History of the classical guitar (now much thinner) sound board to support more vibrational modes. This leads to greater volume and longer sustain. History of the classical guitar The evolution of classical guitars began with the influences of the vihuela and gittern in the sixteenth century and ended with the modern classical guitar in the mid nineteenth century. While the precise lineage of the instrument is still unclear, historians believe that the guitar is the descendant of the Greek kithara, gittern, lyre, European and Middle Eastern lutes, and the Spanish vihuela. The poem "The Book of Good Love" [circa 1330] describes two early instruments, guitarra
Classical guitar 3rd and 4th strings). To achieve tremolo effects and rapid, fluent scale passages, the player must practice alternation, that is, never plucking a string with the same finger twice in a row. Using p to indicate the thumb, i the index finger, m the middle finger and a the ring finger, common alternation patterns include: Music written specifically for the classical guitar dates from the addition of the sixth string (the baroque guitar normally had five pairs of strings) in the late 18th century. A guitar recital may include a variety of works, e.g. works written originally for the lute