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 stroke that a guitarist will use is motivated by personal choice of tone quality, dynamic control and efficiency. The tendency of modern influential classical guitar performers and teachers to promote it often leads to a preference for free-stroke, and thus a discrepancy from earlier trends such as the mid-20th century reliance on rest-stroke. Furthermore, by experimenting with hand positions and nail angles, it is possible to achieve satisfactory volume with the free-stroke which is comparable to that of the rest-stroke: this often requires the use of a smoothly filed fingernail. Again, this is a matter of preference and taste for