History of the classical guitar 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 morisca and guitarra latina. Instruments called "guitars" were first mentioned in literature in the 13th century, though many
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