeper into the masses, it sounds in the palaces of noble nobles and in the homes of ordinary people. Various "salons" are organized in the cities - associations, circles, meetings, where guitar concerts are constantly held. For the instrument, a remarkable period begins in its development, the fashion for it spreads throughout Europe. Composers for the guitar create an extensive literature, the first editions of works for the instrument and study guides. Performers - virtuosos show the expressive and technical capabilities of the guitar.

In the 17th century The Spanish guitar is actively spreading throughout European countries, where it becomes one of the most fashionable instruments. The impetus for this was a passion for playing music on the guitar of the French King Louis XIV. During this period, she crossed Atlantic Ocean and firmly settled on the American continent.

In Europe, the instrument continued its transformation, for example, fixed frets were installed on it. And in Italy, in order to achieve greater sonority, they tried to replace the strings from the veins on the guitar with metal ones.

In the 18th century the instrument enters new stage of its development. The emergence of new composers writing for the guitar, as well as virtuoso musicians, was a sign of the growing popularity of the instrument. During this time, the guitar underwent a number of design changes that gave it a more refined look. The shape of the body was slightly changed for the instrument, the double strings were replaced with single ones and a sixth string was added, thereby expanding its technical capabilities. The guitar, having formed in a new way and, having acquired a truly popular love, entered an era that is called the “golden age of the guitar”.

In the 19th century guitar improvement continues. Created at that time by the Spanish guitar master Antonio Torres, the instrument today we call the classical guitar. This period was also marked by the emergence of remarkable composers and virtuoso musicians who made an invaluable contribution to the development of the instrument. However, not everything went so smoothly in the history of the guitar.

In the second half of the 19th century, the demand for the instrument decreases, and it fades into the background, as the piano, a new instrument for that time, is gaining more and more popularity. Of the European countries, only Spain and England remained faithful to the guitar.

The oblivion didn't last long. In 20th century the guitar regains popularity and flourishes with renewed vigor. Newly gifted virtuoso performers, mostly of Spanish origin, are changing the attitude of the general public towards her as a ancient instrument and bring the guitar to the academic stage, putting it on a par with such instruments as the violin and piano.

In the 30s of the last century, a new variety appeared - the electric guitar, the use of which radically changed the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe instrument and its application.

The guitar is a self-sufficient democratic instrument that is very popular and has won great love. In all its varieties, the guitar is very versatile. She feels great on large concert stages, in recording studios, at home for festive table and camping trips. Becoming integral part life of different peoples, the instrument has taken a strong place in the feelings of many people.

Video: listen to the guitar

The word "guitar" in almost every person evokes romantic memories and is associated with something bright and pleasant. But few people think that the history of such a familiar and seemingly ordinary instrument goes deep into the past millennia. The history of the guitar begins around 2 - 2.5 thousand years BC. The ancestors of the modern guitar found during excavations of ancient civilizations date back to these periods:

• Kynorra in Mesopotamia;
• Zither and Nefer in Egypt;
• Sitar in India;
• Kithara in Rome and Greece.

The ancient instruments, which are the progenitors of the guitar, had a rounded hollow body made from a dried gourd, a processed piece of wood, or from a tortoise shell.

The Chinese ancestors of the modern guitar already had top and bottom bodies connected by a shell, and made of wood, although the shape of the body was still rounded and resembled the modern version very slightly.

Origin of the guitar

For the first time, an image of an instrument with a structure characteristic of a guitar (body, neck and head) was found in Spain, and attributed to the 2nd century BC. ad. Later, in the 8th century, in the manuscripts of the monk Beatus Lieban, in painted miniatures with images of musicians, there are musical plucked instruments with different structure. The design of many of them is evidence of evolution.

Gradually, plucked musical instruments (viola, guitar, vihuela) became widespread, and from the 10th century. their images are present in works of art, on bas-reliefs and in manuscripts.

From the 13th century The guitar is very popular in Spain. It becomes here the main musical instrument, loved by kings and common people. During this period, two types of guitar are distinguished:

1. Mauritanian. It had an oval shape and a sharper sound. The game was produced by a mediator (plectrum). The court of the monarch Alfonso X preferred this particular type of instrument.
2. Latin. It had a softer sound and a more complicated shape. From the images on the miniatures, one can judge that this variety has received recognition from minstrels and lovers of sophisticated music.

In the XVI century. The most widely used is the hand vihuela, which has a more convex and narrow body compared to the guitar. This instrument, decorated with rich inlays, was especially loved in noble houses. Here he first acted as an accompaniment. Subsequently, thanks to talented musicians Luis Milano and M. de Fuenllana, he becomes a solo instrument. In the same period, the first pieces written specifically for the guitar appeared.

History of the guitar

17th century becomes a turning point in the development of the guitar. The period is characterized by the popularization musical works and writing the first manual for learning to play the guitar. The Spanish composer and priest Gaspard Sanz in 1674 publishes the "Playing Manual" for the guitar. Thanks to a professional approach to game theory and expert advice top level, the book went through several editions and remained the best guide for many decades.

The guitar received the greatest recognition as a concert instrument in the 18th - 19th centuries. V. Having originally 4, 8, 10 strings, by this period the guitar has almost modern look with 6 strings. Musical activity in this era played a very important role in popularizing the instrument. famous composers who wrote many concertos, fantasies, plays, sonatas, variations specifically for solo guitar: the Italians M. Giuliani and M. Carcassi, the Spaniards D. Aguado and F. Sor.

Of course, guitar history has received greatest development right in Spain. Passionate and impulsive Spaniards were the first to fully appreciate the nobility and expressiveness of the instrument.

Aguado was even called the "Beethoven of the guitar", and Sor is still ranked among the best virtuosos of the game today.

Many talented composers wrote for the guitar and were fans of this instrument:

1. Frenchman Hector Berlioz, who lived in the 19th century. and is the progenitor symphonic music, especially notes the guitar as an instrument that has had a significant positive impact on his musical education.
2. The Italian Niccolo Paganini, a famous violinist, highly appreciated the qualities of the guitar as a musical instrument. The musician wrote many sonatas, plays and concertos for playing the guitar, both solo and in a quartet with other instruments. Paganini himself played the guitar virtuoso and put it on a par with the violin. The guitar of the famous Italian is kept in the Paris Conservatory Museum.
3. The great Franz Schubert wrote dances and songs, sonatas and plays for the guitar. The famous German composer was a lover of guitar music and had his own instrument, which is in the Schubert Museum.
4. The German composer Karl Weber, according to his son, played the guitar as virtuoso as he played the piano. The musician created a number of songs, sonatas and pieces for playing the guitar in ensembles.

The second half of the 19th century is characterized by a decline in the popularity of guitar music; new tool- piano. The sonority, richness and loudness of this instrument's music pushed it forward in the music world for a while.

The beginning of the 20th century marked a new push in popularization for the guitar:

• In Munich, the International Union of Guitarists is being created;
• Western European composers M. de Falla, Pons, Roussel in their work devote a significant place to the guitar;
• New virtuosos of the game appear: A. Segovia, M. Llobet, E. Pujol, S. de la Masa;
• In America, a number of new trends are emerging, and guitar schools are opening.

The ubiquity and popularity of the guitar is inextricably linked with the leap in scientific and technological progress. The mass production of the instrument made it accessible to the masses, and the opening of music schools made it possible for everyone to learn how to play.

When did the guitar appear in Russia

Until the middle of the 17th century. an instrument in Russia could occasionally be found in aristocratic houses as an accidental curiosity. Later, when Italian travelers introduced the guitar to Russian society, its unusually romantic and soulful music received widespread recognition.

The founder of the development of the direction of guitar music in Russia is the composer A. Sikhra (19th century), who improved the seven-string guitar. She gained popularity not only among the upper classes, but was also quite loved by the lower classes.

The Grade 4 Guitar Message Briefly Tells You a Lot useful information about this stringed musical instrument. The report "Musical instrument guitar" can be used in preparation for the lesson.

Message about the guitar

Guitar is an ancient plucked stringed musical instrument, which, moreover, is widely used and popular throughout the world. It has its own history, features and sound. Due to the capabilities and wide range of sounds of this instrument, it is used in almost all genres of modern music.

The history of the appearance of the guitar

The ancestors of modern guitars appeared in the 2nd millennium BC. and their echoes are inherent in almost all world cultures. So, one of the ancient relatives of the guitar was the kinnor, a Sumerian-Babylonian instrument. It is the prototype of the Jewish psalter or psaltery, a ten-stringed instrument on which King David sang his psalms. Nabla, zither, sitar, and wines were known in India and Egypt. On the territory of Kievan Rus, the harp was common. IN Ancient Rome and Greece, the cithara was popular, and in China in the 3rd-4th centuries such stringed instruments as yueqin and zhuan appeared. In the 15th century, a stringed instrument with 5 paired strings, called the Spanish guitar, was invented in Spain. She had an elongated body and a small scale. But the prototype of the modern look of the guitar was the European stringed musical instruments of the VI century (Latin and Moorish guitars), which influenced the formation of its characteristics and appearance. In the 16th century, the vihuela appeared, outwardly strongly reminiscent of the classical modern guitar. In the eighteenth century, the residual took shape appearance guitars and many works of great composers began to be performed on it.

The classical guitar came to Russia in the 18th century, where it underwent minor changes in tuning and one string was added. This is how the Russian seven-string guitar which was popular until the 20th century. After World War II, the six-string was played more frequently. classical guitar. In the twentieth century, new types of guitars were invented, thanks to which the popularity of the instrument increased significantly.

Types of guitars

• classical guitar

Is the ancestor existing species guitars. It was most popular in the 19th century. They performed flamenco and classical music(however, they still do it). In the twentieth century, she found a second life thanks to the work of A. Segovia.

It has a soft sound, wide neck and nylon strings. Sometimes they put metal ones, but the neck may not withstand such a load. To produce sound, the finger technique of playing the instrument is used.

• Non-classical acoustic guitar

It includes the type of guitars that have a Western body, jumbo, dreadnought. They have been very popular among guitarists since the 20th century. It features a relatively large body, a narrow neck, into which a truss rod was inserted to control the deflection, and the presence of a pickguard (teardrop-shaped protective plate). Only metal strings are installed on it. It produces a rich, bright and powerful sound. A mediator is often used to produce sound. Non-classical guitars are most often used in blues, folk, country, rock.

• Electroacoustic guitar

It is a guitar with a built-in piezo pickup. It can be connected to a speaker or combo. Often there is a cutout in the body for better access to the upper frets. Guitar pickups often include a tuner and an equalizer to tune the musical instrument.

• Semi-acoustic guitar

The guitar in the body of which has a cavity for the tone control. The soundboard is quite large, the resonator hole has been modified and reduced. This type of guitar is very fond of jazzmen, so it is also called jazz guitar. It is played through an amplifier and with a pick.

• Twelve-string guitar

The guitar is equipped with 12 strings, which are arranged in 2 strings in 6 pairs. It is made exclusively from strong wood, otherwise the neck may not withstand and break. Used for fighting. It has a wide, voluminous and rich sound.

• Electric guitar

The first electric guitar was patented in 1936. Lester William Pohlfuss introduced the world's first solid-body electric guitar in the 1950s. She influenced modern music and gave rise to new genres: rock, metal, rock and roll.

• The best guitar maker is Antonio Torres, the guitar Stradivarius.
• The Museum of Musical Instruments at the Paris Conservatoire houses a guitar with the date 1602 on it. This is the first instrument of the 17th century that has come down to us.
• The largest guitar in the world is over 13 meters long. It was made at the Housten Academy of Science and Technology, USA.
• In 1931, the electrically amplified guitar was invented. Its author was George Beechamp.
• The smallest guitar was made of silicon in 1997 at Carnel University in New York. Its length is 10 micrometers.

We hope that the 4th grade guitar report helped you learn a lot of useful information about a stringed plucked musical instrument. A short story about the guitar for children, you can add through the comment form below.