The Guitar

The Guitar is a musical instrument of the lute family. It has a flat, waisted body with a round sound hole and a fretted neck along which run six strings. The strings are fastened at the top of the neck to tuning screws, and at the other end to a bridge glued to the instrument's sound board, or belly. The player's left-hand fingers stop the strings at the appropriate frets to produce the correct pitches; the right-hand fingers pluck the strings. Some metal-strung guitars are plucked with a small flat pick.

Guitarlike instruments have existed since ancient times, but the first written mention of the guitar proper is from the 14th century. In its earliest form it had three double pairs of strings plus a single string. The guitar is believed to have originated in Spain. The guitar became popular in other European countries in the 16th and 17th centuries, and by the late 17th century a fifth course of strings had been added below the other four. In the mid-18th century the guitar attained its modern form, when the double courses were made single and a sixth string was added above the lower five. Guitar makers in the 19th century broadened the body, increased the curve of the waist, thinned the belly, and changed the internal bracing.

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