guitar
A fretted string instrument played by plucking or strumming, typically with six strings.
In Depth
The guitar is one of the most widely played instruments in the world. The modern classical guitar has six nylon strings and a hollow wooden body that amplifies the sound acoustically. Steel-string acoustic guitars produce a brighter, louder tone, while electric guitars use magnetic pickups to convert string vibration into electrical signals.
The guitar's history stretches back through the Spanish vihuela, the Renaissance lute, and ultimately to ancient string instruments. Andrés Segovia established the classical guitar as a serious concert instrument in the 20th century. In popular music, the guitar has been central to blues, rock, jazz, folk, and country since the early 1900s.
The guitar overtook the piano as the world's most popular instrument in the 1960s and has held that position ever since, with an estimated 50 million guitarists worldwide.