| | Fri Feb 16, 2007 11:51 pm | | | | Comments: 0 Views: 210 |
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After the beginning of the 19th century the guitar makes very few changes until De Torres builds the modern classical guitar for Francisco Terrega at the end of the 19th century. It gets larger, louder, and increases it's range, but during the boom of Classical period is when the guitar made it's greatest alterations, which were probably largely inspired by the advancements of other instruments like the piano, and the increase in the size of the orchestra. Throughout the Classical period the guitar had to struggle to keep up with all the changes that were going on in the music of the time, but because of that it represents this period of change and mechanical improvements very well.
Luthiers and players were forced to make the modifications necessary to match the instrument to the new ideas of the time. Consider the late and timely inclusion of standard notation into the pedagogy of the guitar. The lack of universal musical notation was not a problem when the guitar only needed to fit the hands of the middle class to survive but as the middle class lost prominence and note worthy virtuosos developed the guitar needed to fit into larger musical contexts. The guitar also needed volume so it could compete with the growing expectations of musical audiences that had been exposed to the Piano, and large symphony orchestras. Even though the guitar never fully entered this class of instrumentation it was the surrounding environment and push of the classical period that prepared the guitar for its golden age during the 19th century.
Bibliography
Coelho, Victor and Anand. (2003). The Cambridge companion to the guitar. Cambridge University Press New York, NY.
Boye, Dr. Gary. (2004, March).. The Baroque Guitar: Printed Music from 1606-1737. Retrieved May 25, 2004 from Baroque Guitar Homepage. http://www.library.appstate.edu/music/guitar/home.html.
Grunfeld, Fredric. (1969) The Art and Times of the Guitar: An illustrated History. De Capo Press, Inc. New York, NY.
Heck, Thomas. (2001) More About the Transition from Double-Strings (Courses) to Single Strings. Retrieved May 25, 2004 from Guitar Magazine Online. http://www.guitarramagazine.com/issue41/P16.asp.
Johanson, Bryan. (2001). The Guitar: its history and Music. Unpublished Book. Portland State University.
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