However, it is not a percussion instrument, despite the homophony of the drum, but a plucked string instrument. The "tamber", having gone through the Middle Ages and modern times under different names, changed significantly with the Romans, who later widened the handle so that it could accommodate four strings and accept an oval case.

Archaeologists have also found many similar remains in the ruins of ancient Persia and Mesopotamian culture. Many of these string instruments survived until the modern period in form almost intact and still in use, for example, the Turkish "saz", ​​the Slavic "tamburitsa", the Iranian "set", the Afghan "pankhtar" and the Greek bouzouki.

The oldest guitar in the world. During the same period, a kind of guitar was born. A string instrument used by the Egyptian singer Har-Mos. According to available archaeological documents, the Egyptian singer Har-Moz used the guitar as an instrument during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut. Since then, this primitive type of guitar has become very popular and was introduced to the European community by the Egyptians and Mesopotamians. At first the instrument had three strings and a plectron suspended from the neck by a cord. The sound box was made from polished cedar wood and the leather piece was placed on the dash.

What is a guitar?

A little later a fourth line was added to allow unison. This four-string "guitar" quickly spread to most European countries during the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance. In the 16th century the fifth rope was replaced. Finally, a sixteenth string was added to the instrument in the 17th century. Kasha defines the guitar as a plucked string instrument played with the fingers or with a plectrum, having a long ruddy handle, a flat wooden soundboard, a sound box, a flat head and a flat back, most often with curved flanks.

The earliest known iconographic representation of the instrument with all the basic characteristics of a guitar is a stone sculpture. It is located in Alak Höyük in Turkey - among the Hittites, a people whose language is related to the Indo-Europeans, and whose empire's end is unclear and little known.

It was the Moors who took the lute to Spain. "Tambur" took another line of development in the Arab countries, Turkey, Greece and Armenia: its proportions were changed, but they remained "inconclusive." A lute is defined as a plucked string instrument with a semi-weighted dome-shaped resonant body, a handle, a small guitar-like bridge, reinforcement at the playing point, and multiple strings. The angle between the handle and the shank is almost perpendicular. This is of great importance in maintaining the strong pressure of eleven or twelve strings connected and secured with wooden dowels.

Another plausible hypothesis is that the word "guitar" comes from the Greek "kithara" - the Arabic "cythara". Currently, there are many stringed instruments in Central Asia that have been used almost unchanged for thousands of years and are still championed among archaeological finds in the region.

Traditional long wave lute. It has been discovered in Central Asia and Iran. Its origin may be the "tambour" of Khorasan, described by Al-Farabi in his essay Kitab al-Musiqi al-Kabir. There are also very specific versions: closer to the "rabab" in India and Bangladesh, and closer to the Indian sitar in Afghanistan.

Four, five, for six-string guitar

The Indian sitar, of course, takes its name from the Persian "whisper". It's a kind of lute-lute. One day a Persian decanter arrived in Spain; its components and form then changed somewhat, and it became known as the "guitar" or "chitara". As we have seen, the ancestors of the guitar appeared in Europe from Egypt and Mesopotamia. These first instruments had, in most cases, four lines. Moreover, as we saw earlier, the word "guitar" comes from the ancient Persian "diagram", which directly translated means "four lines".

Some of these instruments and their variations, which had three to five lines, can be seen in old medieval manuscripts, illustrated or still carved in the stone of churches and cathedrals from the Roman era to the Middle Ages. Since the beginning of the Renaissance, the guitar type with 4 pairs of unison strings has become dominant, at least in most European countries. The earliest known music and playing with this type of instrument was written in the 16th century and more specifically in Spain. "Guitar" appeared in Italy around the same time.

It gradually replaced four-string instruments. In the beginning these instruments had less than 8 squares, but as the guitar developed it was first increased to 10, then to 12 squares, thus offering more "variations" and musical perspectives. The beginning of a guitar with 6 pairs of strings by Antonio Stradivari.

Subsequently, guitar manufacturers from all over Europe followed this trend. Six pairs of strings gradually give way to six single strings, and again it seems that the Italians were the "driving force" of this change. When switching to six string guitar it seems that some of the existing five-string instruments have been converted to the new "ideal" tuning. This was a relatively simple task for a temporary time frame. For example, a guitar decorated by the German Hamburg master Joachim Tilke was modified in this way.

Please note that this tool only contains 8 boxes. Then, in the early 19th century, the guitar as we know it today began to take shape. Twenty years after the introduction of George Louis Panormo's first 6-string guitar, the "classical" modern guitar took its current form when Spanish manufacturer Antonio Torres increased the size of the body, changed its proportions, and this design radically improved the sound, tone and projection of the instrument - it quickly has become a design standard.

It hasn't changed much since then; this is the current standard. The beginning of the electric guitar and steel strings. Around the same time that Antonio de Torres gave the guitar its shape and dimensions classical guitar, allowing her to begin her breakthrough in Spain, thousands of Germans immigrated to the United States, including Christian Fredrich Martin.

Arriving in New York, he moved to 196 Hudson Street, in the west of the city. Martin's first studio has a small production facility in the back room and a music store in the front. Under the influence of his wife Odile Lucie Kühler, Martin moved his factory to Nazareth in Pennsylvania, where he is still located. A little later, he opened a new production facility for the production of musical instruments in Mexico City.

Martin Innova created a new "flat top" guitar model that is still very popular today. The latter provides a more "supportive" tool and is how most modern ones are made acoustic guitars. Steel strings began to be widely used in the latter. They offered better resonance, but the voltage increase was too great for the type of guitar Martin made. Moreover, this technique quickly became the industry standard for steel guitar. To accept the strings of steel on his instrument, he built a body closer to appearance and cello shape - where the bridge exerts no torque at the top, but only downward pressure.

The electric guitar was born when pickups were added to ukulele and “jazz” at the end of the year. The production of the first electric guitars coincides with the advent of large ensembles, jazz orchestras, in which the guitar could no longer compete in terms of sound level with the many other instruments they understood.

At that time, most electric guitars are considered "solid body" because they do not have a 0 soundbox, their body is filled. His guitar was rectangular in shape, simply equipped with a handle and head. However, further research revealed that other solid body electric guitars had already been manufactured previously. They were prototypes of luthier, some models were even sold in small series. Then several artisans would be settled in the country, thereby helping to give international fame to French Luther.

Among them were Frank Cheval, Patrice Blanc, Maurice Dupont Frederic Pons and Alexandre Liment. Specializes in pedagogy, tools and guitar materials. History of Flamenco Flamenco comes from a living tradition that dates back to ancient times. It is organized around three axes: singing; Dance; and a guitar. Flamenco is not a unique genre, there are hundreds of different songs, each with its own feel, and many of them are regional variants of Spain. Although they are wide open to personnel, Flamenco is governed by rules as strict as classical compositions.

This art of the people is modeled by joy and suffering. Falmenko is constantly influenced and changed by the social context in which he finds his roots. The origins of flamenco The origins of flamenco are very vague and vague. No one is really sure of anything, and the very diverse cultural influences in Spain have left their mark on flamenco. In 711, the Moors conquered "Al-Andalus" and maintained their dominance until their final expulsion from Grenada by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella, and so the Islamic invaders were destroyed: they were assimilated, and the conquered nations were free to retain their personal religions. a huge musical benefit, and the Arabic influence can still be heard in Flamenco.

Gypsies and Flamenco During the period of Islamic rule in Spain, Gypsies originally from India reached Spain and were allowed to remain there. Indeed, these Cantonese cafes also helped to unite Andalusian and Gypsy traditions. The singer remained the main character, but over time the guitarist became more and more important. The general level of skill improved, and guitarists invented new techniques. It was the time of Flamenco, Flamenco opera and flamenco ballet.

With flamenco's invasion of the theater and the growing popularity of classical guitar concerts, it may seem inevitable that sooner or later the Flamenco guitar will make its debut solo in concert halls. Many musicians were convinced that the guitar should be limited to a simple accompanying role, which delayed this development. Abroad, interest in flamenco continues to grow. Recitals are seeing their popularity grow in amazing ways. The recent changes that have taken place in the world of flamenco are still too close for us to draw conclusions.