The guitar is descended from a couple of old instruments, among them the old Roman cithara, the four string oud from the Moors, and the Scandinavian lut, or lute.

In the 13^th century there were 2 types of guitar, the Moorish guitar with a rounded back and pretty wide neck, and the Latin guitar which looked already like the modern guitar.

In the 15^th century these instruments had developed in to something called guitar. Some instruments were played with a bow; this of course led to the development of the violin.

In the next centuries the guitar developed into what we now call an acoustic guitar, it is only in the 20^th century that the development of the electric guitar took place.

Visit The Guitar Classroom if you want to learn to play guitar