Classical guitar may vary, but the typical shape is either "modern classical guitar" or that "historic classical guitar" similar to the early romantic guitars of France and Italy. Classical guitar strings once made of gut are now made of such polymers as nylon, with fine wire wound about the acoustically lower (bass side) strings. A guitar family tree may be identified. The flamenco guitar derives from the modern classical, but has differences in material, construction and sound. Today's "modern classical guitar" was established by the late designs of the 19th-century Spanish luthier, Antonio Torres Jurado. The classical guitar has a long history
Classical guitar strumming of the string by the fingers in reverse order employing the back of the fingernail—a familiar characteristic of Flamenco. Flamenco technique, in the performance of the rasgueado also uses the upstroke of the four fingers and the downstroke of the thumb: the string is hit not only with the inner, fleshy side of the fingertip but also with the outer, fingernail side. This was also used in a technique of the vihuela called dedillo which has recently begun to be introduced on the classical guitar. Some modern guitarists, such as Štěpán Rak and Kazuhito Yamashita, use the little finger