Across the centuries, the term Spanish guitar has been used differently in various countries.
Nowadays, people often interchange classical guitar with the term, and it’s not limited to
instruments made in Spain.
If you’re confused about what is a Spanish guitar, it’s actually a type of acoustic guitar with nylon strings. It’s an instrument typically used to play either classical or traditional music,
which is either Spanish or has Spanish origin.
The instrument is usually played while seating with the guitar resting on the performer’s left
or right leg. A footstool is also often used by a classical guitar player to raise the leg and
bring the instrument to a suitable height.
Origins
The Spanish guitar, also known as the classical guitar, is an acoustic wooden string
instrument with its strings made of gut or nylon. It’s a forerunner of the modern acoustic and
electric guitars, which use metal strings that you see today.
Derived from the Spanish gittern and vihuela during the 15th and 26th centuries, Spanish
guitars later evolved into Baroque guitar and a modern classical guitar. For right-handed
players, the traditional classical guitar has twelve frets and is held properly on the left leg.
So, when a hand strums or plucks the strings, it’s near the back of the sound hole, a classical
position.
On the other hand, the modern steel-string guitar usually has fourteen frets clear of the body
and is commonly played near the hip. The phrase classical guitar ,can refer to either of the
two following concepts:
● The instrumental finger technique (common to classical guitar) — fingernails or
fingertips pluck the individual strings
● The guitar’s classical music repertoire
Standard Tuning
When it comes to standard tuning, the Spanish guitar is the same as a steel-string acoustic
and electric guitar. It’s just that the music to be played by a Spanish guitar is written an
octave higher than normal to avoid over-use of ledger lines.
Unless it’s a left-hand model of a Spanish guitar, it’s usually the guitarist’s left hand that
holds the strings on the fretboard, while the right-hand plays the strings. The strings of a
Spanish guitar are usually played with the fingers rather than a pick. This is why most
Spanish guitar players grow their right-hand fingernails to achieve a stronger, more
controlled sound.
How does a Spanish guitar sound like?
Playing a Spanish guitar produces a soft, sweet tone. It’s an expressive instrument that
allows the guitarist to have a great deal of control over the tone produced.
Different right-hand techniques are used, which substantially alter the timber of notes. The
left-hand can also be used to produce effects like vibrato, slides, and slurs and give
melodies a lyrical, song-like quality.
Spanish Guitar vs. Acoustic Guitar
Both guitars are similar in shape. However, there are many differences between a Spanish
guitar and an acoustic guitar, namely:
1. Strings
As mentioned, a Spanish guitar has nylon strings rather than metal. This means its neck is
under less tension than that of an acoustic guitar. This is also why a Spanish guitar neck
needs no truss rod (a metal rod inserted into the necks of both acoustic and electric guitars)
and is made from a solid piece of wood.
2. Bracing
Since the Spanish guitar is strung with nylon strings, its body requires less bracing. Guitar
bracing is the system of wood supports found inside the body which holds the different parts
together. On the other hand, the acoustic guitar needs to have adequate bracing since its
strings are highly likely to damage the instrument.
3. Sound
Compared to an acoustic guitar, a Spanish guitar is significantly louder. The sound a
Spanish guitar produces is fuller has more depth than the acoustic guitar, whose tone is
more metallic and has a ringing quality.
4. Machine Heads
If you look at both instruments, the machine heads of a Spanish guitar will point backward.
While those of an acoustic guitar traditionally point out to the sides.
5. Play
Spanish and acoustic guitar strings are tuned to the same notes, as well as their respective
fretboards. However, there’s a big difference in how you play the two instruments. Spanish
guitars are played while seated, and it’s the fingers rather than the pick used to produce
notes.
A Spanish guitar is usually played as a solo instrument, while the acoustic guitar is used to
accompany a singer or other musicians. Strumming is used as a mainstay of acoustic guitar
playing, but it’s only used for effect in Spanish guitar. However, an exception to this is the
flamenco guitar, as the instrument relies heavily on strumming techniques.
There’s a strict technique used when playing the Spanish guitar.
While most Spanish guitar students learn to read music, the emphasis is more on playing written music instead of
writing songs and improvising.
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What guitar instrument are you currently playing? Whatever it is, we truly hope that this
article gave you some great insights into Spanish guitars. Knowing how classical guitars
came to be is a good way to develop a better understanding of the instrument.
Emeh Achanga,the CEO of the Miss Petite Nigeria Brand is a lawyer turned blogger. She is very passionate about writing, with several publications and awards to her credit .She is currently working on publishing a collection of short stories which are basically a memoir about her exciting true experiences.
