Zupfinstrument mit 6 Saiten, flacher Decke u. rundem Schalloch; im MA unter Verwendung von Formelelementen der Laute u. Fidel entwickelt. Abweichende Formen: 1. Baß-G.; sie hat rechts vom normalen Bezug noch 39 Baßsaiten, die aber nicht verkürzt werden können.
2. Hawaii-G.
3. Schlag-G., bes. in Jazz- u. Tanzkapellen.
4. Elektro-G., mit Stahlsaiten, unter denen Tonabnahme-Aggregate (Magnete, Kondensatoren) angebracht sind.
ETYM French guitare.
A stringed instrument usually having six strings; played by strumming or plucking.
Six-stringed, or twelve-stringed, flat-bodied musical instrument, plucked or strummed with the fingers. The Hawaiian guitar, laid across the lap, uses a metal bar to produce a distinctive gliding tone; the solid-bodied electric guitar, developed in the 1950s by Les Paul and Leo Fender, mixes and amplifies vibrations from electromagnetic pickups at different points to produce a range of tone qualities.
Derived from a Moorish original, the guitar spread throughout Europe in medieval times, becoming firmly established in Italy, Spain, and the Spanish American colonies. Its 20th-century revival owes much to Andrés Segovia, Julian Bream, and John Williams. The guitar's prominence in popular music can be traced from the traditions of the US mid-West; it played a supporting harmony role in jazz and dance bands during the 1920s and adapted quickly to electric amplification.
Zupfinstrument mit flachem, 8-förmigem Körper, kreisförmigem Schalloch in der Decke, Zargen, breitem Hals, chromat. angeordneten Metallbünden und Wirbelkasten (abgeknickt). Die moderne G. ist auf E-A-d-g-h-e gestimmt.