Classical Guitar

The history of the classical guitar and its repertoire span over four centuries, including its ancestor the baroque guitar. The popularity of the classical guitar has been sustained over the years by many great players, arrangers, and composers. A very short list might include Gaspar Sanz (1640-1710), Fernando Sor (1778-1839), Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829), Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909), Andrés Segovia (1893-1987), Julian Bream (1933), and John Williams (1941).

By using the fingers to pluck instead of a plectrum or bow, the performer can play polyphonic music. It is common to encounter classical guitar music that sustains two, three, or four musical lines or voices.

Using the right hand fingers to pluck the strings requires more space between the strings over the sound hole which in turn necessitates a fingerboard that is slightly wider than other guitars. Classical guitarists hold the instrument by raising the left leg (with a footstool), placing the guitar on that leg and holding the guitar in place with the right arm. Alternatively the left foot can be placed on the floor and a small support placed between the left leg and the guitar. Either of these positions support the guitar in a way that gives the player greater mobility and access to the strings and the fingerboard. The right hand is a classical guitarist's voice similar to that of a string player's bow. By using a combination of flesh and fingernail to pluck the strings, a classical guitarist is able to generate a wide variety of sounds.

The classical guitar's most characteristic physical feature is the use of nylon strings (which have, largely, supplanted the use of gut strings), although since the mid 1990s carbon fiber or composite treble strings have gained popularity for their nylon-like sound and significantly better reliability. Nylon strings give the classical guitar a unique, varied and rich color palette. The size and shape of the classical guitar have been nearly standard for over 100 years. The finest guitars are built with a solid Western red cedar or spruce top, solid rosewood back and sides, traditionally a Spanish cedar or more recently a mahogany neck and an ebony fingerboard.