The Guitar is a stringed instrument or chordophones which produce sounds from vibrating strings. Guitar has frets for finger placements and generally has six strings. It is played with both hands by simultaneously fretting various chords on one hand, while on the other hand plucking strings with a guitar pick or with fingers.
Two types of guitars are played one is acoustic guitar from where the sound is produced through hollow chamber of the guitar, and the second type is the Electric guitar from where the sound is produced through an electrical amplifier and speaker
What is the History of Guitar?
- In Ancient Rome One of the oldest Guitar instruments were played called "chitara".
- In Persia(modern day Iran) also one of the oldest forms of guitars were played called Tanbur, which was 3500 years ago.
- In 1200 in Spain two types of guitars were played: the Guitarra Latina(Latin guitar) which had a single sound hole and narrowed neck, and the other one is Guitarra Morisca (Moorish guitar) which had wide fingerboard, rounded back and several sound holes. By the 14th Century, both these words "Latina" and "Morisca" were dropped and were simply referred to as Guitars.
- In the early 1900s, the guitar became the world's most popular instrument.
Who played the longest ever Guitar Session?
Dave Browne from Ireland in 2011 set a new world record for playing longest ever guitar session. Dave Browne played non stop for 114 hours, 6 minutes and 30 seconds, from 12 June to 17 June in which Dave took breaks of no more than 30 seconds between songs. The mega event took place in the Temple Bar Pub, Dublin, Ireland, Where Dave played total 1372 songs, finishing the event with the song With or Without You.
Do guitars have more than 6 Strings?
8-Strings Guitar
Basically, Guitars have 6 strings only which are E. A, D, G, B, E, standard tunings. There are 7 strings and 8 strings of guitar also.
In the seven-string electric guitar, it adds an additional seventh string which is a lower B. That means the standard tuning of seven-string electric guitars from low-to-high is tuned to B, E, A, D, G, B, E. Same way the standard tuning (from low to high) of an eight-string guitar is F#, B, E, A, D, G, B, E.
There are 12 string guitars also available in which the tuning is the same as standard E, A, D, G, B, E, and the other 6 strings are also tuned the same but they produce the sound which is rich in tone.
When did Electric Guitar came into picture ?
Electric guitars were not created and made popular until the 1930s. The first electrically amplified stringed instrument to be marketed commercially was designed in 1931.
How the word Guitar Coined?
The word 'guitar' is derived from the Spanish word 'guitarra', which was adapted to 'gitarre' in German, and 'guitare' in French
What are some old names for Guitar?
Names of some ancient guitars – Gitarre, Chitara, Kithara, Sithar, Gutarra, quitare, qitara.
World's Expensive Guitar !
The unique "Reach Out To Asia" Stratocaster made by Fender was sold at an auction for $2.7 million in 2005 held in Qatar. Its main purpose was to raise money for victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
This unique guitar is signed by various famous guitar Icons which includes Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Brian May, Jimmy Page, David Gilmour, Jeff Beck, Pete Townsend, Mark Knopfler, Ray Davis, Liam Gallagher, Ronnie Wood, Tony Iommi, Angus and Malcolm Young, Paul McCartney, Sting, Ritchie Blackmore, Def Leppard and Bryan Adams.
World's biggest Guitar !
Certified by the Guinness Book of World Records the world's largest guitar is over 13 meters long! And most importantly it's not just a model it's actually a playable instrument where every string produces correct pitch.
Made by the Academy of Science and Technology in Texas, it weighs around 1022 kgs and took around a year to build. This guitar resembles the Iconic shape of a Gibson Flying V (Picture is shown at left)
World's smallest Guitar !
The world's smallest guitar is made by the researchers at Cornell University in New York, which is 1/100,000 of a meter long which is about the size of a cell. The guitar is 10 micrometers long having six strings each about 50 nanometers wide. It is a double-cutaway style guitar having strings which actually can be played by specialist equipment only, but is inaudible to human ear due to very high frequencies.
World's Luxurious Guitar !
While the 'Reach Out to Asia' Stratocaster is truly one of a kind and signed by famous guitar icons, in 2015 Gibson launched a guitar which also worth millions. This Guitar is a White SG named "Eden of Coronet" which has more than 400 carats of diamonds attached to it and also include 1.6kg of 18k gold. Made in collaboration between jewelry designer Aaron Shum of Coronet and musician/designer Mark Lui. This guitar is certified by the Guinness book of world records as the most valuable guitar.
