Acoustic guitar

An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument[1] in the string

Acoustic guitar
family.[2] When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted
from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is
also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument,
resonating through the air in the body, and producing sound
from the sound hole.[3] The original, general term for this
stringed instrument is guitar, and the retronym 'acoustic guitar'
distinguishes it from an electric guitar, which relies on
electronic amplification. Typically, a guitar's body is a sound
box, of which the top side serves as a sound board that
enhances the vibration sounds of the strings. In standard tuning
the guitar's six strings[4] are tuned (low to high) E2 A2 D3 G3
Auditorium shaped guitar by C.F.
B 3 E4 .
Martin
Guitar strings may be plucked individually with a pick String instrument
(plectrum) or fingertip, or strummed to play chords. Plucking a Classification String instrument
string causes it to vibrate at a fundamental pitch determined by
(plucked or
the string's length, mass, and tension. (Overtones are also
strummed)
present, closely related to harmonics of the fundamental pitch.)
The string causes the soundboard and the air enclosed by the Hornbostel– 321.322
sound box to vibrate. As these have their own resonances, they Sachs (Composite
amplify some overtones more strongly than others, affecting the classification Chordophone)
timbre of the resulting sound.
Developed 13th century
Attack Fast
Related instruments
Contents
History Gittern

Acoustic properties Lute

Amplification Vihuela

Types
Body shape
Gallery
References
Further reading
External links

History
The guitar likely originated in Spain in the early 16th century, deriving from the guitarra Latina.[5]
Gitterns, (small, plucked guitars) were the first small, guitar-like instruments created during the Spanish
Middle Ages with a round back, like that of the lute.[6] Modern guitar-shaped instruments were not seen
until the Renaissance era, when the body and size began to take a guitar-like shape.

The earliest string instruments related to the guitar and its structure
were broadly known as vihuelas within Spanish musical culture.
Vihuelas were string instruments that were commonly seen in the
16th century during the Renaissance. Later, Spanish writers
distinguished these instruments into two categories of vihuelas. The
vihuela de arco was an instrument that mimicked the violin, and the
vihuela de Penola was played with a plectrum or by hand. When it
was played by hand it was known as the vihuela de mano. Vihuela
A reconstruction of a medieval
gittern, the first guitar-like instrument
de mano shared extreme similarities with the Renaissance guitar as
it used hand movement at the sound hole or sound chamber of the
instrument to create music.[7]

By 1790 only six-course vihuela guitars (six unison-tuned pairs of strings) were being created and had
become the main type and model of guitar used in Spain. Most of the older 5-course guitars were still in use
but were also being modified to a six-coursed acoustical guitar. Fernando Ferandiere's[8] book Arte de tocar
la Guitarra Espanola pop music (Madrid, 1799) describes the standard Spanish guitar from his time as an
instrument with seventeen frets and six courses with the first two 'gut' strings tuned in unison called the
terceras and the tuning named to 'G' of the two strings. The acoustic guitar at this time began to take the
shape familiar in the modern acoustic guitar. The coursed pairs of strings eventually became less common
in favor of single strings.[9]

Finally, circa 1850, the form and structure of the modern guitar are credited to Spanish guitar maker
Antonio Torres Jurado, who increased the size of the guitar body, altered its proportions, and made use of
fan bracing, which first appeared in guitars made by Francisco Sanguino in the late 18th century. The
bracing pattern, which refers to the internal pattern of wood reinforcements used to secure the guitar's top
and back to prevent the instrument from collapsing under tension,[10] is an important factor in how the
guitar sounds. Torres' design greatly improved the volume, tone, and projection of the instrument, and it has
remained essentially unchanged since.

Acoustic properties
The acoustic guitar's soundboard, or top, also has a strong
effect on the loudness of the guitar. Woods that are good at
transmitting sound, like spruce, are commonly used for the
soundboard.[11] No amplification occurs in this process,
because musicians add no external energy to increase the
loudness of the sound (as would be the case with an electronic
amplifier). All the energy is provided by the plucking of the
string. Without a soundboard, however, the string would just
"cut" through the air without moving it much. The soundboard
increases the surface of the vibrating area in a process called
Basic anatomy of a steel-string acoustic mechanical impedance matching. The soundboard can move
guitar the air much more easily than the string alone, because it is
large and flat. This increases the entire system's energy transfer
efficiency, and musicians emit a much louder sound.
In addition, the acoustic guitar has a hollow body, and an additional coupling and resonance effect
increases the efficiency of energy transmission in lower frequencies. The air in a guitar's cavity resonates
with the vibrational modes of the string and soundboard. At low frequencies, which depend on the size of
the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound
again depending on whether the air in the box moves in phase or out of phase with the strings. When in
phase, the sound increases by about 3 decibels. In opposing phase, it decreases about 3 decibels.[12] As a
Helmholtz resonator, the air at the opening is vibrating in or out of phase with the air in the box and in or
out of phase with the strings. These resonance interactions attenuate or amplify the sound at different
frequencies, boosting or damping various harmonic tones. Ultimately, the cavity air vibrations couple to the
outside air through the sound hole,[13] though some variants of the acoustic guitar omit this hole, or have
holes, like a violin family instrument (a trait found in some electric guitars such as the ES-335 and ES-175
models from Gibson). This coupling is most efficient because here the impedance matching is perfect: it is
air pushing air.

A guitar has several sound coupling modes: string to soundboard, soundboard to cavity air, and both
soundboard and cavity air to outside air. The back of the guitar also vibrates to some degree, driven by air
in the cavity and mechanical coupling to the rest of the guitar. The guitar—as an acoustic system—colors
the sound by the way it generates and emphasizes harmonics, and how it couples this energy to the
surrounding air (which ultimately is what we perceive as loudness). Improved coupling, however, comes
costing decay time, since the string's energy is more efficiently transmitted. Solid body electric guitars (with
no soundboard at all) produce very low volume, but tend to have long sustain.

All these complex air coupling interactions, and the resonant properties of the panels themselves, are a key
reason that different guitars have different tonal qualities. The sound is a complex mixture of harmonics that
give the guitar its distinctive sound.

Amplification
Classical gut-string guitars lacked adequate projection, and were unable to displace
banjos until innovations introduced helped to increase their volume. Two important
innovations were introduced by United States firm C.F. Martin: steel strings and the
increasing of the guitar top area; the popularity of Martin's larger "dreadnought"
body size among acoustic performers is related to the greater sound volume
produced. These innovations allowed guitars to compete with and often displace
the banjos that had previously dominated jazz bands. The steel-strings increased
tension on the neck; for stability, Martin reinforced the neck with a steel truss rod,
which became standard in later steel-string guitars.[15]

An acoustic guitar can be amplified by using

various types of pickups or microphones.
However, amplification of acoustic guitars had
many problems with audio feedback. In the
1960s, Ovation's parabolic bowls dramatically
reduced feedback, allowing greater amplification
An Ovation
of acoustic guitars.[16] In the 1970s, Ovation
Adamas,[14] whose
developed thinner sound-boards with carbon-
Many acoustic guitars parabolic shape
based composites laminating a thin layer of birch,
incorporate rosettes around reduces feedback
in its Adamas model, which has been viewed as
the sound hole.
one of the most radical designs in the history of
acoustic guitars. The Adamas model dissipated
the sound-hole of the traditional soundboard among 22 small sound-holes
in the upper chamber of the guitar, yielding greater volume and further reducing feedback during
amplification.[16] Another method for reducing feedback is to fit a rubber or plastic disc into the sound
hole.

The most common types of pickups used for acoustic guitar amplification are piezo and magnetic pickups.
Piezo pickups are generally mounted under the bridge saddle of the acoustic guitar and can be plugged into
a mixer or amplifier. A Piezo pickup made by Baldwin was incorporated in the body of Ovation guitars,
rather than attached by drilling through the body;[17] the combination of the Piezo pickup and parabolic
("roundback") body helped Ovation succeed in the market during the 1970s.[16]

Magnetic pickups on acoustic guitars are generally mounted in the sound hole, and are similar to those in
electric guitars. An acoustic guitar with pickups for electrical amplification is called an acoustic-electric
guitar.

In the 2000s, manufacturers introduced new types of pickups to try to amplify the full sound of these
instruments. This includes body sensors, and systems that include an internal microphone along with body
sensors or under-the-saddle pickups.

Types
Historical and modern acoustic guitars are extremely varied in their design and construction. Some of the
most important varieties are the classical guitar (Spanish Guitar/Nylon-stringed), steel-string acoustic guitar
and lap steel guitar.

Nylon/gut stringed guitars:

Vihuela
Gittern
Baroque guitar
Romantic guitar
Classical guitar, the modern version of the original guitar,
including additional strings models
Russian/Gypsy guitar
Flamenco guitar
Lute
Steel stringed guitars: Baroque guitar, c. 1630

Steel-string acoustic guitar, also known as western, folk or

country guitar
Twelve string guitar
Resonator guitar (such as the Dobro)
Archtop guitar
Selmer/Maccaferri (Manouche) guitar
Battente guitar
Lap steel guitar
Lap slide guitar
Parlor guitar
Lyre-guitar
Other variants:
 Harp guitar
Pikasso guitar (a variant of harp guitar)
Contraguitar (Viennese variant of harp guitar)
Acoustic bass guitar
Banjo guitar

Body shape

Common body shapes for modern acoustic guitars, from smallest to largest:
Gibson L-3 archtop
Range – The smallest common body shape, sometimes called a mini jumbo, is
three-quarters the size of a jumbo-shaped guitar. A range shape typically has a
rounded back to improve projection for the smaller body.
The smaller body and scale length make the range guitar an
option for players who struggle with larger body guitars.

Parlor – Parlor guitars have small compact bodies and

have been described as “punchy” sounding with a delicate
tone.[18] It normally has 12 open frets. The smaller body
makes the parlor a more comfortable option for players Common guitar body shapes: A. Range – B.
who find large body guitars uncomfortable. Parlor – C. Grand Concert – D. Auditorium –
E. Dreadnought – F. Jumbo
Grand Concert – This mid-sized body shape is not as
deep as other full-size guitars, but has a full waist. Because
of the smaller body, grand concert guitars have a more controlled overtone and are often used for their
sound projection when recording.

Auditorium – Similar in dimensions to the dreadnought body shape, but with a much more pronounced
waist. This general body shape is also sometimes referred to as an "Orchestra" style guitar depending on
the manufacturer.[19] The shifting of the waist provides different tones to stand out. The auditorium body
shape is a newer body when compared to the other shapes such as dreadnought.

Dreadnought – This is the classic guitar body shape. The style was designed by Martin Guitars to produce
a deeper sound than "classic"-style guitars, with very resonant bass. The body is large and the waist of the
guitar is not as pronounced as the auditorium and grand concert bodies. There are many Dreadnought
variants produced, one of the most notable being the Gibson J-45.

Jumbo – The largest standard guitar body shape found on acoustic guitars. Jumbo is bigger than an
Auditorium but similarly proportioned, and is generally designed to provide a deep tone similar to a
dreadnought's. It was designed by Gibson to compete with the dreadnought, but with maximum resonant
space for greater volume and sustain. The foremost example of the style is the Gibson J-200, but like the
dreadnought, most guitar manufacturers have at least one jumbo model.

Gallery


Gittern (1450) Lute (17th century) Romantic guitar (c. Classical guitar
1830)

Ten-string Steel-string acoustic Resonator guitar Chitarra battente

guitar

Lyre-guitar Pikasso Steel guitar (c. 1920) Harp guitar

Mexican vihuela 12-String acoustic

guitar

References
：
1. "The Structure of the Acoustic Guitar How a guitar makes sound - Musical Instrument
 Guide - Yamaha Corporation" (https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_guide/acou
stic_guitar/mechanism/).
2. "Guitar Facts" (https://www.softschools.com/facts/music_instruments/guitar_facts/3048/).
：
3. "The Structure of the Acoustic Guitar How a guitar makes sound - Musical Instrument
Guide - Yamaha Corporation" (https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_guide/acou
stic_guitar/mechanism/).
：
4. "The Structure of the Acoustic Guitar Six strings, each with a higher pitch - Musical
Instrument Guide - Yamaha Corporation" (https://www.yamaha.com/en/musical_instrument_
guide/acoustic_guitar/mechanism/mechanism002.html).
5. "Guitar | History, Types, & Facts" (https://www.britannica.com/art/guitar).
6. "Gittern" (http://www.medieval-life-and-times.info/medieval-music/gittern.htm).
www.medieval-life-and-times.info. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
7. Grunfeld, Frederic (1971). The Art and Times of the Guitar. New York City: Macmillan
Company. pp. 61–63.
8. "Ferandiere, Fernando Archives - Tecla Editions" (http://www.tecla.com/authors/ferandiere.ht
m). Tecla Editions.
9. Tyler, James (2002). The Guitar and its Music (https://archive.org/details/guitaritsmusicfr00tyl
e). United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. pp. 229 (https://archive.org/details/guitaritsmus
icfr00tyle/page/n255)–231. ISBN 978-0-19-921477-8.
10. Mottola, R.M. (1 January 2020). Mottola's Cyclopedic Dictionary of Lutherie Terms (https://w
ww.liutaiomottola.com/books/dictionary.htm). LiutaioMottola.com. p. 23. ISBN 978-1-
7341256-0-3.
11. "The Physics of the Acoustic Guitar - Body" (http://ffden-2.phys.uaf.edu/211.web.stuff/billingt
on/body.html). Retrieved September 27, 2017.
12. "Helmholtz Resonance" (http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/jw/Helmholtz.html).
newt.phys.unsw.edu.au. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
13. "How does a guitar work?" (http://newt.phys.unsw.edu.au/music/guitar/guitarintro.html).
newt.phys.unsw.edu.au. Retrieved August 11, 2015.
14. Carter (1996, p. 127)
15. Denyer (1992, pp. 44–45)
16. Denyer (1992, p. 48)
17. Carter (1996, pp. 48–52)
18. "Parlor Pickin': The 2015 Guide to Buying a Parlor Guitar" (http://acousticguitar.com/parlor-pi
ckin-the-2015-guide-to-buying-a-parlor-guitar/). Acoustic Guitar. Retrieved February 16,
2016.
19. "9 Types of Acoustic Guitars (Most Common Styles)" (https://www.guitarlobby.com/types-of-a
coustic-guitars/). Guitarlobby.com. 15 August 2020. Retrieved 18 April 2021.

Further reading
Carter, Walter (1996). Eiche, Jon (ed.). The history of the Ovation guitar. Musical Instruments
Series (first ed.). Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Hal Leonard Corporation. pp. 1–128. ISBN 978-0-
7935-5876-6. HL00330187; ISBN 978-0-7935-5876-6; ISBN 0-7935-5876-X (softcover);
ISBN 0-7935-5948-0 (hardcover).
Denyer, Ralph (1992). The guitar handbook. Special contributors Isaac Guillory and
Alastair M. Crawford; Foreword by Robert Fripp (Fully revised and updated ed.). London and
Sydney: Pan Books. ISBN 0-330-32750-X.
Mottola, R.M. Building the Steel String Acoustic Guitar (https://liutaiomottola.com/books/stee
l.htm). ISBN 978-1-7341256-1-0.
External links
Media related to Acoustic guitars at Wikimedia Commons

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