Types of musical instruments. Search results for "guitar" A musical instrument related to guitars and is

Basics The Warr guitar (or tap guitar, also Warr guitar) is a plucked string musical instrument designed by Mark Warr. Belongs to the guitar family. Warr's guitar looks very similar to a regular electric guitar, but can be played with tapping like a Chapman stick, as well as pizzicato. Traditional bass guitar techniques, such as slap-and-pop and double-tamping, can also be used.

Basic information Guitar-harp (harp guitar) is a stringed plucked musical instrument, a type of guitar. Modern Makers Charles A. Hoffman and Jim Worland Great Harp Guitarists Muriel Anderson Stephen Bennett John Doan William Eaton Beppe Gambetta Michael Hedges Dan LaVoie Andy McKee Andy Wahlberg Robbie Robertson (during The Last Waltz) Jimmy Page Pat Metheny Jeff Martin Michael Lardie Video:

Basic information Guitar is a plucked string musical instrument, one of the most widespread in the world. It is used as an accompanying instrument in many musical styles, as well as a solo classical instrument. It is a primary instrument in styles of music such as blues, country, flamenco, rock music and many forms of popular music. The electric guitar, invented in the 20th century, had a profound impact

Basic information GRAN guitar (new Russian acoustic) is a plucked string musical instrument, which is a classical guitar on which 2 sets of strings are installed at different heights from the neck: nylon and, closer to the neck, metal. A similar idea was proposed by Stradivarius, but was not widespread. Invented by Chelyabinsk guitarists Vladimir Ustinov and Anatoly Olshansky. Thanks to the efforts of the authors, I received

Basic information An electric guitar is a plucked string musical instrument, a type of guitar with a solid body and electronic pickups that convert vibrations of steel strings into vibrations of electric current. The signal from the pickups can be processed to produce various sound effects and then amplified for playback through speakers. Uninformed people believe that electric guitars are made of plastic, etc. However, they

Basic information The classical guitar (Spanish, six-string) is a plucked string musical instrument, the main representative of the guitar family, a plucked string musical instrument of bass, tenor and soprano registers. It has existed in its modern form since the second half of the 18th century, used as an accompanying, solo and ensemble instrument. The guitar has great artistic and performing capabilities and a wide variety of timbres. The classical guitar has six strings, the main

Basic information Bass guitar is a plucked string musical instrument, a type of guitar designed for playing in the bass range. It is used in many musical styles and genres as an accompanying and, less often, solo instrument. Since its introduction in the mid-20th century, it has become one of the most common bass instruments, especially in popular music. Bass guitar part in a piece of music

Basic information A baritone guitar is a plucked string musical instrument, a guitar with a longer scale (27″) than a regular one, which allows it to be tuned to a lower sound. Invented by Danelectro in the 1950s. The baritone guitar is a transitional model between a regular electric guitar and a bass guitar. A baritone guitar also has six strings, just like a regular guitar, but they are tuned lower.

Basic information Acoustic guitar is a plucked string musical instrument. Unlike electric guitars, acoustic guitars have a hollow body that acts as a resonator, although modern acoustic guitars may have built-in pickups, either magnetic or piezoelectric, with an equalizer and volume control. The acoustic guitar is the main instrument of such genres as art song, folk, and occupies an important place in Gypsy and Cuban folk music.

Basic information Acoustic bass guitar is a plucked string musical instrument, an acoustic type of bass guitar. Belongs to the guitar family. Video: Acoustic bass guitar on video + sound Thanks to these videos, you can get acquainted with the instrument, watch a real game on it, listen to its sound, feel the specifics of the technique: Sales: where to buy/order?

Basic information Seven-string (Russian) guitar» title=»Seven-string (Russian) guitar» /> The seven-string guitar (seven-string, Russian, gypsy guitar) is a plucked string musical instrument, one of the varieties of guitars. Origin, history The seven-string guitar appeared in Russia at the end of the 18th - beginning of the 19th century. Her popularity is associated with the musician Andrei Osipovich Sihra, who wrote about a thousand works for her. According to one

Basic information The ukulele is a plucked string musical instrument, a miniature four-stringed ukulele. Translated from Hawaiian, “ukulele” means jumping flea. The ukulele appeared in the 1880s as a development of the braguinha type, a miniature guitar from the island of Madeira related to the Portuguese cavaquinho. The ukulele is common on various Pacific islands, but has been associated primarily with Hawaiian music since the Hawaiian tours

Basic information Tres is a plucked string musical instrument, a type of guitar, common in Cuba and Puerto Rico. Despite their common origins and the same name, the Cuban and Puerto Rican versions of tres have significant differences. In early versions the tres had three strings; the modern Cuban version of the tres has six strings grouped in pairs, and the Puerto Rican version has nine strings grouped in threes.

Basic information The shamisen, also called sangen (translated from Japanese as “three strings”), is a Japanese three-stringed musical instrument with which Japanese storytellers or singers accompanied themselves during performances. The closest European analogue of the shamisen is the lute. Shamisen along with hayashi and shakuhachi flutes, tsuzumi drum and koto zither. Refers to traditional Japanese musical instruments.

Basic information The lute is an ancient plucked string musical instrument. The word "lute" probably comes from the Arabic word "al'ud" ("wood"), although recent research by Eckhard Neubauer argues that 'ud is simply an Arabized version of the Persian word rud, meaning string, stringed instrument, or lute. At the same time, Gianfranco Lotti believes that in early Islam “tree” was a term with

The Guitarrón, or "big guitar" (in Spanish, the suffix "-on" indicates large size) is a Mexican double-stringed plucked musical instrument. A unique Mexican six-string acoustic bass guitar of very large size. Despite the obvious similarities with the guitar, the guitarron was invented separately, it is a modification of the Spanish instrument bajo de una. Due to its large size, the guitarron does not need

Basic information Dobro is a plucked string musical instrument. Even though the dobro looks like a guitar, has 6 strings like a guitar, and fits into a case like a guitar, it is not a guitar. It is distinguished by a number of essential qualities, and first of all, the presence of a special resonator, which amplifies the sound and gives it a unique timbre. Origin This acoustic resonator was

Basics The cithara is an ancient Greek plucked string musical instrument, similar to the professional version of the lyre. It has a deep cavity used as a volumetric resonator. The kithara is one of the most common plucked musical instruments in Ancient Greece. For the Greeks, it personifies the universe, repeating Heaven and Earth in its form. The strings symbolize the different levels of the universe. Attribute of Apollo and Terpsichore. Kiphara, like

Basic information Cymbals are a stringed percussion musical instrument. Their body has a flat, trapezoidal shape with stretched strings. The sound on cymbals is produced with wooden sticks. Varieties of dulcimers Currently, dulcimers are used in practice in two directions: 1. Folk-authentic; 2. Professional and academic. Accordingly, two types of cymbals are used: folk and concert-academic. During its existence, cymbals certainly improved, R.

The modern classification of musical instruments involves dividing them according to the principle of sound formation into groups: strings, reeds, winds, percussion and electromusical (Fig. 3.16).

Stringed musical instruments

In stringed musical instruments, the source of sound is the stretched strings. Based on the method of sound production, string instruments are divided into plucked, bowed and percussion-keyboard instruments.

Plucked musical instruments

The group of plucked musical instruments includes guitars, balalaikas, mandolins, and domras. In these instruments, sound is produced by plucking the strings with your fingers or an elastic plate - mediator.

Main nodes guitars(Fig. 3.17) are the body, neck and tuning mechanism. The body of the guitar resembles a figure eight shape and consists of a soundboard, bottom and sides. The most important part is the deck. Through the saddle glued to it, the soundboard perceives the vibrations of the strings and, together with the body, amplifies the sound and gives it a specific timbre. The soundboard contour is decorated with edging, and the sound hole is decorated with a rosette. The neck of the guitar has fret plates and a head with a tuning mechanism for tensioning the strings.

The length of the string between the top and bottom saddle is called scale length. Guitars with a scale length of 620 mm are called normal. If the scale length is 650 mm, then such guitars are called large concerts. Guitars of reduced sizes (for children) may have scales of 585 mm (terts guitar), 540 mm (quart guitar) and 485 mm (fifth guitar). According to the number of strings, guitars are six- and seven-string.

Rice. 3.16.

Rice. 3.17.

I- frame, II- vulture, III- connecting screw;

• 1 - resonant deck; 2 - body frame; 3 - stand; 4 - button; 5 - bottom; b - lining (shell); 7 - fret indicators; 8 - fret plates; 9 - threshold; 10 - head; 11 - pen; 12 - sticker;
• 13 - heel

Based on sound quality and finish, guitars are classified into ordinary, high quality and premium quality.

Frame balalaikas It has a triangular shape and consists of a deck, a back and a bottom glued together from rivets. In the place where the fingers hit the strings, a shell cuts in, protecting the soundboard from finger strikes. The balalaika is a three-string instrument, but some strings can be double.

Depending on their purpose, balalaikas are divided into ordinary, orchestral And solo. Orchestral balalaikas include: prima, second, viola, bass and double bass.

Mandolin- a four-stringed musical instrument with double strings. Depending on the shape of the body, there are three types of mandolins - oval, semi-oval and flat.

Domra Unlike the mandolin, it has a hemispherical body, the neck ends with a head with a curl. The domra has single strings. Domras can be three- or four-stringed. Domras are used only as part of an orchestra of string instruments and are divided into types: piccolo, prima, alto, tenor, bass and double bass.

Bow instruments

Bowed string instruments include violin, viola, cello, and double bass. In instruments of this group, sounds are produced by rubbing the hair of the bow on the strings. Both the hair of the bow and the strings violins are of protein origin, so the timbre of violins is close to the timbre of the human voice. The absence of frets on the fretboard allows the musician to produce sounds of the most varied heights, including those intermediate between tones and semitones. The ability to finely nuance the sound both in pitch and volume, and the specific timbre of the sound give the violin endless possibilities in the field of performance technique.

The body of a violin consists of a soundboard, bottom and sides. Two oblong sound holes are cut on the soundboard in the form of the Latin letter / (ef) and are therefore called f-holes. The deck is bordered by a mortise vein - a mustache consisting of three thin stripes. The veins serve as decoration for the instrument and protect the edges of the body from damage.

The neck of a violin, unlike plucked instruments, has no frets. A necessary accessory for a violin is a chinrest.

The violin has four strings: the first is steel, the second and third are gut strings, the fourth is gut string entwined with silver thread. The gut strings are made from sheep intestines.

The bow is an elastic wooden cane with a head and a block. Horsehair is stretched between the head and the adjustable block.

The violin is the highest in register and the smallest in size instrument of the bowed group. It is the main solo instrument of a symphony orchestra.

Depending on the size, violins can be full-sized - 4/4 (scale 330 mm) and small-sized: 3/4 (scale 311 mm), 2/4 (scale 293 mm), 1/4 (scale 260 mm), 1/8 (scale 250 mm).

In accordance with the standard, violins are divided into three classes - solo and educational ones of the first and second classes.

Alto differs from the violin in having twice the scale size.

Cello differs from the viola in its larger size and the presence of a spire at the lower end of the body, which, resting on the floor, serves as a support for the instrument.

Double bass- the largest in size and lowest sounding instrument in a symphony orchestra.

Percussion instruments

Modern keyboard instruments include the grand piano and upright piano. On these instruments, while playing, you can change the sound strength over a wide range - from the quietest (piano) to the loudest (forte). That is why the instruments of this group have a common name - piano. In percussion keyboard instruments, sound is produced by striking the strings with a hammer. The hammers are driven by keys (hence the name - percussion-keyboards).

The rectangular piano body is made of birch, spruce, alder wood, polished or veneered with valuable wood species.

A grand piano has the same design as a piano, but unlike it, the body with strings, soundboard and mechanisms is located horizontally and has a wing-shaped shape.

Piano according to the height of the body they are divided into normal or office(1.2-1.4 m), small-sized(1 -1.2 m) and mini

piano(0.8-0.9 m). Depending on the finish, pianos can be of premium or premium quality.

Royals Depending on the body length, volume and sound range, they are divided into concert(2.5-3 m), salon(1.9-2.4 m), office(1.5-1.8 m) and small-sized ("Minion")(1.2-1.4 m).

Music surrounds us since childhood. And then we have the first musical instruments. Do you remember your first drum or tambourine? And what about the shiny metallophone, the records of which had to be struck with a wooden stick? What about pipes with holes in the side? With some skill it was even possible to play simple melodies on them.

Toy instruments are the first step into the world of real music. Now you can buy a variety of musical toys: from simple drums and harmonicas to almost real pianos and synthesizers. Do you think these are just toys? Not at all: in the preparatory classes of music schools, entire noise orchestras are made from such toys, in which kids selflessly blow pipes, knock on drums and tambourines, spur the rhythm with maracas and play their first songs on the xylophone... And this is their first real step into the world music.

Types of musical instruments

The world of music has its own order and classification. Tools are divided into large groups: strings, keyboards, percussion, winds, and also reed. Which of them appeared earlier and which later is now difficult to say for sure. But already ancient people who shot from a bow noticed that a drawn bowstring sounds, reed tubes, when blown into them, make whistling sounds, and it is convenient to beat the rhythm on any surface with all available means. These objects became the ancestors of string, wind and percussion instruments, already known in Ancient Greece. Reed ones appeared just as long ago, but keyboards were invented a little later. Let's look at these main groups.

Brass

In wind instruments, sound is produced by vibrations of a column of air enclosed inside a tube. The greater the volume of air, the lower the sound it produces.

Wind instruments are divided into two large groups: wooden And copper. Wooden - flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, alpine horn... - are a straight tube with side holes. By closing or opening the holes with their fingers, the musician can shorten the column of air and change the pitch of the sound. Modern instruments are often made from materials other than wood, but are traditionally called wooden.

Copper wind instruments set the tone for any orchestra, from brass to symphony. Trumpet, horn, trombone, tuba, helicon, a whole family of saxhorns (baritone, tenor, alto) are typical representatives of this loudest group of instruments. Later, the saxophone appeared - the king of jazz.

The pitch of the sound in brass instruments changes due to the force of the air blown and the position of the lips. Without additional valves, such a pipe can produce only a limited number of sounds - a natural scale. To expand the range of sound and the ability to reach all sounds, a system of valves was invented - valves that change the height of the air column (like side holes on wooden ones). Copper pipes that are too long, unlike wooden ones, can be rolled into a more compact shape. Horn, tuba, helicon are examples of rolled pipes.

Strings

The bow string can be considered a prototype of string instruments - one of the most important groups of any orchestra. The sound here is produced by a vibrating string. To amplify the sound, strings began to be pulled over a hollow body - this is how the lute and mandolin, cymbals, harp were born... and the guitar that we know well.

The string group is divided into two main subgroups: bowed And plucked tools. Bowed violins include all types of violins: violins, violas, cellos and huge double basses. The sound from them is extracted with a bow, which is drawn along the stretched strings. But for plucked bows, a bow is not needed: the musician plucks the string with his fingers, causing it to vibrate. Guitar, balalaika, lute are plucked instruments. Just like the beautiful harp, which makes such gentle cooing sounds. But is the double bass a bowed or plucked instrument? Formally, it belongs to the bowed instrument, but often, especially in jazz, it is played with plucked strings.

Keyboards

If the fingers striking the strings are replaced with hammers, and the hammers are set in motion using keys, the result will be keyboards tools. The first keyboards - clavichords and harpsichords- appeared in the Middle Ages. They sounded quite quietly, but very tender and romantic. And at the beginning of the 18th century they invented piano- an instrument that could be played both loudly (forte) and quietly (piano). The long name is usually shortened to the more familiar "piano". The older brother of the piano - what's up, the brother is the king! - that’s what it’s called: piano. This is no longer an instrument for small apartments, but for concert halls.

The keyboard includes the largest one - and one of the most ancient! - musical instruments: organ. This is no longer a percussion keyboard, like a piano and grand piano, but keyboard and wind instrument: not the musician's lungs, but a blowing machine that creates air flow into a system of tubes. This huge system is controlled by a complex control panel, which has everything: from a manual (that is, manual) keyboard to pedals and register switches. And how could it be otherwise: organs consist of tens of thousands of individual tubes of various sizes! But their range is enormous: each tube can sound only one note, but when there are thousands of them...

Drums

The oldest musical instruments were drums. It was the tapping of rhythm that was the first prehistoric music. The sound can be produced by a stretched membrane (drum, tambourine, oriental darbuka...) or the body of the instrument itself: triangles, cymbals, gongs, castanets and other knockers and rattles. A special group consists of percussion instruments that produce a sound of a certain pitch: timpani, bells, xylophones. You can already play a melody on them. Percussion ensembles consisting only of percussion instruments stage entire concerts!

Reed

Is there any other way to extract sound? Can. If one end of a plate made of wood or metal is fixed, and the other is left free and forced to vibrate, then we get the simplest reed - the basis of reed instruments. If there is only one tongue, we get Jew's harp. Reeds include harmonicas, button accordions, accordions and their miniature model - harmonica.

harmonica

You can see keys on the button accordion and accordion, so they are considered both keyboard and reed. Some wind instruments are also reeded: for example, in the already familiar clarinet and bassoon, the reed is hidden inside the pipe. Therefore, the division of tools into these types is arbitrary: there are many tools mixed type.

In the 20th century, the friendly musical family was replenished with another large family: electronic instruments. The sound in them is created artificially using electronic circuits, and the first example was the legendary theremin, created back in 1919. Electronic synthesizers can imitate the sound of any instrument and even... play themselves. If, of course, someone draws up a program. :)

Dividing instruments into these groups is just one way of classification. There are many others: for example, the Chinese grouped tools depending on the material from which they were made: wood, metal, silk and even stone... Methods of classification are not so important. It is much more important to be able to recognize instruments both by appearance and sound. This is what we will learn.

There are a large number of musical instruments that differ from one another in design, source of sound and method of its extraction, purpose and application.

It is customary to classify modern musical instruments based on these characteristics.

Depending on the sound source, musical instruments are divided into five groups: strings, reeds, winds, percussion and electromusical.

All instruments whose source of sound are stretched strings are called stringed instruments.

Depending on the method of sound production, stringed musical instruments are divided into plucked, bowed, percussion-keyboard and percussion.

In plucked instruments, sound is produced by plucking the strings with your fingers or special mediator plates. These instruments include guitars, balalaikas, mandolins, domras, harps, harps, etc.

In bowed instruments, sound is produced by rubbing the bow against the strings. These are violins, violas, cellos, double basses.

In percussion keyboard instruments, string vibrations are caused by the musician’s fingers striking the keys of a mechanism consisting of a keyboard and mechanics. Percussion-keyboard musical instruments include the grand piano and the upright piano.

Percussion strings are instruments whose sound is produced by striking the strings with a mallet (dulcimer).

Reed instruments are those in which sound is produced as a result of the vibration of elastic steel reeds under the influence of air flow. Such instruments are harmonicas, button accordions, accordions.

In wind instruments, the formation of sound occurs as a result of the vibration of an air column in a pipe of a certain length. Wind instruments are divided into copper - trumpet, cornet, horn, fanfare, bugle, saxophone - and wooden, made from wood or its substitutes - oboe, clarinet, bassoon, flute.

Percussion instruments include instruments whose sound is produced by striking a special device or individual parts of the instrument against each other.

Percussion instruments are membranous, the sound of which is produced by striking a stretched elastic membrane - drums, tambourines, timpani, and plate instruments, the sound of which is produced by striking the plate - xylophone, metallophone, etc.

Self-sounding instruments, in which sound is produced by striking one part of the instrument against another, include castanets, gongs, orchestral cymbals, and triangles.

Electromusical instruments include instruments whose sound sources are generators of various frequencies or electromagnetic adapters - sound pickups. The action of the electromagnetic adapter is based on converting mechanical vibrations of strings into electrical ones and amplifying them through a TV or receiver.

Electric musical instruments also include instruments with an electrified pneumatic unit that supplies air to the reeds (for example, an organola).

Depending on the size, shape, material, external design and finishing, there are a large number of varieties (models) of musical instruments. Each model of a particular musical instrument is assigned a trade number - article number.

Musical sounds that differ in pitch generally form a musical range, which is divided into nine groups of sounds, equal in number but different in pitch. These groups are called octaves. Each octave of the scale is divided into twelve equal parts, called semitones, which are the smallest distance in pitch between two sounds. Two semitones make up a tone. The octave includes seven basic sounds (do, re, mi, fa, sol, la, si) and five derivatives.

Each of the nine octaves that make up the musical range has its own name. The octave with the lowest pitched sounds is called a subcontractave. It is followed by the counteroctave, major octave, minor, first, second, third, fourth and fifth.

A series of sounds within one octave, arranged sequentially in ascending or descending order, is called a scale. Scales are distinguished between diatonic (of seven basic sounds) and chromatic of twelve sounds, with an interval equal to a semitone.

The spaces in pitch between two sounds are called intervals.

According to the number of semitones, each octave has twelve intervals called pure prima, minor second (semitone), major second (1 tone), minor third (1 1/2 tones), major third (2 tones), perfect fourth (2 1/2 tones), perfect fifth (3 1/2 tones), minor sixth (4 tones), major sixth (4 1/2 tones), minor seventh (5 tones), major seventh (5 1/2 tones), pure octave ( 6 tones).

Musical instrument: Guitar

Guitar... What associations arise when you hear this word? A passionate Spanish woman dances a fiery dance, playing along with herself on castanets. Noisy gypsies singing their merry songs. Or maybe it’s a quiet summer evening, on the river bank, where a soulful song sounds under the glow of a fire. Everywhere we hear the captivating timbre of the guitar - an instrument that has captivated peoples all over the world. They trust her with emotional experiences and share their joy, poets dedicate poems to her. Many celebrities loved to listen to the guitar, I. Goethe, J. Byron, A.S. Pushkin, M.Yu. Lermontov, L.N. Tolstoy dedicated many lines to her in his great works.

Read the history of the guitar and many interesting facts about this musical instrument on our page.

Sound

« ...The guitar has a gentle sound, like the touch of hands. The guitar has a quiet sound, as if a friend is whispering!... » - This is what the wonderful Spanish guitar virtuoso F. Tarrega wrote about his favorite instrument. The velvety and soft guitar timbre harmonizes perfectly with the sound of different instruments, for example, mandolins, balalaikas, violins.

The sound on the instrument is the result of the vibration of the stretched strings; by pressing them with the fingers of the left hand on the frets, the performer obtains the desired pitch of sound.

Guitar range is almost four octaves (from “mi” of the major octave to “si” of the second octave).
Tuning: 6th string - “E” of the large octave; 5 – “A” of the large octave; 4 – “D” small octave; 3 – “sol” of the small octave; 2 – “si” of the second octave; 1 – “mi” of the first octave. The instrument sounds an octave lower than its actual musical notation.

The basic methods of producing sound on a guitar are plucking and striking the strings. There are two types of plucking: apoyando (resting on the lower adjacent string) and tirando (without support).The blow and pinch are performed with the fingers of the right hand, as well as with the help of a mediator (plectrum).

Guitarist performers use additional interesting techniques of sound production, widely used in various styles of music: barre, arpeggio, arpeggiato, legato, tremolo, ascending and descending legato, bend, vibrato, glissando, staccato, tambourine, golpe, harmonics.

Photo:

Interesting Facts :

• The National Archaeological Museum of Athens houses a sculpture dating back to the fourth century BC depicting a girl playing music on a guitar.
• Antonio Torres, who was called the “Stradivarius” of the guitar, is still considered the best master in the manufacture of these instruments.
• In the Museum of Musical Instruments, located at the Conservatory of Paris, there is a guitar belonging to the work of the Venetian master C. Coco. The example, which bears the date 1602, is the first instrument from the 17th century that has come down to us.
• Nicolo Paganini , an outstanding Italian violinist, masterfully played both the violin and the guitar. He transferred many technical guitar techniques to the violin, and according to his contemporaries, Paganini owes his incredible skill to the guitar. The maestro liked to say: “I am the king of the violin, and the guitar is my queen.” The guitar of the famous violinist is an exhibit of the Paris Conservatoire Museum.

• Such famous composers as K.M. were fond of playing the guitar. Weber, D. Verdi , A. Diabelli.
• The outstanding German composer F. Schubert was very sensitive to the guitar. The instrument that the musician played and never parted with throughout his life is now an exhibit in the museum of Franz Schubert’s apartment in Vienna.
• The famous Spanish composer and guitarist Fernand Sor, called by his contemporaries the “Mendelssohn of the guitar,” lived in Moscow for five years at the beginning of the 19th century with his wife, who served as a choreographer at the Imperial Theater. Güllen Sor staged mainly ballet performances, the music for which was written by her husband.
• The world's largest guitar was made at the Husten Academy of Science and Technology (USA). It is more than 13 meters long, which is 6-7 times human height. Since all the proportions of the instrument are respected and the thick strings made from aircraft cable are of the appropriate length, the sound is the same as on a regular guitar.

• The largest ensemble of guitarists performed in Poland on May 1, 2009 and consisted of 6,346 members.
• The American musical instrument company Fender produces about 90,000 strings per day. This is more than 30,000 km. per year, which is equal to the distance of a trip around the world.
• The world's smallest guitar was made at New York's Carnell University in 1997. The tool, which was 10 micrometers long, was made of silicon. The guitar strings vibrated at a purity 1000 times greater than the sensitivity of the human ear.
• The longest continuous guitar performance lasted 114 hours, 6 minutes and 30 seconds, which took place in June 2011. This record was set by David Brown in Dublin (Ireland) at the Temple Bar pub.
• The electrically amplified guitar was invented by George Beachamp in 1931, and in 1936 the world famous American company Gibson created its first electric guitar.
• Some of the most popular guitar manufacturers are Gibson, Dean, PRS, Ibanez, Jackson, Fender, Martin, Gretsch, Hohner, Takamine, Strunal. , “Furch”, “Almansa”, “Amistar”, “Godin” and others.

• The guitar of B. Dylan, the famous American actor, author and performer, was sold for exactly 965 thousand dollars in December 2013 through the Christie's auction house. Previously, the most expensive guitar was Eric Clapton's Blackie Stratocaster, sold in 2004 for $959,500.
• BB King is an American blues guitarist and singer, referred to by fans as the “King of the Blues,” and is the first musician to use the electric guitar in rock music.
• Monuments to the guitar were installed in Naberezhnye Chelny (Russia), in Paracho (Mexico), in Beirut (Lebanon), on the Katun River (Russia), in Aberdeen, Washington State (USA), in the village of Morskoye (Russia) , in Cleveland (USA), in Kitchener (Canada), in Chelyabinsk (Russia), in Potosi (Bolivia), in Miami (USA).

Design

The design principle of stringed instruments is almost always the same and includes the body (body) of the instrument and the neck with the head.

• The lower and upper soundboards, which make up the body of the guitar, are connected to each other by shells curved in the shape of a figure eight. Depending on the type of guitar, the top is equipped with one or more sound holes, as well as a stand for attaching strings and a bridge. The widest (bottom) part of the guitar body is 36 cm, and the top is 28 cm. The body of a concert guitar is usually made of resonator spruce or white maple.
• The neck, machined from durable wood, on one side has a so-called heel attached to the shell. On the other side, the neck ends with a head with tuning mechanics, which serves to tension the strings. A fingerboard with built-in metal saddles is glued onto the fingerboard, separating the frets, which are arranged in chromatic order. Between the neck of the neck and the headstock there is a nut that affects the height of the strings.

Modern guitars usually have synthetic or metal strings.

The total length of the instrument is 100 cm.

Varieties

Currently, all guitars are divided into two types: acoustic and electric.

Acoustic guitar It has a hollow body with a resonating hole in it. She is a queen on the concert stage and a participant in simple courtyard gatherings.

The acoustic guitar is very versatile, as it has different options, here are some of them:

• Classical is a direct descendant of the Spanish guitar. It is distinguished by a wide neck and the mandatory presence of nylon strings, which sound soft and quiet. This type of guitar is used on the academic concert stage, as well as in classrooms.
• Dreadnought - has the names Country and Western. Due to the presence of metal strings, it sounds loud and ringing. On such an instrument, sound is produced using a mediator. This type of instrument is used to perform in different styles.
• Jumbo is a guitar with an enlarged body and a loud sound, most in demand in rock, pop, blues, and country music. Due to the metal strings, sound production occurs with the help of a mediator.
• Ukulele– the second name for the ukulele. A miniature instrument with four nylon strings and a playing technique similar to an ordinary guitar. Sound production occurs with your fingertips or a special felt mediator.
• Seven-string - (gypsy or Russian). It has seven strings tuned in thirds. Vladimir Vysotsky, Bulat Okudzhava and Sergei Nikitin preferred this type of guitar.
• The 12 string is a very large and massive instrument. The main difference is the presence of 12 paired strings.
• Electro-acoustic is a type of hybrid instrument in which the presence of a built-in piezo pickup makes it possible to connect to an amplifier.
• Semi-acoustic is a transitional instrument from acoustic to electric guitar. The presence of a hollow body makes it similar to an acoustic guitar, and the presence of a pickup and tone controls makes it similar to an electric guitar. The instrument has a second name - jazz guitar, as it is mainly used in jazz. A semi-acoustic guitar is shaped like a violin. It has two resonator holes like a violin - in the form of the letter “f”.
• Bass - one of the varieties of acoustic guitars. The instrument has 4 strings and is designed for playing parts in the low range.

The second type of guitar is the electric guitar, which today is an independent type of musical instrument that has the ability to process sound, which allows musicians to achieve various desired sound effects.

Application and repertoire

The scope of application of the guitar is very wide, it can do a lot. In a variety of forms of popular music, as well as in styles such as jazz, blues, rock, funk, soul, metal, country, rock music, folk, flamenco, mariachi, the main instrument is the guitar. It can accompany or act as a solo instrument.

The library of repertoire for the instrument is huge, there are even concert works with a symphony orchestra. Talented composer-performers, including: F. Tárrega, D. Aguado, M. Giuliani, F. Sor, F. Carulli, A. Segovia, M. Carcassi, left a great creative legacy for posterity. They loved the guitar very much, were fond of playing it, and such great masters as L. Spohr, G. Berlioz, F. Schubert, K. M. Weber, A. Diabelli, R. Kreutzer, I. Hummel did not ignore their compositional attention. Composers C. Monteverdi, G. Donizetti, D. Rossini, D. Verdi, J. Massenet used the sound of the guitar in their opera performances.

I would especially like to note the contribution of the legend of violin performance N. Paganini in enriching the guitar repertoire. His legacy amounts to about two hundred different compositions - these are solo pieces, as well as various ensembles for guitar and violin instruments.

Popular works

I. Albeniz - Leyenda (listen)

Flor De Luna (listen)

Performers

Each period of development of the instrument revealed remarkable musicians-performers. They not only captivated listeners with their brilliant and virtuoso playing, but, by composing works for the guitar, made an invaluable contribution to expanding the repertoire for the instrument,

The first famous guitar virtuosos were musicians who shone at the courts of kings and nobles, among them: J. Palencia, A. Penefiel, A. Toledo, M. Toledo, R. Guitarra, F. Cabezon, L. Milan, L. Narvaez, J. Bermudo, A. Mudarra, E. Valderrabano, D. Pisador, M. Fuenyama, L. Inestresa, E. Daza, J. Amat, P. Cerone, F. Corbetta, N. Velasco, G. Granatta, D. Foscarini, G. Sanz, L. Ribaillas, R. Viseo and F. Gerau, F. Aspasi, L. Roncalli, D. Kellner, S. Weiss, F. Corbetta, R. Wiese, F. Campion, G. Sanz. The entire legacy left by these musicians is highly valued and in demand today.

The next stage in the history of the instrument, called the “golden age of the guitar,” is inseparable from the work of outstanding musicians who achieved worldwide recognition and proved that the guitar on the concert stage can worthy compete with other instruments. D. Aguado, F. Sor, F. Carulli, D. Regondi, M. Giuliani, J. Arcas, M. Carcassi, A. Nava, Z. Feranti, L. Legnani, L. Moretti - the professional skills of these concertists raised the art guitar performance to a very high level.

The development of performing art in the 19th century is closely connected with the name of the outstanding guitarist F. Tarrega, in whose hands the guitar could sound like a chamber orchestra. Having laid the foundation in the classical technique of performing the instrument, he brought up a constellation of talents, including: D. Prat, I. Lelupe, E. Pujol, M. Llobet, D. Fortea.

The 20th century gave the world wonderful guitarists, innovators in various styles and musical genres. A. Segovia, B.B. King , D. Page, D. Gilmore, S. Vaughn, D. Hendricks, P. Nelson E. Sheeran, R. Johnson, I. Malmsteen, D. Satriani, R. Blackmore left an indelible mark on the improvement of technical capabilities in the art of guitar.

Among Russian contemporary performers, I would especially like to highlight the names of such virtuosos as N. Koshkin, L. Karpov, M. Yablokov, V. Kozlov, I. Rekhin, V. Chebanov, N. Komolyatov, D. Illarionov, V. Shirokov, V. Tervo.

Story

The history of the guitar goes back to ancient times, when a hunter, pulling the string of his bow, heard a sound that he liked. He realized that this could not only provide food for himself, but also delight the soul, using it as a musical instrument. The ancestors of the guitar were known back in the 15th century BC. Archaeologists have found drawings dating back to this period depicting people with musical instruments that closely resembled a guitar. Art historians believe that her cradle is located in the countries of the Near and Middle East. The peoples of ancient civilizations: Egypt, Sumer, Mesopatamia, India and China had instruments with various names, which could be the ancestor of the guitar. Kinnor, kifara, nefer, sitar, nabla, sumerer, samblek, samblus, sambuit, pandura, koutur, gazur, mahal - there are many names, but the design principle is identical: a convex body, which was usually made from dried pumpkin or tortoise shell, and a neck with frets . And in the third or fourth century, as a result of evolution, the yuan instrument appeared in China, which has common structural elements with the guitar - it is a resonator body consisting of two soundboards connected by shells.

So who exactly was the ancestor of the guitar, and when it came to Europe is not known for certain. Historians and art historians still do not know the exact answer; perhaps it was an Arabic lute, an Asian kithara, or an ancient cithara.

The beginning of the formation of the guitar as we are accustomed to seeing it dates back to approximately the 12th century.. It, displacing other musical instruments, becomes one of the most popular in European countries. The instrument is dynamically used in France, England, Germany, but it gains special recognition in Italy and Spain.

In the middle of the 13th century information about the guitar becomes more reliable. She receives her real name and more accurate data reaches us about her participation in the musical life of various countries. In Spain, the instrument, actively used as a soloist and accompaniment, is becoming truly folk.

Renaissance, which is characterized by a rapid flowering of culture, had a very fruitful effect on the development of the guitar. In Spain, where the instrument received special popular love, its development proceeded most intensively. A fifth string was added to the four strings that previously existed on the instrument, four strings were doubled and one was left single. The system was changed, which later became known as Spanish (E, H, G, D, A). The improved guitar entered into successful competition with the vihuela and lute, known at that time, gradually displacing them from musical life.

The instrument is penetrating deeper and deeper into the masses, it sounds in the palaces of noble nobles and in the homes of ordinary people. Various “salons” are organized in cities - associations, circles, meetings, where guitar concerts are constantly held. The instrument begins a remarkable period in its development; fashion for it spreads throughout Europe. Composers for the guitar create extensive literature, the first editions of works for the instrument and teaching aids appear. Virtuoso performers demonstrate the expressive and technical capabilities of the guitar.

In the 17th century The Spanish guitar is actively spreading throughout European countries, where it is becoming one of the most fashionable instruments. The impetus for this was the passion for playing music on the guitar of the French King Louis XIV. During the same period, she crossed the Atlantic Ocean and firmly established herself on the American continent.

In Europe, the instrument continued its transformation, such as the installation of fixed frets. And in Italy, in order to achieve greater sonority, they tried to replace the existing vein strings on the guitar with metal ones.

In the 18th century The instrument is entering a new stage of its development. The emergence of new composers writing for the guitar, as well as virtuoso musicians, was a sign of the growing popularity of the instrument. At this time, the guitar underwent a number of design changes that gave it a more advanced look. The instrument's body shape was slightly changed, double strings were replaced with single ones, and a sixth string was added, thereby expanding its technical capabilities. The guitar, having taken shape in a new way and having gained truly national love, entered an era called the “golden age of the guitar.”

In the 19th century The improvement of the guitar continues. The instrument created at that time by the Spanish guitar maker Antonio Torres is what we today call a classical guitar. This period was also marked by the emergence of remarkable composers and virtuoso musicians who made an invaluable contribution to the development of the instrument. However, not everything went so smoothly in the history of the guitar.

In the second half of the 19th century, the demand for the instrument decreased, and it faded into the background, as a new instrument for that time, the piano, became increasingly popular. Of the European countries, only Spain and England remained faithful to the guitar.

Oblivion did not last long. In 20th century The guitar is regaining popularity and blossoming with renewed vigor. Newly gifted virtuoso performers, mostly of Spanish origin, are changing the general public's perception of it as an ancient instrument and bringing the guitar onto the academic stage, placing it on a par with instruments such as the violin and piano.

In the 30s of the last century, a new variety appeared - the electric guitar, the use of which radically changed the idea of ​​the instrument and its use.

The guitar is a self-sufficient, democratic instrument that is very popular and has won great love. In all its varieties, the guitar is very versatile. She feels great on large concert stages, in recording studios, at home at the holiday table and camping around the fire. Having become an integral part of the life of different peoples, the instrument has taken a strong place in the feelings of many people.

Video: listen to the guitar