The first guitar ever looked like a bowl harp or a tanbur. These are the earliest known string instruments. As you can see from the pictures below, they're a bit more amateur looking than some of today's guitars!
Bowl Harp
- The earliest reference of what we would call a guitar today is on a 3300 year old stone carving, showing an instrument with the basic features of a guitar being played.
- By the 14th century, Latin and Moorish guitars were now referred to as guitars. They varied slightly in their neck thickness, and number of holes, but for all intents and purposes were guitars.
- The Spanish vihuela was invented and had a large hole in the base - perhaps the biggest influence on current day designs.
- In the 19th century, the classical guitar became popular, and contained six strings.
- The electric guitar was first introduced in 1932, and development has continued ever since.
If you're thinking of buying a guitar, or are simply interested in them in general, this video would be a great help: