Introduction
This page collects selected resources with information on the history, construction, and notable performers of your instrument available at MPAL! For suggestions to help you do some searching on your own for related material, refer to the call number and subject heading recommendations at the bottom of the page. As always, if you have any trouble finding material in the Library or navigating the catalog, don't hesitate to ask at the service desk!
Guitar History and Construction
The Guitar and Its Music by Call Number: ML1015.G9 T95G8Following James Tyler's earlier introduction to the history, repertory, and playing techniques of the four- and five-course guitar, The Early Guitar (OUP, 1980), this new book, written in collaboration with Paul Sparks and incorportating the latest ideas and research, is an authoritative guide to the history and repertory of the guitar from the Renaissance to the dawn of the Classical era.
Contemporary Guitar by Call Number: ML1015.G9 S36C6 2015The Contemporary Guitar traces the extraordinary rise of the instrument in concert music over the past century. Though recognized worldwide as a popular music icon, the all-to-recent time when the guitar was looked down upon as a second-class citizen in the world of "serious" music is finally past, and it can now be found in the scores of the most important composers.
The Guitar in Jazz by Call Number: ML3507 G84The Guitar in Jazz presents in rich, entertaining detail the history and development of the guitar as a jazz instrument. In a series of essays by some of jazz's leading historians and critics, the volume traces the impressive evolution of jazz guitar playing, from the pioneering styles of Nick Lucas and Eddie Lang through the recent innovations of such contemporary masters as Jim Hall and Ralph Towner.
The Classical Guitar: Its Evolution and Its Players Since 1800 by Call Number: ML399S95 C51991
Guitarmaking Tradition and Technology by Call Number: ML1015.G9 C851993
Play It Loud by Call Number: ML1015.G9 T65P5 2016In Play It Loud, Brad Tolinski and Alan di Perna bring the history of this iconic instrument to roaring life. It's a story of inventors and iconoclasts, of scam artists, prodigies, and mythologizers as varied and original as the instruments they spawned.
Guitar Performer Histories
Talkin' Guitar: a story of the young Doc Watson by Call Number: SB. W3326gArthel "Doc" Watson (1923-2012) ;was a Grammy-winning guitarist, singer, and songwriter, high in the pantheon of bluegrass and country music greats.
Rhythm Is My Beat: jazz guitar great Freddie Green and the Count Basie sound by Call Number: ML419.G74 G74 2015In Rhythm Is My Beat: Jazz Guitar Great Freddie Green and the Count Basie Sound, Alfred Green tells the story of his father, rhythm guitarist Freddie Green, whose guitar work served as the pulse of the Count Basie Band.
'Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky by Call Number: ML410.H476 H46 2008"'Scuse Me While I Kiss the Sky: Jimi Hendrix: Voodoo Child is the newly revised, updated, and expanded edition of the definitive biography of the man behind the legend. It melds the original text, which featured Hendrix's voice in complete interviews, with new material - to the extent that Hendrix could easily be described as the coauthor of this work."
Guitar Periodicals
Note: Periodicals are arranged alphabetically in MPAL.