The Guitar Electrifies Music
50 AD
50 50
67.15E37.15N
MUS

SOUTH CENTRAL ASIA
	The instrument used by so many rock, soul, and classical musicians today is not as new as you might imagine. The earliest guitar-like instrument appeared in Central Asia shortly after the beginning of the Christian Era.
	The name "guitar" may be derived from a harp-like instrument called the "kithara," used by the ancient Greeks.
	During the Renaissance the guitar was called the "Guitarra" and was about half as large as a typical guitar today. The earliest printed music for the guitar appeared in 1546.
	During this time, the guitar was considered unimportant compared to the lute and vihuela (an instrument similar to a fiddle). In fact, it was considered a vulgar folk instrument.
	Well, the people are not always wrong and while the vihuela has disappeared, and the lute is rarely used, the underrated guitar has virtually taken over today's musical scene.
	Experiments with electric guitars began in the early 1920s. In the early 1930s, Leo Fender and his associates significantly improved electric guitars by using one pick-up magnet for each guitar string rather than one large bar or horseshoe magnet for all the strings.
	In 1943 Fender began producing the first solid-body electric guitars. At first, other guitar companies made fun of them, but as Fender's sales grew higher than theirs, they stopped laughing and started copying.
	Whether you listen to the brilliant technique of classical guitarist Andres Segovia or the hot licks of rock musician Eddie Van Halen, the "vulgar" guitar has certainly come into its own.