A World of Music: Spanish Guitar

Sep 30, 2020

The guitar is, unquestionably, one of the most popular instruments in the US and Canada. But did you know its history goes back much further, and its popularity is much broader?

Aside from the well-known acoustic and electric varieties popular here, perhaps the best-known variation on the guitar, in both physical form and playing style, is the “Spanish” or flamenco guitar.

What is a Spanish Guitar?

At its most basic, a Spanish guitar is essentially a kind of acoustic guitar that uses nylon strings, and, as you might have guessed, is usually used to play traditionally Spanish music. When played, the strings are plucked with the fingernails, rather than with a pick. In fact, many Spanish guitarists grow the fingernails on their plucking hand to reach a stronger and more controlled sound.

Spanish guitars are usually played seated, with the instrument resting on the leg. It’s very common for a footstool to be used to lift the leg – and the guitar – to a more suitable height.

Like its earliest ancestors, the vihuela and the lute, the Spanish guitar was originally strung with gut strings (i.e. material made form the intestines of animals). But thankfully, gut strings fell out of popularity with the rise of synthetics like nylon. Today, nylon strings are preferred for Spanish guitars, with the lowest three strings getting an outer winding of metal.

You can hear an excellent example of Spanish guitar, both the instrument and the style of play, in the video below.

What Does A Spanish Guitar Sound Like?

Although the instrument is functionally the same as other acoustic guitars, a Spanish guitar has a distinctive soft, sweet tone that can’t be matched. Through the use of a variety of right-hand techniques, a talented musician can substantially change the timbre of the notes they play. At the same time, left-hand effects, like vibrato, slides, and slurs can be applied to give melodies a lyrical quality.

Take a look at the video below. Here, a right-hand technique called “temolo” is being used to give the impression of long, sustained melody notes – which is something the Spanish guitar cannot otherwise do. It creates a distinctive sound that is recognizably Spanish. Check it out:

The front of a Spanish guitar’s body is called the “top.” Like most guitars, it acts as a soundboard, amplifying the vibration of the strings. Again, as with most acoustic guitars, the material the top is constructed from can have a strong impact on the instrument’s sound. For example, Spanish guitars with spruce tops tend to have a clear, bright sound, while those with cedar are warmer, but have a less defined sound.

You can also tell one from the other just by looking! Spruce tops are blonde or tan, while cedar tops are darker, running from pale brown to a deeper orange-brown.

What’s the Difference Between a Spanish Guitar and an Acoustic Guitar?

Although both kinds of guitar look a lot alike, there are quite a few differences between a Spanish and acoustic guitar.

We’ve already talked about the first difference: Spanish guitars are strung with nylon rather than metal. Because of this, a Spanish guitar’s neck is under a lot less tension than an acoustic guitar’s. That means that the Spanish guitar doesn’t need a truss rod (the metal rod that is inserted into the neck of both acoustic and electric guitars) and the neck is made from a solid piece of wood.

Also thanks to the nylon strings, a Spanish guitar needs much less bracing to give it support inside the body than an acoustic guitar.

All this means, of course, that if you were to string a Spanish guitar with acoustic guitar strings you would very likely damage the guitar. Perhaps badly!

Another big difference, this one having nothing to do with the strings, is that the Spanish guitar is much louder than an acoustic guitar. The sound is both fuller and with more depth than the acoustic guitar, which has a tone that is more metallic.

Playing the Spanish Guitar

Although the strings of a Spanish guitar and an acoustic guitar are tuned to the same notes, and the notes of their fretboards are the same, there is a big difference in how they’re played.

As we’ve already discussed, a Spanish guitar is played while seated, and with the fingers instead of a pick. Usually, the Spanish guitar is a solo instrument, while the acoustic guitar is usually used to accompany a singer or as part of an ensemble. Of course, that’s not a hard and fast rule for either!

Strumming, though found throughout music written for acoustic guitars, is only used sparingly and for effect with the Spanish guitar. That said, this rule does depend on the genre, with flamenco standing out as a huge exception.

Lastly, Spanish guitar usually sticks to a strict technique while playing. In fact, most Spanish guitar students learn to read music, with an emphasis on playing written music, rather than writing songs or improvising.

Spanish Guitar Music

Today, the Spanish guitar not only enjoys a massive repertoire of excellent music written specifically for it, it has also inherited the music of the plucking instruments that came before. Music that was originally written for instruments like the lute or vihuela is kept alive by Spanish guitarists today.

Interested in learning more about instruments and music from other parts of our amazing world? Check out our World Music Reference for more!

Have you always wanted to learn to play the guitar, but never had the chance? Or maybe you did take lessons, but you’ve been away for the instrument for a while? It’s never too late! Check out The Music Studio’s guitar and bass lessons, and get back on the musical path today!