As early as the thirty-seventh century B. C., people have played the ancestors of the modern guitar. Apparently, even the King of Thebes was an enthusiast of the plucked string instrument. A sculpture on his tomb gives us a three-dimensional view of this instrument, which bears a close resemblance to today's guitar, having similarly curved sides. In another instance, a relief sculpture found in Cappadocia, dated approximately 1000 B. C., portrays a fretted Egyptian instrument. Archaeologists have also uncovered evidence of ancient plucked instruments in Persia (modern-day Iran) and in Saudi Arabia.

Plucked instruments retained their popularity in the Middle Ages. People played two basic types during the medieval era: the Latin guitar and the Moorish guitar. A thirteenth-century manuscript, the "Cantigas de Santa Maria," presumed to have been written by Spain's Alfonso the Wise, features these instruments in detailed, intricate miniatures. One can see from these illustrations that the Latin guitar, in a figure eight shape, comes closer to the shape of the guitars that evolved in Spain and Italy.

The prototype of the modern-day guitar, the vihuela, became the favored instrument for serious musicians in early sixteenth-century Spain. Music for the vihuela, in fact, can be played on modern-day guitars with little change, since it has six pairs of strings, similar to the modern twelve-string guitar. Pairs of strings helped the instrument to produce a more vigorous sound. A large repertoire of music was written for the vihuela, in a special type of notation called "tablature." Played with the fingers, the vihuela was tuned similarly to the Renaissance lute, which the rest of Europe believed to be "The King of Instruments."

A smaller guitar-like instrument developed during this time. This four- and later five-stringed instrument helped to develop the Flamenco strumming style called rasgueado. Its strings, called courses, as well as its smaller size, made it an easier instrument to use for playing chords, as well as to accompany dances.

It was the vihuela, however, that lost favor as the sixteenth century came to an end. The smaller, more proletarian instrument survived--in its five-stringed version. This instrument was dubbed the "Spanish guitar," possibly to set it apart from the four-course instrument. These instruments were also popular in Italy. In fact, an Italian player, Francesco Corbetta (1615 - 1681), published quite a few works in a finger style that took the instrument's range of use well beyond playing chords as an accompaniment. His playing became immensely popular. Eventually it became the fashionable music among French and English courtiers during the seventeenth century.

Robert de Visée (c. 1660–c. 1720), a talented Frenchman, played frequently for King Louis XIV, dedicating his entire collection of pieces composed during the year 1682 to the French monarch. During the same time period, the Spanish player and teacher, Gaspar Sanz, capitalized on the guitar's popularity to publish an instruction book in 1674. The book, a remarkable achievement in pedagogy for its day, contained detailed technical instructions, in addition to a collection of pieces which are still played today.

Like any art form, guitar music's popularity waxed and waned many times during its history. The eighteenth century was generally a time of decline, though at its end some technological innovations helped turn the instrument into one more like today's guitars. Doubled strings fell out of favor, replaced by single ones, and a sixth string was added to the five existing ones. Guitar makers began using sheep's gut to craft the first three strings, while the bass strings were created with silver plated copper wire wound around a core made of silk thread.

Toward the end of the eighteenth century, the guitar once more came into favor. Having six strings required more highly-developed technique. Virtuoso players inspired the public with their dazzling performances and intricate compositions. The guitar's popularity caused a high demand for instruction books written for the new six-string guitar. Cities which led in the resurgence of guitar music included Vienna and Paris, attracting topnotch guitarists such as Mauro Giuliani (1781-1829), originally from Italy, and the Spanish virtuoso Fernando Sor (1778-1839). These men led the way for the importance of a solo repertoire for the guitar with their extensive catalog of works. Ferdinando Carulli (1770-1841) introduced a guitar method that is still used today. Another landmark work of the same period, "Twenty-five Melodious Studies," composed by Matteo Carcassi (1792-1853), still inspires serious guitar students to this day.

By the mid-nineteenth century, guitar music fell out of popularity once again. This time, the decline was so great that the guitar was rarely played, let alone heard in concert. Fortunately, Francisco Tárrega (1852–1909), with his distinctive, romantic sound, awakened the public interest once again. His reputation spread by word-of-mouth, thanks to his creative compositions and his trademark sound. That sound, which gave his compositions their charm, came from his extensive knowledge of the guitar fingerboard, using the higher positions to achieve beauty that had never been produced until then. Before Tarrega came along, the public preferred pieces that stayed within the range of the first five frets. Ignoring these limitations, Tarrega stunned his fans with his works that used the entire range of the guitar. His school of performance and composition survives today, a testament to his innovation.

The spirit of Tarrega's tradition carried on throughout the twentieth century, thanks to the work of Andrés Segovia (1893–1987). Though not Tarrega's student, Segovia took the idea of virtuosity as a performer to the next level, introducing people all over the world to guitar music, as opposed to the modest Tarrega, who preferred the intimacy of small crowds. Segovia showed music enthusiasts that the guitar is worthy indeed of serious study, his collaboration with composers inspiring a lion's share of guitarists' repertoire even to this day.

These days, the guitar continues to hold its place of respect in the academic world. Many conservatories and universities offer degree programs in guitar performance and pedagogy, unheard of even fifty years ago.

Folk music for the guitar, too, progressed at about the same rate as did "classical" guitar music. Since ancient times, guitars and their prototypes had accompanied dances. Furthermore, vocalists used the instruments quite extensively to accompany themselves in song. An outgrowth of this long history in folk music was the development of the distinctly Spanish style of music called Flamenco, which had its greatest spurt of growth in the nineteenth century. Andalusian gypsy (Gitano) music blended with traditional folk from the region to produce this lively music. Flamenco guitarists, full of competitive spirit, worked hard to come up with original material and the technical firepower to play the new music. Interestingly enough, Flamenco players, as a rule, play "by ear," with no written music. Hence, Flamenco music's development grew by imitation, sharing ideas, and experimentation.

Ramón Montoya (1880–1949), a legend among Flamenco enthusiasts, developed a large number of the embellishments called falsetas, used to fill in between the verses of songs, as well as to give dance accompaniments artistic flair. At the outset, Flamenco was primarily a style of music whose main purpose was to accompany songs and dances. Not until modern times were Flamenco pieces played as guitar solos. These days, however, solo Flamenco guitarists give concerts, playing improvisations which delight their fans with their dazzling skill on the guitar.

Popular music, too, demonstrates the immense popularity of the guitar. It continues to hold on to its popularity, despite the synthesized alternatives available today. Though its sound is amplified by electronics, often distorted for artistic effect, the human touch is evident in the touch of the guitarist's fingers caressing the strings. No keyboard can match that kind of intimacy with its hearers.