How to choose the right guitar - Part I (Music Cultures)

Music is a universal language. Right? Still, in most music competitions there is a battle going on about 'your music identity'. What 'category' are you in? Why do we feel that some music belongs to a certain category, what is that "it"?
And... Does a music instrument like a guitar define your musical identity as well? What kind of guitar suits you the best? How do you stand out with a guitar that not only looks great, and sounds great too? How not to dissapear behind the guitar.... This is part I of 'How to choose the right guitar', followed up by Part II (Music Society).



The guitar: Part of a movement
Groups of migrants have traveled in the world with the earliest 'guitars' to give sound to the messages they bring forward. They shared folk songs and stories about their travels, their background and their culture. The guitar played a big role in identifying each national cultural identities of different groups of migrants.
1. Which group we are (identify). As for example: The kobza guitar from the kobzari group; This guitar was made for this group. Also, the domra guitar for the group Domraches. It's shape, the size of the guitar, the symbols, type of wood and the type of strings: It is like a flag or a family crest!
2. Literally the "sound" where we come from. The 'guitar' has been build in certain parts of the world, so in that way you can hear the sound of your roots.
The sound is based on the name of the guitar. For example the Bouzouki, which means "modified" (change) and the Oud which has it's name in the way it is played. Simply said: This is how to play/how it sound - and that's why we call it X. In this way they bring forward the culture and 'classification' of groups and the types of 'guitars'.
Later on (when the lutes were popular instruments), the minstrels were hired by the king to play music and by that bring the latest news. The news was of course very unpleasant to hear, so the minstrels used the guitar (lute) to create sarcastic tunes and songs to bring some amusement to the king. Besides, the minstrels were invited to the parties of the king, and in that way they could pick up the latest gossips and news and were perfect spies for the king. Because they were 'just' minstrels with a guitar (lute), they were no threat to anyone.

Interaction via music through culture and history.
The troubadours were rather found outside of the castle, into the forests and the villages to bring the news and to sing about love and hopefullness in times of darkness and despair. The guitar and music brought a sense of belonging. Mostly songs about religion, but of course there were also a lot of composers along the troubadours. Via the troubadours, who travelled a lot via village to village, new techniques would be shared, new instruments would be build and new elements on the guitar (for example the amount of strings) would be created. A big exchange! That is one way the 'guitar' had been developed rapidly.
With the rise of the operas, the virtuose guitarplayers were able to translate pieces from the operas into little variations to play in public places. By that it creates unity and an opportunity to explore music forms: More variations of music and emotions.

When the Spanish guitar was developed, the guitar was seen as an instrument that could not only play music as background for vocals and orchestra, but also be seen as a solo instrument. Salon music or music to be taught in schools. For everyone there is a guitar.

The guitar: Symbol of rebellion in music
Over the years the guitar has been developed into a symbol of rebellion in music. It has been used for protestsongs and demonstrationsongs to fight against injustice and war. The guitar has been a vessel through political times and societal change to brings awareness and action in the oppressed groups. 

The guitar serves as a vessel for:
1. Individuality. Movements like the hippies have been developed that comes along with the exploration of music genres. The type of activity or societal rules comes with the type of sound (music genre). The type of sound is caused by the many experimentations in music: By experimenting in techniques it creates more and more artistic vision.
2. Rebellion. A lot of movements have been a direct response to the mainstream culture, the established music industry norms and the glossy commercialised music. Guitarists are on stage as representatives and play music as a statement.
By that, think about the use of the guitar: destroying guitars on stage, guitars set on fire and thrown into the public. The guitar symbolises anarchy and revolution.
3. Pushing the boundaries of musical expression. Think about these amazing guitarsolo's that represents the musical voice of the song. The guitars have been an important role in creating sounds that express frustration with societal constraints.
Subcultural music sounds:
The punk movement created an image of attitude that rejected traditional virtuosity and stimulated the DIY (do-it-yourself) skills - like we see nowadays. What is your musical statement about?

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Here in Part I it seems like music, history and culture are very much in tune. What about the music industry? Check Part II (Music Society) about the DIY and the follow up of  'How to choose the right guitar'!