Glossary
Guitar
Glossary
The guitar is a fretted, stringed instrument of medieval and perhaps ancient lineage whose modern forms can be traced back to the Spanish classical guitar of Antonio de Torres. The six-string guitar has standardized on a tuning (E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4) that allows the same chord to be played across the fretboard in many ways, yet this tuning also allows solo or lead playing that can rival any other instrument in terms of expressiveness. Some guitarists can play lead and accompaniment at the same time, like on a piano.
The guitar has always had a complex history as a romantic instrument of the people, struggling to achieve “legitimacy” in the classical repertoire in the manner of the violin or the piano. Perhaps this was due to its inability to play loudly enough in larger ensembles, until the advent of the vacuum tube amplifier and the electric guitar in the twentieth century. In the 1950s and 1960s, the electric guitar achieved dominance in popular music, and along with the keyboard or piano, the guitar remains quite popular as a tool for songwriting and composition, perhaps due to its portability, and its appeal as an instrument to accompany vocals.
The guitar is a fretted, stringed instrument of medieval and perhaps ancient lineage whose modern forms can be traced back to the Spanish classical guitar of Antonio de Torres. The six-string guitar has standardized on a tuning (E2 A2 D3 G3 B3 E4) that allows the same chord to be played across the fretboard in many ways, yet this tuning also allows solo or lead playing that can rival any other instrument in terms of expressiveness. Some guitarists can play lead and accompaniment at the same time, like on a piano.
The guitar has always had a complex history as a romantic instrument of the people, struggling to achieve “legitimacy” in the classical repertoire in the manner of the violin or the piano. Perhaps this was due to its inability to play loudly enough in larger ensembles, until the advent of the vacuum tube amplifier and the electric guitar in the twentieth century. In the 1950s and 1960s, the electric guitar achieved dominance in popular music, and along with the keyboard or piano, the guitar remains quite popular as a tool for songwriting and composition, perhaps due to its portability, and its appeal as an instrument to accompany vocals.