English guitar

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Mrs. Robert Gwillym playing an English guitar, painting by Joseph Wright of Derby (1766)

English guitar is a stringed instrument, a type of sister (or cittern), which was popular in many places in Europe from around 1750-1850. The instrument was also known in Norway as a guitarre. There are many examples in Norwegian museums, including at the Norsk Folkemuseum. The English guitar has a pear-shaped body, a flat base, and a short neck.

Tuning

It has ten strings in a repetitive open C tuning,^[1] of which the highest eight are paired in four courses (duplicated strings),

C E GG cc ee gg.

The English guitar influenced the Russian guitar, which has seven strings tuned in open G tuning in thirds (D'-G', G'-B, D-g, and g-b) with two fourths (B-D, and b-d'):

D', G', B, D, g, b, d'.

Notes

↑ Hannu Annala, Heiki Mätlik (2007). "Composers for other plucked instruments: Rudolf Straube (1717-1785)". Handbook of Guitar and Lute Composers (Translated by Katarina Backman ed.). Mel Bay. p. 30. ISBN 0786658444, ISBN 9780786658442 Check |isbn= value (help).

Guitar tunings

General

Standard DADGAD Nashville

Open (Slide and slack-key guitar)

Tuning	Repetitive	Overtones	Other (often most popular)

Open A Open B Open C Open D Open E Open F Open G	A-C♯-E-A-C♯-E B-D♯-F♯-B-D♯-F♯ C-E-G-C-E-G D-F♯-A-D-F♯-A E-G♯-B-E-G♯-B F-A-C-F-A-C G-B-D-G-B-D	A-A-E-A-C♯-E B-B-F♯-B-D♯-F♯ C-C-G-C-E-G D-D-A-D-F♯-A E-E-B-E-G♯-B F-F-C-F-A-C G-G-D-G-B-D	E-A-C♯-E-A-E B-F♯-B-F♯-B-D♯ C-G-C-G-C-E D-A-D-F♯-A-D E-B-E-G♯-B-E C-F-C-F-A-F D-G-D-G-B-D

Downtuned

E♭ D D♭ C B B♭

Dropped

Drop D Double drop D Drop C Drop B Drop A

Regular (semitones)

Unison (0) Minor thirds (3) Major thirds (4) All fourths (5) Augmented fourths (6) New standard (7⁴, 3) All fifths (7)

Repetitive (open pitches)

Trivial (1) Augmented fourths (2) Major thirds (3) English open-C (3) Russian open-G (3) Minor thirds (4)

Miscellaneous

Terz Bass guitar Steel guitar (C6, E9) Other instruments Musical tuning William Sethares

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Guitars

Playing

Chords Harmonics Jazz Lead Rhythm Tunings

By type (six string)

Acoustic Acoustic-electric Archtop Baroque Classical Electric Flamenco Fretless Lap steel Pedal steel Resonator Dobro Semi-acoustic hollow-body electric Steel-string acoustic

With additional strings

7 Russian 8 9 10 English 11 12 25

Unconventional

Bajo sexto Baritone Bass Chapman Stick Chitarra battente Craviola Guitalele ¼ size Harp Lyre Multi-neck Pikasso Requinto Six-string alto Tenor Viola caipira Warr

Related topics

Amplifier Electric guitar design History (classical) Luthier experimental Manufacturing list of manufacturers Prepared guitar Vintage guitar

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English guitar

Tuning

See also

Notes