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 string guitar, on the other hand, usually has fourteen frets clear of the body (see Dreadnought) and is commonly played off the hip. The phrase "classical guitar" may refer to either of two concepts other than the instrument itself: The term "modern classical guitar" is sometimes used to distinguish the classical guitar from older forms of guitar, which are in their broadest sense also called "classical", or more specifically, "early guitars". Examples of early guitars include the six-string early romantic guitar (c. 1790–1880), and the earlier baroque guitars with five courses. The materials and the methods of classical guitar construction