I love guitars. People all over the world play them both for fun and professionally. But how did a guitar come to be? When were they created? How did it get the design it has today? All of these answers are found in the article:
Christian F. Martin was the man responsible for the guitar. A book, “Inventing the American Guitar” will be on sale next week, explaining the life of Martin and how his entrepreneurial success led him to his creation. Also, there will be a year-long exhibition of some of Martin’s guitars at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
“He [Martin] was always modifying things, pushing the limits,” co-editor of the book, Peter Szego said, and, “by the late 1840s, was making a guitar that, except for its size, had all the main attributes of today’s Martin guitar.” Martin actually made the first guitars here in America, in stores in Pennsylvania and New York City.
C. F. Martin immigrated to the US from Saxony, Germany. He had much knowledge about musical instruments before he came to America because he had worked in an apprenticeship in Europe. However, he went right into the American Capitalism system with his brilliant idea.
Martin’s biggest influence, the book argues, was the Spanish. Martin totally changed the Austro-German system of lateral bracing that reinforced the guitar soundboard and changed to a Spanish-style, which he then created the X-bracing style that many guitars have today.
Various artists testimony along with vivid pictures of some of Martin’s guitars will be featured in the book as well. Starting on January 14th, some of these famous guitars, along with other pieces such as mandolinsand ukeleles, will be put on display at the Met, titled “Early American Guitars: The Instruments of C. F. Martin.”
These instruments are now being called pieces of “art” which goes back to the question “what is art?” Obviously, these unique guitars are creative enough to go on display in a museum, which by definition is art in itself.
Martin guitars are still being produced today! About 48,000 guitars are sold each year, ranging from $1,500 to $11,000. It’s insane that this same company has been doing this for over 170 years and are still strong today.
Works Cited:
Rohter, Larry. “Roll Over, Stradivarius ‘Inventing the American Guitar’ Explores 1840s Innovations.”The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 Oct 2013. Web. 15 Oct 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/books/inventing-the-american-guitar-explores-1840s-innovations.html?ref=arts>.
That was a fascinating analysis of the article! My acoustic is actually a Martin guitar, from their Signature series, so it was really great to read about the history behind the company. That being said, the point you brought up about guitars being considered a kind of art in and of themselves is a good one. The amount of work that goes into making a guitar is stunning. A guitar-maker has to put an amazing amount of thought into the type of wood he or she uses to create the guitar. Rosewood creates a different sound than maple or oak does. Sometimes, designs are carved into the guitar, but that isn’t truly where the art of a guitar lies; the very shape of the guitar is art. Much like humans, guitars have bodies, heads, and necks, so if the form of a human being can be considered art, then why not a guitar?
I also really like guitars and I’ve been meaning to learn how to play it one day. I’m not too familiar with guitars so I found your article and abstract to be really informative. I do believe that music and art are connected and that instruments can be considered pieces of art because of the work and dedication put into making the instruments. I agree with Joanne’s point that guitars have “parts” just like human’s have body parts and if we considered body art as art, why shouldn’t instruments be considered art?
I am not too familiar with guitars, however I have to admit that I consider it such an amazing instrument. I would love to be able to play the guitar, however I doubt I’ll find the time to take lessons. Regardless, I still consider guitars art forms that not only create harmonious sounds, but look magnificent as well. I have come across many different shapes and colors when it comes to guitars. It is interesting how much expression can go into an instrument that will later be used to express oneself once more, but through a different medium.
I think this further goes to show that anything can be considered art. Instruments, in general, are fascinating things. They range from simple recorders, holes on a stick, all the way to guitars and pianos that require constant tuning and fixing. The amount of work that goes into making any of these instruments is astronomical. Acoustic guitars, for example, have different sounds depending on the wood you use and the shape you meld the guitar into. It’s no wonder such guitars are still being sold all around the world, even after 170 years have passed.
I wish I knew how to play the guitar. It is one of three instruments I want to learn to play. What makes instruments so great is that each one creates a unique sound that none of the others can reproduce. It is amazing how many different sounds guitars can produce by just pressing on certain spots on the string. It’s mesmerizing how guitarists can strum so skillfully while they sing. I can only hope to replicate them someday.
Even though I do not play the guitar i am somewhat offended by this man who claims to have invented the “guitar” in 1833. Have you ever heard of a lyre? or a harp? these string instruments were around way before 1833. They were around even before the time of King David. these lyres were string instruments played almost exactly as the guitar, strumming strings. This man in my mind is a fraud. He may be able to say he invented the present day lyre called the “guitar,” but to say he invented it from scratch is just wrong. It is taking away the innovative ideas of the inventor himself of string instruments.
I never knew how to play the guitar. A while back I once tried to learn but I never really got the hang of it so I just fell out. This article is has some interesting ideas of the origins of the guitar but I don’t think any single man was responsible for making the guitar. I feel like the creation of the guitar was more of an evolutionary process that occurred over time. The ideas of a musical instrument that led to the guitar must have begun with a different instrument like a harp or other ancient string instruments. Christian F. Martin was among those involved in the evolutionary process of the guitar, he didn’t make it from nothing. He is just the one receiving credit for inventing the guitar.