The exact origin of the guitar is still a mystery but the word “guitar” probably comes from the ancient Greek word (kithara). The first Kithara is attributed to have been created from a tortoise shell. This instrument had a wooden soundboard and box-shaped body, or resonator. Two hollow arms, connected by a crossbar, extended from the resonator. The instrument originally had three strings running from the crossbar to its lower end, passing over a bridge on the soundboard; later versions had as many as 12 strings. Moving on, the history of a guitar depicts two instruments: the oud and the lute. Research conducted by Dr. Michael Kasha in the 1960’s showed that Lamech, who was Noah’s grandfather and the sixth grandson of Adam designed the Arab precursor to the guitar. He apparently inspired them to design the shape of an instrument known as an oud and the Moors brought the oud with them when they invaded Southern Spain in 711 AD. The lute was also passed from Egyptians to the Greeks onto the Romans who took it to Europe. The Metropolitan Museums of New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland and the British Museum display many examples of pictorial records of women playing the lutes in Mesopotamia, the current Iraq. The lute was then developed and more strings were added to it, but in the sixteenth to the seventeenth century, popular artists shifted their attention to the curved shape of the lutes that we now associate with guitars. So, since that time, the evolution of guitar has gained pace, but most people consider The Spanish guitar maker Antonio de Torres Jurado as one of the most important inventors in guitar history. He invented a guitar that has a broadened body, thinned belly and increased curve at the waist. He also replaced wooden tuning pegs with machined heads. As of today, the flat top acoustic guitar remains the most popular form of acoustic guitar, nearly two centuries after its invention.
