The Guitar: A Noteworthy History
Before you begin to learn to play the guitar, you might be curious to learn a
little bit about the instrument and where it came from. Although there have been
stringed instruments around for centuries, the guitar in its present form is a relatively
recent innovation—and the electric guitar has only really been with us since the
1950s.
Knowing about earlier guitarists and their styles of music will help you choose
the kind of music you’d like to play. Thanks to recordings, we can hear today the
music of sixteenthcentury lutenists and then (at the flip of a CD) listen to twentieth-century
heavy metal. All styles are open to us—we simply have to learn that they are available.
Our journey begins in ancient Egypt, where we will see that guitar-like instruments
were already entertaining the Pharaohs…
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