Plucked string instrument, and favorite of millions, guitar is usually played using the fingers or a pick. A rigid neck to which six or more strings are attached, it is one of the most popular musical instruments in the world. In the past the strings were made of animal guts but have been replaced with nylon chords in later days. Similarly, the guitar body that was made with wood is now made with polycarbonate materials.
In the musical world, Guitars are used in multiple musical scores as supporting musical instrument. Such musical scores are blues, country, jazz, jota, bluegrass, reggae, rock, soul, mariachi, flamenco, and in various types of pop music.

When electric guitar had not seen the daylight and use of synthetic materials in musical instruments did not commence; concept of guitar was something different than it is today. Those days the guitar was considered to be an instrument with long, fretted neck, ribs, wooden soundboard that is flat and incurved sides. Strangely enough the definition was used to refer to a number of instruments instead of any particular form.

Guitar as one sees in the modern day also has a number of related instruments. Most of these instruments trace back their origins to the Central Asian musical instruments. Some such instruments are tanbur, setar, and sitar. Experts trace back the origin to 3,300 year old stone carvings of the Hittite bard.

Guitar Families

According to broad classifications; guitar would belong to one of the two families, acoustic and electric. While the electric guitars were introduced as late as 1930, acoustic guitar has a heritage that goes back to thousands of years. Thus acoustic guitar is the older and traditional member of guitar families.

Features of Acoustic Guitars

Main features of the acoustic guitars are:

• These guitars have hollow bodies.
• Acoustic guitars have been in use for over thousand years.
• Three main types of acoustic guitars are classical, steel string, and arch top guitars.
• Classical acoustic guitars use nylon strings.
• Tone of the acoustic guitars is identified by the vibration of the strings.
• Vibration created by the strings is amplified by the body of the guitar.
• With a comprehensive finger picking technique, the classical acoustic guitar is played as a solo instrument.

Features of Electric Guitars

Electric guitars were introduced during the 1930s. Some of the basic features of electric guitars are –

• It depends on an amplifier that can electronically manipulate the tones.
• In the past these electric guitars used hollow bodies.
• Subsequently solid bodies were introduced because of their suitability.
• Electric guitars have been exercising a substantial influence on the popular culture.

Types of Acoustic Guitars

Some of the most notable subcategories of the acoustic guitar are classical guitars, flamenco guitars, steel string guitars, folk or twelve-string guitars, and the arched topped guitars.

In addition to all the above categories, there are also unamplified guitars that are designed for playing divergent registers. For instance; the acoustic bass guitar has a lot of similarity with the electric bass guitars.

Ancestors of Modern Guitar

Modern classical guitar has its origin in the renaissance as well as Baroque guitars of the past. However, there is one basic difference between these ancestors and their present inheritors. Baroque or renaissance guitars were smaller, lighter and had only four or five strings in contrast to the present day guitars that have six strings. Usually these instruments were used as rhythm instruments instead of solo. At the same time renaissance and baroque guitars are also different from each other. The former is very plain while the later is very ornate having ivory or wood inlays on the neck as well as body.

Classical Guitars

Classical guitars are typically saddled with nylon strings. Usually the guitar is played in sitting position though the styles widely vary with the music. Since the neck is flat it allows the musicians to play the scales, arpeggios as well as other chord forms quite conveniently.

Despite being there for centuries together; classical guitars have not los their glamour and popularity till date.