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 technique the left hand is much the same as that of the right, except upside down. Unlike many players of steel-string and electric guitars, which have a narrower neck and fingerboard, classical guitarists do not place their left hand thumbs over the top of the neck. Instead, they place them behind the neck, usually behind the second finger. The thumb then rolls back so that the thumb plays 'off the bone'. The bone of the thumb 'hangs' off a shoulder that is carved into the back of the neck of the guitar and, eventually, a hard, dry callus forms on the