The Harmony Of Strings

[Jan King]

A large body with great curves, many color tones that bring passion
and harmony to your life: these are all characteristics of a guitar.
The guitar is one of the oldest instruments in the world. It is used
in a wider variety of musical styles and can be used as a solo
classical instrument. There is a large variety of types of guitars
depending on its use and number of strings that can vary from 6 to 12
strings.
The guitars history goes back to about 5000 years ago to a similar
instrument in central Asia called the "Sitara". It also traces its
path to Spain with the "vihuela" and in Italy with the "mandolin".
Both are similar to the guitar and were used to fulfill a similar
purpose to the guitar. The electric guitar does not have such history
as the acoustic guitar but it also shows great important in today's
music. It was Danelectro who invented it and first performed it in
public.
Guitars are divided into two important types, which are electric and
acoustic guitars. Acoustic guitars are divided into a much larger
subgroup which consists of about twelve types of guitars which are:
Renaissance, Classical, Portuguese, Flat top, Arch top, Resonator, 12
string, Russian, Acoustic bass, Tenor, Harp, and Battente guitars. All
of these are used in different types of music and in different
cultures. The most popular one is the Classical guitar which is used
the most today. In comparison, electric guitars are only divided in
two: electric guitars and electric bass guitar. The only difference
between these two is the tones made.
The most important component of a guitar is its strings. In ancient
times, the guitars strings were made out of animal's body organs. But
today, the strings are made of either nylon if the guitar is acoustic
or of plain metal is the guitar is electric. There may be a few
variations because now days, technology allows there to be a third
type of guitar which is known as the electro acoustic guitar.
Basically, it is an acoustic guitar that allows the notes to be
amplified and produced in a speaker.
Today's musical culture owes a lot to the guitar. In some cases, the
guitar is the main component in some genres. For example, jazz was
created only with a guitar. As time passed, more instruments were
added, but its essence is the guitar. Popular music in most cases
contains at least one guitar. It is noticeable to mention the guitars
importance; after all it is the most popular instrument in the world.