The Origins of the Curvy Classical Guitar

Did a Woman’s Body Inspire the Creation of the Classical Guitar?

Anyone can tell you what a guitar is if asked. But how many people can actually tell you where the guitar originated from and how old it is? Here is a simple, but accurate overview of the classical guitar’s history.

The Vihuela & the Crude Spanish Guitar

The early guitar was derived from a sixteenth century instrument called a vihuela, which had 12 strings. When the vihuela became unpopular, the guitar made in Spain took its place. This guitar took the form of a woman with rounded shoulders, a waist and rounded bottom but with only 4 strings. These instruments were small for easy carrying. Spanish guitars have wooden string pegs. The first three strings were made of sheep gut, while the last three were metal wound on silk thread. The first of these small guitars had four strings much like our modern day ukulele. Then came one with five strings, and finally in the eighteenth century a sixth string was added.

Founding Composers for the Guitar

Composers such as Fernando Sor (1778-1839) and Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829) were enthusiastic in their composition for these instruments. Sor Composed more than three hundred works and today these are being played by modern classical guitarists. He was the first guitarist to be asked to play with the London Philharmonic Society. He also wrote a guitar technique book in 1830 called Methode pour la guitare.

Early Guitar Makers

Luthiers began to try to keep pace with the demand to produce better instruments. Two of the lutheirs are Johann Georg Stanfer (1778-1852) and Johann Gottfried Scherzer (1842-1870) of Vienna. Scherzer worked on improving the guitar tone and producing fine concert guitars.

Francisco Tarrega (1852-1909) was a teacher at both the Madrid and Barcelona Conservatories. His influence is seen in modern performers such as Miguel Llobit and Andres Segovia.

The Father of Guitar, the Man who Made it Popular



Andres Segovia did much to improve the guitar’s popularity. He believed the guitar should be played as other instruments were; on stage, in concerts and by important musicians instead of just the peasants in a bar.

Segovia made it his life’s ambition to bring the classical guitar to universities and conservatories. He learned classical guitar by himself, since he had no teacher. He transposed classical transcriptions for piano and organ into guitar music. He raised the standard for guitars by his musicianship. Today due to his influence, guitar classes are offered at high schools, universities, conservatories, and more.

In the 1850’s Christian F. Martin came from Germany and began the Martin Company. He built the first dreadnought guitar to satisfy the demand for larger guitars. At the same time, factories were building inexpensive instruments to sell and so were the mail order catalogs. The guitar became an instrument for young ladies because it was thought to be feminine. With the advent of jazz players the companies began to build steel string guitars as well as the nylon classical guitars.