Guitar History
The word "guitar" comes from an Indo-European hybrid of words. The stem of the word, "guit-" meaning music, and the root of the word, "-tar" meaning string or chord, combine to parent all other words for the guitar. The Greeks later used the word "kithara", which then found its way to Spain producing the word "guitarra". Our modern English pronunciation of "guitar" comes most directly from the Spanish root.
There is some debate about when our modern 6 string guitar first came about. The accepted time period of the first 6 string guitar dates back to the early 19th century. During this time, the shape and dimensions were very similar to what we know today as a guitar. The main aspects of the modern guitar have been around for at least 200 years.
The first electric guitar was not seen until the early 20th century. A fellow by the name of George Beauchamp received the first patent for an electric guitar in 1936. Necessary technological advancements had to be in place before an electric guitar would be possible. Using Beauchamp's ingenious ideas, Fender and Gibson (these are the most well known names, many other brands and inventors existed) began mass producing electric guitars for public purchase. The popularity of the guitar began to explode, with musical groups such as The Beatles, the popularity grew immensely. The modern solid body electric guitar is based very much on the ideas by Fender and Gibson.
All in all, the most popular instrument in today's world is the guitar. It has a massive versatility in the styles of music it can be a part of. The guitar is found in many types of music, from Baroque to Blues, and Romantic to Rock and Roll. Without the invention of the guitar, much of the music we enjoy today would not exist.
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