guitar

gui·tar

G0308200 (gĭ-tär′)n. A musical instrument having a flat-backed rounded body that narrows in the middle, a long fretted neck, and usually six strings, played by strumming or plucking.

[French guitare, from Spanish guitarra, from Greek kitharā, cithara.]

gui·tar′ist n.

guitar

(ɡɪˈtɑː) n (Instruments) music a plucked stringed instrument originating in Spain, usually having six strings, a flat sounding board with a circular sound hole in the centre, a flat back, and a fretted fingerboard. Range: more than three octaves upwards from E on the first leger line below the bass staff. See also electric guitar, bass guitar, Hawaiian guitar[C17: from Spanish guitarra, from Arabic qītār, from Greek kithara cithara] guiˈtarist n guiˈtar-ˌlike adj

gui•tar

(gɪˈtɑr)

n. a stringed musical instrument with a long fretted neck, a violinlike body, and typically six strings plucked with the fingers or with a plectrum. [1615–25; < Sp guitarra < Arabic kītārah « Greek kithára kithara] gui•tar′ist, n. pron: See police.

Thesaurus

Noun

guitar - a stringed instrument usually having six strings; played by strumming or pluckingacoustic guitar - sound is not amplified by electrical meansbass guitar - the guitar with six strings that has the lowest pitchcithern, citole, cittern, gittern, cither - a 16th century musical instrument resembling a guitar with a pear-shaped soundbox and wire stringselectric guitar - a guitar whose sound is amplified by electrical meansfingerboard - a narrow strip of wood on the neck of some stringed instruments (violin or cello or guitar etc) where the strings are held against the wood with the fingersHawaiian guitar, steel guitar - guitar whose steel strings are twanged while being pressed with a movable steel bar for a glissando effectstringed instrument - a musical instrument in which taut strings provide the source of sounduke, ukulele - a small guitar having four strings

Translations

吉他

guitar

(giˈtaː) noun a type of musical instrument with usually six strings. 吉他guiˈtarist noun吉它弹奏者

guitar

→ 吉他zhCN

guitar

guitar,

musical instrument related to the lutelute,
musical instrument that has a half-pear-shaped body, a fretted neck, and a variable number of strings, which are plucked with the fingers. The long lute, with its neck much longer than its body, seems to have been older than the short lute, existing very early in the
..... Click the link for more information. , modern guitars normally having six strings that are plucked with the fingers or strummed with a pick. Earlier versions had pairs of strings like the lute. The guitar usually has a flat back, sides that curve inward to form a waist, and a fretted neck. Other forms of the guitar include the 12-stringed guitar; the steel guitar, played with a metal bar to produce a sliding tone; the electric guitar; and the 4-stringed bass guitar, which, like the electric guitar, is a fixture of rock musicrock music,
type of music originating in the United States in the mid-1950s and increasingly popular throughout much of the world. Origins of Rock

Essentially hybrid in origin, rock music includes elements of several black and white American music styles: black
..... Click the link for more information. and is electronically amplified.

The traditional classical, as opposed to electric guitar, appeared as early as the 12th cent. in Spain, the country with which it is particularly associated. It was very popular there in the 16th cent., when much music was written for it. The composer Fernando Sor (1778–1839) was a brilliant guitarist who wrote many important works for that instrument. In the late 19th cent. there was revived interest in the guitar, aroused largely by the playing of Francisco Tárrega (1852–1909), one of the greatest guitar players of all time. Andrés SegoviaSegovia, Andrés
, 1893–1987, Spanish guitarist. Segovia studied at the Granada Musical Institute. He is famous for his transcriptions of early contrapuntal music, which have shown the possibilities of the guitar as a concert instrument.
..... Click the link for more information. was one of the foremost contemporary classical guitarists; he did much to stimulate interest in the instrument and its repertory, especially in 16th-century music.

Bibliography

See H. Turnbull, The Guitar from the Renaissance to the Present (1974); J. Tyler, The Early Guitar (1980); T. Wheeler, American Guitars (1982).

Guitar

a plucked stringed instrument. It consists of a body with a narrow waist and flat soundboards, the upper one with a circular sound hole in its center; a neck holding a fretted finger board; and a head with tuning pegs. Originally, gut strings were used, but later those made of metal and nylon gained acceptance.

A guitar with four courses of paired strings was well known in 13th-century Spain. In the 17th century, a guitar with five courses, known as the Spanish guitar, gained acceptance in Italy and other European countries and in America. In Europe the instrument became very popular in the middle of the 18th century. At this time the guitar with five courses of strings began to be replaced by one with six single strings, which was tuned by fourths and thirds. In Russia, and to some extent in Poland, a seven-stringed guitar tuned by thirds (known as the Russian guitar) gained currency. Guitars with more strings were also produced. (Bass strings were added.)

Used mainly to provide accompaniment for singing, the instrument is also employed in chamber groups and solo work. It has become a folk instrument in several countries. N. Paganini wrote for the guitar, as did several outstanding 20th-century composers, including M. de Falla and H. Villa-Lobos. Prominent foreign guitarists are M. Giuliani (Italy); F. Sor, F. Tarrega, and A. Segovia (Spain); and M. L. Anido (Argentina). A. O. Sikhra, M. T. Vysotskii, M. D. Sokolovskii, and A. M. Ivanov-Kramskoi are outstanding Russian guitarists. The solo concert performances of guitar virtuosos are very successful.

Special guitar instruments that appeared in the 20th century are the Hawaiian and orchestral, or jazz, guitars. The Hawaiian guitar is held flat in the lap, and the sound is produced through use of a special plectrum and by pressing the strings against the fingerboard with a metal bar. The orchestral, or jazz, guitar has f holes, as does a violin, and it is also played with a plectrum.

REFERENCES

Ivanov, M. Russkaia semistrunnaia gitara. Moscow-Leningrad, 1948.
Vol’man, B. Gitara v Rossii. Leningrad, 1961.
Vol’man, B. Gitara i gitaristy. Leningrad, 1968.
Buek, F. Die Gitarre und ihre Meister, 3rd ed. Berlin [1952].
Pujol, E. La guitarra y su historia. Buenos Aires [1932].
Powrozniak, J. Gitara od A do Z. [Kraków, 1966.]

B. L. VOL’MAN

guitar

Music a plucked stringed instrument originating in Spain, usually having six strings, a flat sounding board with a circular sound hole in the centre, a flat back, and a fretted fingerboard. Range: more than three octaves upwards from E on the first leger line below the bass staff

guitar

gui·tar

guitar

gui•tar

guitar

guitar

guitar

guitar,

Bibliography

Guitar

REFERENCES

guitar

guitar

Words related to guitar

noun a stringed instrument usually having six strings

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