The History of the Modern Day Guitar

By ClaireKelly
  • Period: 1265 BCE to

    History of the Modern Day Acoustic Guitar

  • First Mention of a Guitar
    Dec 13, 1265

    First Mention of a Guitar

    Juan Gil of Zamora mentions the early guitar in "Ars Musica".
  • Guitar mentioned In Poetry
    Dec 13, 1283

    Guitar mentioned In Poetry

    Guitars are mentioned multiple times throughout the poetry of Archpriest of Hita.
  • Dec 13, 1306

    The First Known Guitar Performance

    A "gitarer" was played at the Feast of Westminster in England.
  • Dec 22, 1489

    Someone Mentions Who Invented the Guitar

    Johannes Tinctoris described the guitarra as being invented by the Catalans. This refers to the four course guitar. Each course represents one pair of double strings.
  • Dec 22, 1546

    First Music to Include Guitar

    "Tres Libros de Musica en Cifras para Vihuela" by Alonso Mudarra is the first publication to include music for guitar.
  • Dec 22, 1555

    Tablature was First Published

    Nine books of tablature were published by Adrian Le Roy. These include the first pieces for 5 course guitar. The addition of the fifth course was attributed to Vicente Espinel

  • Tablature Gains Popularity

    Many publications of tablature for the guitar. It's popularity begins to rival the lute.

  • A Sixth String Was Added

    A sixth string was added to the guitar and the courses were replaced by single strings.

  • The Guitar Gains Popularity

    Guitar enjoyed a large popularity both in performances and publishing.

  • The Guitar Becomes Similar to How we Know it Today

    Guitar maker Antonio de Torres develops the larger more resonant instrument we know today.

  • First Performance at an Important Concert Hall

    Segovia performs at Ateneo, the most important concert hall in Madrid. Before this it was thought that the guitar did not have the volume for this type of venue.

  • BB King was born

    BB King was an incredible American Blues artist that sadly passed away in May of 2015.

  • Jimi Hendrix was born

    When you think about the guitar, Jimi is the first thing that comes to mind. He was born in Seattle, Washington. Unfortunately, he passed away from a drug related accident at a mere 27 years old.

  • Eric Clapton was born

    Eric Clapton is one of the most renowned guitarists known to man kind. He was born in Ripley, United Kingdom.

  • The Modern Day Guitar Began to Look like it Does Now

    Nylon becomes the main type of string

  • Stevie Ray Vaughan was born

    Stevie Ray Vaughan accomplished an immense amount in his short, yet prosperous, career. He was born in Dallas, Texas.

  • The Guitar Continues to Improve and Change in Many Ways

    The guitar continuously improves and changes with more and more people becoming interested in creating guitars.