Classical guitar There are significant works by composers such as Hans Werner Henze of Germany, Gilbert Biberian of England and Roland Chadwick of Australia. The classical guitar also became widely used in popular music and rock & roll in the 1960s after guitarist Mason Williams popularized the instrument in his instrumental hit Classical Gas. Guitarist Christopher Parkening is quoted in the book "Classical Gas: The Music of Mason Williams" as saying that it is the most requested guitar piece besides Malagueña and perhaps the best known instrumental guitar piece today. In the field of New Flamenco, the works and performances of Spanish
Classical guitar making Classical guitar making A person who is specialized in the making of stringed instruments such as guitars, lutes and violins is called a luthier. In general one can distinguish three main aspects of guitar making: Fernando Sor has written that an instrument-maker ""should be an accurate draughtsman, understand the common principles of mechanics, the composition and resolution of forces, and the laws of vibrating strings and surfaces"". This shaping of the wood is known as "resonance plate tuning" (or "plate tuning"). It refers to a comprehensive tuning of the wood and bracing (its density, thickness, tension, sound-influence) to influence the