History Approximately in 1000 B.C.

, in Turkey, two ancient cultures started to make a musical instrument very similar to the lyre, but with the addition of a sound board. Thats considered one of the ancestors of the guitar. The Greeks once invented a musical instrument a bit similar to the guitar, called zither. In the 8th century, the Arabs conquered Spain and brought with them an instrument called ud. The Spanish people combined its name with their article la, so the instrument started to be known as laud. Then the instrument evolved according to the musical likings of Spanish people while they were under Arabs control. In the 12th century, there were two types of guitar. The Latin guitar, which was an evolution of zithers and had a headstock very similar to the violins one, and the mandora, which was very similar to the laud and the mandolin. The latin guitar evolved into two different instruments: the vihuela, which was very popular between the aristocracy and the troubadours, and the guitar. In the 19th century, C. F. Martin and Orville Gibson invented the acoustic guitar and, later, the electric guitar was invented, in the 20th century. The guitar has always evolved so far and now its a very popular musical instrument. Classical guitar A classical guitar normally has 6 strings. Its strings are made of nylon. The sound board is made of wood and it just amplifies the sound by itself. The sound is generated by the mechanic force of strings and cant be amplified by speakers. Acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar has got 6 strings. The strings of an acoustic guitar are made of nylon and wire. The sound board is made of wood (or a methacrylate) and it can be connected to a speaker by a cable that can be connected underneath some guitars (these guitars are called electroacoustic guitars). The quality of the sound depends on the material of the strings and the type of wood of the sound board, which is normally made of fir or maple wood. The sound is generated purely by the mechanic force of the strings. Electric guitar An electric guitar normally has 6 strings, but it can have less, or even more. Its strings are made of metal. Most of them havent got sound board. The sound is received by the pickups that are located near the strings. The vibration of the metal strings creates an electromagnetic field that is recognised by the pickups and its transformed into an electric signal, which is transferred to the speakers. If the speakers werent there, the sound of the guitar would be very low. The body and the neck of the electric guitar are made of wood. Bass guitar A bass guitar has 4, 5, 6 or 8 metal strings. It hasnt got sound board. It has got a longer neck and scale than the other guitars. The sound is received as in the electric guitar and sent to the speakers.

Tuning When you turn the tuning pegs to the right, the strings become tighter and they sound higher. When you turn them to the left, the strings become less tight and they sound lower. 1st string -> e 2nd string -> B 3rd string -> G 4th string -> D 5th string -> A 6th string -> E To tune the guitar, you can use a tuning fork, an electronic tuner, another guitar or musical instrument, or even the signal from the telephone (A). Playing the guitar The body has to be relaxed to play the guitar. The guitar has to rest on your left leg, unless youre left-handed. If youre left-handed, all the positioning is the opposite. The guitar must touch your body by only four specific parts: The left leg, that has to be higher than the right leg The right leg The forearm, next to the elbow The chest When youre playing the guitar, each hand has a specific task. The left hand plucks the strings to select the note you want to be played, but it can sometimes make the sound, by making a hammer-on or a pull-off. The right hand stretches the strings to make the notes. In some advanced electric guitar techniques you can make notes directly by pressing the fret in the neck with the right hand. Accessories Capo: A capo (short for capotasto) is used to change the pitch of open strings. Capos are clipped onto the fret board and they raise the guitars pitch by one semitone for each fret you go down. Vibrato: Its a long metal bar that is used to make some effects like vibrattos, glissandos, simulate a slide-guitar, etc., by varying the tension of the strings. Plectrum: is a small piece of hard material generally held between the thumb and first finger of the picking hand and is used to "pick" the strings. Gigbag: is a padded, soft-sided bag used for the storage and transport of musical instruments, most commonly a guitar or bass guitar. Often they have pockets for sheet music, cables, accessories, etc.