A guitar like instrument can be seen in a stone carving from the New Hittite Empire settlement at Aiaja Huyuk, dating circa 1400-1350 B.C. There is also a stone carving of an Athenian guitarist, circa 400 B.C. It is believed that the Moors bought a guitar like instrument to Spain. Around 1500 A.D. in Spain we see the direct predecessor of the guitar emerge - the Vihuela. This was a six course (six pairs of double strings - 'tuned in unison') instrument played with a bow ('de arco'), a quill or plectrum ('de pendola'), or the fingers ('de mano'). The form that seems to have been most popular is that intended to be played with the fingers , the vihuela 'de mano'.

Early publications for vihuela include Alonso Mudarra's "Tres Libros de Musica en cifra para vihuela." Other well-known publications for the instrument during the 16th century include compositions by Luys Milán (published in 1536), Luys de Narváez (published in 1538), Enriquez de Valderrabáno (published in 1547) and Diego Pisador (published in 1552).

During the late Classical to mid-romantic period many new composers and performers came to light. The most famous being Fernando Carulli (1770-1841), Fernando Sor (1778-1839), Mauro Guiliani (1781-1829), Dionisio Aguado (1784-1849) and Matteo Carcassi (1792-1853). All of these musicians wrote music, published methods and performed chamber concerts, and perhaps the most prolific of these was Sor.

Fernando Sor played the guitar as a solo instrument at the London Philharmonic Concert in 1817. "He astonished the audience by his unrivaled execution." Paganinni, the great violin virtuoso, was also active playing and writing for the guitar. Many people don't realise that Stradivarius made some guitars as well as violins (a great example of one of his guitars can be seen in the Victoria & Albert Museum in London). Some well known composers also played the guitar e.g. Weber, Rossini, Verdi, Schubert and Berlioz.

The guitar up till the time of Antonio Torres (1817-1892) was small and lacked projection. Torres modified the design and construction of the guitar. He increased the size of the instrument and was the first maker to use "fan" strutting (bracing) underneath the guitar top (face). Torres became the father of modern guitar construction.

In the second half of the 19th century the popularity of the guitar had declined. It was near the end of the 19th century that Francisco Tárrega (1852-1909) and other devoted guitarists such as Tárrega's disciple Emilio Pujol, truly revived interest in this expressive instrument. Tárrega was a shy man and did few public performances choosing to perform for friends instead. He wrote and transcribed many pieces of beautiful music for the guitar. Segovia was one of many guitarists who has been influenced by him especially in the art of transcription. Tárrega developed the right hand technique in particular the use of the rest (apoyando) stroke, which gave the player more power and tonal contrast, and also the use of the third finger. He introduced the practice of raising the left leg to support the guitar more efficiently.

Finally, all guitarists owe a great debt to maestro Andres Segovia who single handedly made the guitar accessible to thousands of people around the world. He was the first guitarist to perform in large concert halls and he established the guitar (after much perseverance) as an accepted serious instrument on a par with the violin and piano. Segovia also published a few beautiful compositions e.g. 'Estudio Sin Luz' and transcribed much wonderful music for the guitar e.g. 'Bach's - Chaconne' (originally for solo violin). Importantly he inspired many composers to write superb music for the instrument, greatly enlarging the repertoire. H. Villa-Lobos, M. Castelnuovo-Tedesco, M. Ponce, J. Rodrigo, are possibly the greatest of the composers that wrote music especially for Segovia.

Following Segovia's example other great guitar players emerged in the 2nd half of the 20th century such as: Julian Bream and John Williams and others like Alirio Diaz and Turibio Santos, Sergio and Eduardo Abreu (a great duo of the 1970's).

Now the guitar is enjoyed by millions of people around the world. Many thousands play as a hobby and some go on to become professional musicians.

Footnote: Nylon strings replaced gut strings around 1946. Albert Augustine, at Segovia's suggestion, was inspired to develop these strings which proved to be much more reliable than gut strings (these tended to break easily and have less accurate intonation).