Classical guitar Classical guitar The classical guitar (also known as the nylon-string guitar, or Spanish guitar) is a member of the guitar family used in classical music. It is an acoustic wooden guitar with strings made of gut or nylon, rather than the metal strings used in acoustic and electric guitars. For a right-handed player, the traditional classical guitar has twelve frets clear of the body and is properly held on the left leg, so that the hand that plucks or strums the strings does so near the back of the sound hole (this is called the classical position). The modern steel
Classical guitar technique would apply. The actual shape is subject to such individual biology and musical preference that only experience and guidance of other musicians will be seen to be the best form chosen by the student. While the right hand is responsible for the sound of the guitar, the left hand performs two functions: pressing on the strings (to shorten their effective length and change the pitch) and articulation, i.e. slurring (commonly known as 'hammer-ons' and 'pull-offs') and vibrato. In musical notation, the left hand fingers are referred to as 1, 2, 3, and 4 (starting with index). The basic position for