I keep thinking of Greeks playing Lyres - there had to be a
point where someone added strings and the modern shape... The
guitar originated from the lute. What's called a 'kithara,' (a
type of lyra) which when pronounced sounds a bit like 'guitar'
is why people and historians get mixed up between the two being
related. The lute and the vihuela had their features combined in
the 16th Century. The features that were combined were: Bass and
treble strings were added to give the instrument a good range.
Stradivarius produced some early models of this instrument. In
about the 18th century guitar makers added machine heads the
guitars making them easier to tune, and adding struts to the
soundboxes of the instruments to increase the sound. Antonio de
Torres Jurado is credited with finishing the design and layout
of bridge, neck, saddle and body size on the guitar. George
Beauchamp added experimental pickups to a 'frying pan' shaped
guitar body in an effort to electronically amplify the sound.
This became the first R