That night, while feasting on his catch, he plucked at the bow string and was soothed by the sound it produced. 
Believing (as we also do in our time) that more is better, he later added more strings to his bow. This enabled him to 
play different pitches individually or simultaneously, and the harp was born. Once word got out that he had music and 
meat to barbeque, all the unattached women in the villiage started "dropping by" and partying was invented.  In no time, 
all the other single men in the villiage started attaching extra strings to their hunting bows.  Call it a coincidence. 

      The only problem with this new instrument was that the village elders did not think it was appropriate for use in 
their tribal ceremonies.  They held that their  traditional instrument was the drum and that this new apparatus was not 
dignified enough to suit them. The man thought they were just jealous of all the girls he was meeting, so he continued 
playing his new instrument.  In time the elders either died off, or got senile and  came to appreciate the sweet sound of 
plucked strings. 

     The above story, while based on fact is speculative in that the instrument’s actual recorded history begins in 
Babylonia (1900 B.C.). There, archeologists have found clay plaques engraved with images that resemble the guitar of 
today. The one major exception being that it only had 2 strings.  Shortly prior to 300 B.C., the Egyptians added frets 
to the neck, and the Romans replaced the rawhide body with wood. 

Centuries and centuries of innovation followed as  precursors of the guitar were being played throughout 
the known world under many different names. In France, it was a Quinterne. The English called it Gyterne. While in 
Italy it was a Chitarino. By today’s standards, these models would actually be considered Vihuelas. 

    It was the Italians (18th Century) who finally set the number of strings at 6, standardized the tuning, and named it 
the “Chitarra Spagnola” or Spanish Guitar which became universally accepted.  The name and basic form have been 
relatively unchanged since then. From that time, while the instrument retained popularity throughout Europe, it was 
the Catholic countries of Italy and Spain that were considered it’s homeland. The Spanish bought Catholicism and 
guitars to all  their colonies, and as such, the instrument was made and played throughout the civilised world. 

     The late 18th century saw the instrument reach a high point in its development with the help of 4 great master.  Fernando Sor, Dionisio Aguado, Mauro Guilliani, and Ferdinando Carulli wrote and  performed pieces of such technical mastery that the guitar gained the nickname "the little orchestra".  There later followed a decline in the instruments progress in that there were few teachers and, with the exception of Francisco Tarrega (arguably the greatest player to ever live) there were very few players of any renown.  Then at the turn of the 20th century, Andre Segovia had his debut in Paris.  His genius, coupled with modern mass communication allowed him to travel the world and gain wide exposure for the instrument. 

       Today, classical method is used in teaching guitar at universities all over the world.  Many rock, punk , and jazz players received their original training using techniques that have been handed down from the great masters of the 18th century.  The World Wide Web has helped  in allowing guitarisits to post tabs, standard sheet music, midi files, and mpegs that instruct as well as link the players thus enhancing collaboration.