Although the precise origins of the classical guitar are open to debate, there is plenty of evidence of the existence of similar instruments dating back as early as 5000 years ago. The idea of a hollow body with tensed strings anchored between two points is seen in many instruments, including the violin family, sitar, piano and harp; they all use the strings vibrations to resonate the body and produce sounds. However, because the guitar is fretted, it allows pitch-perfect chords to be played over six strings, which differentiates it from the unfretted (and often bowed) violin family. The guitar as we know it today started to take shape during the Renaissance and Baroque period, when it was used mainly as an accompaniment. Cousins of the guitar are the mandolin, balalaika, banjo and lute. There are enough similarities between these instruments to relate them all, but to give a guitar a unique definition, it would be a six-string, fretted instrument tuned between low E (a thirteenth below Middle C) and the E two octaves above. Of course these are merely the open-string tunings. Notes approaching two octaves above this are achievable through fretting. This tuning allows the...
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