The classical guitar, also known as the "nylon string guitar" — is a plucked string instrument from the family of instruments called chordophones. It typically has 6 nylon strings (the bass-strings additionally being wound with a thin metal thread). As such it is somewhat similar to the flamenco guitar, yet the two have differences in material, construction and sound[1].
The classical guitar is characterized by:
- its shape, construction and material — modern classical guitar shape, or historic classical guitar shapes[2]
- its strings — today primarily nylon; the bass-strings additionally being wound with a thin metal thread (traditionally they were made of gut - gut strings are still available today[3])
- the instrumental technique — the individual strings are usually plucked with the fingers or the fingernails — plectrums are rarely used
- its historic repertoire, though this is of lesser importance, since any repertoire can be and is played on the guitar.
The name classical guitar does not mean that only classical repertoire is performed on it, although classical music is a part of the instrument's core repertoire (due to the guitars long history); instead all kinds of music (folk, alternative, jazz, flamenco, etc.) can be and are performed on it.
The classical guitar as an instrument has a long history that has seen it evolve through multiple forms, and while its modern form (modern classical guitar) is what is primarily available today, many luthiers today also build classical guitars with historic shapes (e.g. replicas of romantic guitars, ...): A Guitar Family Tree can be identified, which includes guitars from different periods, with different shapes and construction-features, as well as different string configurations (double-strung courses or single strings, different tunings, different numbers of strings), resulting in different sounds and often slightly different playing techniques.
