Evolution of Classical Guitar from Eighteenth Century to Today
Stringed instruments played with the fingers have existed almost since the beginning of recorded history. The most familiar 'early' guitar is perhaps the ancient Greek and Roman lyre, but the construction of the musical instruments of antiquity differ markedly even from the guitar's early form and the playing techniques its structure demanded. During the Renaissance, the guitar never had the respect the lute enjoyed. It was not considered a serious instrument like the favored instrument of the troubadours. The first recorded publication for a guitar-like instrument was Alonso Mudarra's "Tres Libros de Musica en Cifras para Vihuela," written during the Middle Ages. Eventually, the guitar began to attract more musicians who wanted to learn the discipline of playing the instrument and as a result more publications and guitar music began to appear ("History: Guitar," Guitar and Lute History, 2007). It was not until the second half of the 18th century, usually known as the Classical Era of modern music that the modern guitar came into being. For the first time, the low E string was added to the guitar, instituting for the first time the tuning E-A-D-G-B-E, the standard tuning for the contemporary classical guitar. This afforded a mu
The quality of guitar music began to decline further in the 19th century, when the guitar became less popular in Europe. The quality of these early compositions were considered variable at best, much of it was might be politely called disposable popular music, specifically designed to be played by amateurs. Although this may not be entirely fair, no one can question Segovia's single-minded determination to accord the guitar greater respect on the world stage. In 1850 Tarrega "increased the size of the body, altered its proportions, and introduced the revolutionary 'fan' top bracing pattern. Spain, widely considered the birthplace of guitar music and culture, also produced great guitarists. The modern career of Segovia highlights many facets of the development of the modern guitar-for the guitar to gain acceptance, it was not simply a matter of good musicians taking up the instrument. "Italian classical guitarist/composers Ferdinando Carulli, Mauro Giuliani, Francesco Molino, Matteo Carcassi, Luigi Legnani, and others began their careers by moving north to Paris and Vienna" where a new population of middle-class amateur guitarists had created a demand for teachers, performers and composers of simple songs easily played by beginners ("Classical Guitar History," The Classical Guitar, 2007). "His design radically improved the volume, tone and projection of the instrument, and very soon this became the accepted construction standard. In 1928 Segovia made his dream come true during American debut in New York City. He also transposed many transcriptions of lute and harpsichord music, creating a long history for the guitar, in a sense, by showing how it could exhibit even early music in a technically and musically fruitful fashion ("Classical Guitar Artists," 2007, The Guitar Site). This shows how late prejudice against the guitar lingered in the minds of musicians. The guitar also had great luck in that soon after these masters began to innovate in their approach to playing and constructing the guitar, outstanding concert guitarist began to emerge as well upon the stage. Tarrega's innovations would have meant little in increasing the respect for the guitar as a worthy instrument, however, had not the Spanish guitar maker Antonio Torres found a way to make the guitar a viable instrument for musicians to play in concert halls.
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