The History of the Guitar

Podcast Transcript

One of the most popular instruments in the world is the guitar.

The guitar is the primary instrument in many popular forms of music today.

Yet, this wasn’t always the case. The guitar is related to multiple stringed instruments and has a lineage that goes back thousands of years.

However, the guitar that you are familiar with is a rather recent invention.

Learn more about the history of the guitar and how it evolved into the modern instrument we know today on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

Before we get into the history of the guitar, we should probably first go over what a guitar is. What makes a guitar a guitar, and what is it that makes a guitar different than a banjo, a lute, a mandolin, or a sitar?

There is no hard and fast definition. However, there are several properties that a guitar has that, when taken together, make it into the instrument that you would recognize as a guitar.

First, the guitar has a rather long neck in relation to its body. This is a property it shares with a banjo and a sitar, but that a mandolin or a lute lack.

Second, almost all guitars have frets on their necks. A fret is a thin strip embedded along the neck that divides the fingerboard into fixed intervals. When pressed, it allows players to change the pitch of a string by shortening its vibrating length.

There are fretless guitars, but they are pretty rare compared to guitars with frets.

A guitar also has a flat back and a waisted body. Other instruments may have a rounded back and/or a circular body.

Most guitars have six strings, although some have twelve, with six sets of two strings. A banjo usually has five strings.

A guitar will also have standardized tuning on the top of the neck.

So, despite the occasional instrument that might deviate from these factors, most guitars will have all of these features and all will have most of them.

The origin of the guitar stretches deep into history, with evidence of stringed instruments appearing across multiple early civilizations. Archaeologists have discovered depictions and remains of stringed instruments dating back to 3000-2000 BC across Mesopotamia, Egypt, and other regions of the ancient Near East.

Among the earliest ancestors was the tanbur, a long-necked stringed instrument found throughout Mesopotamia and Egypt. These instruments featured a small resonating body with a long neck where strings were attached. Musicians would pluck or strum these strings to create sound, establishing the fundamental concept that would eventually evolve into the modern guitar.

In ancient India, instruments like the veena developed as part of a rich musical tradition. These early stringed instruments contributed to the global evolution of similar designs, with ideas and innovations spreading through trade networks and cultural exchanges.

The ancient Greeks created an instrument called the kithara, which has particular significance in guitar history as it likely contributed to the etymology of the word “guitar” itself. The kithara was a more sophisticated stringed instrument played with a plectrum, or an early form of a pick, featuring a wooden body and strings stretched across it. While structurally different from modern guitars, it established important foundations for the instrument.

These ancient stringed instruments shared fundamental principles that would persist through thousands of years of development: strings stretched at tension over a resonating chamber, capable of producing different pitches depending on the length and tension of the string.

The period from 500 to 1400 witnessed crucial developments in the guitar’s evolution, with several key instruments emerging that directly contributed to the modern guitar’s development.

The oud played a pivotal role in this evolution. This Middle Eastern instrument featured a rounded back, short neck, and typically had 11 or 13 strings arranged in courses or pairs, similar to a 12-string guitar today.

When the Moors conquered the Iberian Peninsula in the early 8th century, they brought the oud to Spain, creating a cultural crossroads where European and Middle Eastern musical traditions merged. The oud’s influence spread throughout Europe, where it was gradually modified to suit Western musical preferences.

From the oud emerged the European lute, which became extraordinarily popular throughout medieval Europe. The lute maintained the rounded back of the oud but developed a distinctly European character with modifications to its tuning, playing techniques, and construction. Court musicians and troubadours favored this instrument for its rich, warm tone and versatility. The lute’s popularity lasted for centuries, and many early guitar techniques derived from lute playing.

During the medieval period, the gittern emerged as another significant precursor. This small, round-backed instrument typically had four courses of strings and was carved from a single block of wood.

The gittern was more portable than the lute and became popular among traveling musicians. Its neck featured frets made of gut tied around the neck, allowing for more precise pitch control.

Gut strings are strings traditionally made from the dried and stretched intestines of animals, usually sheep.

Illustrations from medieval manuscripts show the gittern being played in a position similar to modern guitars.

In Spain, where much of the guitar’s evolution occurred, the vihuela developed as a distinctive instrument. The vihuela featured a figure-eight body shape much closer to modern guitars and typically had six courses of gut strings. It became particularly popular among the Spanish aristocracy during the 15th and 16th centuries. The vihuela’s body shape, with its distinct waist, established the iconic figure-eight silhouette that remains characteristic of acoustic guitars today.

Another important instrument from this period was the Moorish guitarra, which existed alongside the European instruments. This instrument had a more slender neck than the oud and fewer strings, making it more accessible for accompaniment. The term “guitarra” itself likely derived from the Greek “kithara,” showing the complex lineage of these instruments.

Throughout this period, construction techniques for stringed instruments became increasingly sophisticated. Luthiers experimented with different woods, body shapes, and string configurations to improve sound projection and tonal qualities. They began to understand how the shape and size of the resonating chamber affected the instrument’s sound.

In the early Renaissance, the four-course guitar emerged as a popular instrument, particularly in Spain. This guitar featured four pairs (courses) of gut strings, creating a bright, resonant sound well-suited to accompaniment. It was significantly smaller than modern guitars, with a narrow body and shallow depth. Musicians primarily used this instrument to accompany songs and dances, employing rasgueado (strumming) techniques that would become characteristic of Spanish guitar playing.

By the late 16th century, the five-course guitar appeared in Spain and Italy, adding another pair of strings to extend the instrument’s range and musical possibilities. This innovation is often attributed to Spanish guitarist and composer Vicente Espinel, though historical evidence suggests the fifth course was appearing in various locations simultaneously. The additional bass string significantly expanded the guitar’s harmonic capabilities, allowing for more complex compositions.

The Baroque guitar, which flourished from roughly 1600-1750, standardized the five-course configuration. The body remained relatively small compared to modern guitars, but construction techniques improved, enhancing projection and tonal quality. Notable Baroque guitar makers included Antonio Stradivari, who was better known for his violins but did make guitars, and Joachim Tielke, whose instruments were renowned for their craftsmanship.

The 19th century witnessed the birth of the modern classical guitar, primarily through innovations in Spain. The most significant figure in this transformation was Antonio de Torres Jurado, a Spanish luthier whose designs fundamentally redefined the instrument.

Torres established the standard dimensions and proportions that guitarists recognize today. He significantly increased the body size, creating greater volume and a richer bass response. His most crucial innovation was the fan bracing system under the soundboard, with wooden struts arranged in a fan pattern that allowed for a lighter yet stronger top. This construction permitted the soundboard to vibrate more freely, dramatically improving projection and tonal quality.

Torres also standardized the 650mm string length that remains the benchmark for classical guitars. His instruments featured a wider neck than previous guitars, accommodating more complex fingerwork, and he refined the distinctive figure-eight body shape with proportions that balanced aesthetics with acoustic efficiency.

The musical environment of 19th-century Spain proved fertile ground for the classical guitar’s development. Francisco Tárrega emerged as the instrument’s great virtuoso and teacher, establishing modern playing techniques including proper hand positions, fingering approaches, and extended techniques like tremolo. Tárrega’s compositions remain staples of the classical guitar repertoire.

This period also saw the standardization of six single strings (rather than paired courses), and the adoption of raised fingerboards that extended over the soundboard. The guitar’s tuning stabilized to the now-familiar E-A-D-G-B-E arrangement.

As you are probably all aware, the 20th century saw yet another major innovation: the electric guitar.

The electric guitar’s origin begins in the 1920s and 1930s with a practical problem: guitarists needed more volume to compete with louder brass and percussion instruments in dance bands. Early innovators attached telephone transmitters to their acoustic guitars as makeshift pickups. Companies like National and Dobro developed metal-bodied resonator guitars as one acoustic solution, but the true breakthrough would come through electrical amplification.

Lloyd Loar at Gibson conducted early experiments with electromagnetic pickups in the 1920s. By the early 1930s, George Beauchamp and Adolph Rickenbacker produced the “Frying Pan,” a lap steel guitar with an electromagnetic pickup that converted string vibrations into electrical signals.

Around the same time, guitarist Alvino Rey worked with engineers at Gibson to develop their first electric model.

These early electric instruments suffered from feedback problems when amplified at higher volumes due to their hollow bodies. The logical solution emerged in the 1940s: solid-body construction. Les Paul (the guitarist, not the company) created a prototype called “The Log”—essentially a 4×4 wooden post with strings, pickup, and minimal body wings.

Meanwhile, inventor Paul Bigsby built a solid-body electric guitar for country musician Merle Travis.

The commercial breakthrough came in 1950 when Leo Fender introduced the Broadcaster (later renamed Telecaster due to trademark issues). This simple, slab-bodied instrument featured two pickups and a bolt-on maple neck—practical, affordable, and resistant to feedback. Its bright, cutting tone became foundational to country, rock, and blues music.

In 1952, Gibson partnered with guitarist Les Paul to create the Gibson Les Paul model, featuring a carved maple top on a mahogany body with two “humbucker” pickups, which were introduced in 1957, that canceled electronic hum. It’s warm, rich tone provided a distinctive alternative to Fender’s brighter sound.

Fender revolutionized design again in 1954 with the Stratocaster, featuring body contours for player comfort, a vibrato system, and three pickups for tonal versatility. The Stratocaster became perhaps the most influential electric guitar design ever created.

The majority of electric guitars sold today are based on models developed in the mid-20th century. These models have sounds and styles that have become classics in the music industry.

However, that doesn’t mean guitar innovation has stopped. Extended-range guitars with seven, eight, and even nine strings have gained popularity, particularly in progressive metal and other genres.

On the electronics front, modeling technology has revolutionized the guitar landscape, allowing a single instrument to accurately simulate countless vintage and modern guitar tones.

Materials science has contributed significantly, with carbon fiber, carbon-reinforced necks, and sustainable wood alternatives addressing both environmental concerns and stability issues.

The guitar is the centerpiece of many music genres today, including pop, rock, metal, country, and blues. It is played by professionals, and it is also one of the most popular instruments for amateurs.

This instrument, which defined the 20th century and was mastered by the likes of Eddie Van Halen and Jimi Hendrix, owes a debt to the stringed instruments played over 2000 years ago in the ancient world.

The Executive Producer of Everything Everywhere Daily is Charles Daniel. The Associate Producers are Austin Oetken and Cameron Kieffer.

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