--- url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-fr/instrument/guitar' title: Guitar author: name: drupler url: 'https://kalasudha.com/en-fr/user/1' date: '2025-10-09T17:36:32+00:00' updated: '2026-11-06T00:24:45+00:00' type: product summary: 'The guitar is a six-string fretted chordophone that entered Indian music through colonial drawing rooms and film studios. Brij Bhushan Kabra took it into…' tags: - Chordophones - Guitar - 'Acoustic Spruce' - Mahogany - Rosewood - Bone - 'Nickel-wound Steel' - 'Krintan (Hammer-on/Pull-off)' - 'Gamaka (Oscillation)' - 'String Bending' - Fingerpicking - 'Plectrum Picking' image: 'https://files.kalasudha.com/styles/d12_standard/public/2025-10/Guitar-In-Jungle.jpg?VersionId=4_zf58621fa0f456059ae110919_f101df5181f96248f_d20261026_m022146_c003_v0312024_t0034_u01792981306914&h=0c0fca7c&itok=0hoO4ZmZ' published: true og: site_name: KalaSudha 'image:url': 'https://files.kalasudha.com/styles/d12_standard/public/2025-10/Guitar-In-Jungle.jpg?VersionId=4_zf58621fa0f456059ae110919_f101df5181f96248f_d20261026_m022146_c003_v0312024_t0034_u01792981306914&h=0c0fca7c&itok=0hoO4ZmZ' 'image:secure_url': 'https://files.kalasudha.com/styles/d12_standard/public/2025-10/Guitar-In-Jungle.jpg?VersionId=4_zf58621fa0f456059ae110919_f101df5181f96248f_d20261026_m022146_c003_v0312024_t0034_u01792981306914&h=0c0fca7c&itok=0hoO4ZmZ' 'image:type': image/jpeg 'image:width': '1200' 'image:height': '675' 'image:alt': Guitar --- Western instrument · Plucked string # Guitarगिटार The guitar is a six-string fretted chordophone with roots in 16th-century Spain and Italy. In India it plays Hindustani and Carnatic classical music, Hindi film music, Goan folk and fusion. [Ask for a quote](/en-fr/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=113) [Learn the guitar ](#learn) ## Buy from KalaSudha From £250 - Sold by quote or made to order - Packed for shipping and delivered worldwide - Serviced and repaired by us, wherever you bought it FamilyPlucked string Strings6, nylon or steel Standard tuningE2–A2–D3–G3–B3–E4 OriginSpain, 16th century Buy from us ## Choose your guitar [Ask about a custom order ](/en-fr/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=113) - Student ### Student guitar From £250 [Ask for a quote](/en-fr/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=113) - Mid-range ### Mid-range guitar £300 to £800 [Ask for a quote](/en-fr/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=113) - Professional ### Professional guitar £1,000 or more Professional acoustics come from established makers or specialist luthiers. [Ask for a quote](/en-fr/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=113) ### What to look for For Indian classical music, start with the setup. A guitarist plays meend by bending the string along the fret. A full-tone or minor-third bend held for seconds needs slightly raised action (1.8 to 2.2 mm at the 12th fret), lighter gauges and a fretboard radius that lets the string move. Many players choose a semi-hollow electric for acoustic warmth. On an acoustic, a spruce top gives clarity and projection, and cedar gives warmth for a lighter touch; rosewood back and sides add sustain. A bone nut with exact slots sustains better than plastic and stops open-string buzz. Steel-string and electric necks carry an adjustable truss rod; most classical necks do not. We set intonation at any change of string gauge. Ask us for a quote, or for a guitar made to order. ### After you buy Delivered worldwideWe pack every instrument for international shipping; ask us about cases and insurance. Service and repairWe service and repair any guitar, wherever you bought it, worldwide: ask us. Strings, parts and casesAsk us for strings, spare parts and cases, and about a size for a younger learner. Help with your instrumentAsk us through the chat on any page, or by email, for help with your instrument. Gifts, schools and travelAsk us about gift vouchers, class sets for schools, and flight cases and travel help. Read the guitar care guide - **Humidity:** Keep 45–55% relative humidity in the case, checked with a digital hygrometer; Taylor builds its guitars at 46%. Use a humidifier in dry months, paired with one at the headstock if it seals the soundhole, and silica gel in the monsoon. Buzzing, raised fret ends, a sinking top or a lifting bridge mean dryness; a cracked top or loose brace comes to us. - **Strings:** Wipe them with a dry microfibre cloth after each session. Coated strings such as Elixir or D'Addario EXP last longer in humid weather. Change them every four to six weeks, sooner in the monsoon or if your hands sweat. - **Fretboard:** Clean it at each string change and oil unfinished rosewood or ebony two or three times a year. - **Truss rod:** Check there is one first. Buzz low on the neck or rising action higher up means it needs a turn. Aim for a slight forward bow; turn a quarter at a time and wait 24 hours. If two turns change nothing, bring it to us. - **Service:** Have us set intonation at any gauge change and service it yearly. KalaSudha Academy ## Learn the guitar with us [All courses ](/en-fr/courses) To start Indian classical music on the guitar, learn with KalaSudha online or in a workshop, beginning at Foundation level. The first stage settles your sitting position and right-hand technique, whether you fingerpick or use a plectrum. We teach children as well as adults: ask us about a starting age and about a guitar size for a younger learner. Guitarists returning after a long break start again where they left off. Our courses run in levels, so your teacher reviews where you stand first. [Ask about learning the guitar](/en-fr/form/learner-enquiry?source_entity_type=node&source_entity_id=113) ### Your route, stage by stage 1. 1 Foundation & posture Beginners in KalaSudha's courses begin at this Foundation stage. Establish correct sitting position and right-hand technique (fingerpicking or plectrum). Learn open chord shapes, basic scale patterns and chromatic exercises to build left-hand strength and fretboard familiarity. 2. 2 Scale practice & sargam Map Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Dha Ni Sa onto the fretboard across several positions and practise ascending and descending patterns. Then add controlled string bends, slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs, the slurs Prasanna uses for gamaka, as graded exercises toward the pitch inflections Indian melody needs. 3. 3 Raga structure & grammar Study two or three ragas in depth: their characteristic phrases (pakad), ascending and descending rules (aroha and avaroha) and principal notes (vadi and samvadi). Render alap, the free-time melodic exploration of a raga, on one raga before you introduce taal, the rhythmic cycle. 4. 4 Compositions & taal Learn gat compositions in teentaal (16 beats) and ektaal (12 beats). Practise with a tabla player or a drone, maintaining rhythmic accuracy through slow, medium and fast tempos. 5. 5 Advanced improvisation Develop extended improvisation within the raga, with tans (fast melodic passages) and call-and-response with the tabla. Study R. Prasanna's recordings and lessons for fretted phrasing and gamaka. Listen to Brij Bhushan Kabra for the Hindustani slide lineage, played on a guitar laid flat with a bar. The instrument ## About the guitar ### What makes a guitar The **guitar** is a six-string fretted chordophone, and ours suit Carnatic, Hindustani, film and fusion players. Its familiarity makes it simple to start on. The **classical guitar** has nylon strings and fan bracing, the steel-string acoustic X-bracing, and the electric, the sound of 20th-century popular music, turns string vibration into a signal through magnetic pickups. For meend the guitarist bends the string along the fret, as a sitarist pulls across it. A full-tone or minor-third bend held for seconds needs slightly raised action (1.8 to 2.2 mm at the 12th fret), lighter gauges and a fretboard radius that lets the string move. Many choose a semi-hollow electric for acoustic warmth; fingerpickers hold a drone under the melody, as a tanpura would. R. Prasanna has played Carnatic music on the electric guitar since the 1990s, at Chennai festivals and teaching abroad, in his "**Carnatic tuning**", rendering **gamaka** through slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs. Brij Bhushan Kabra, a disciple of Ali Akbar Khan, took the guitar into Hindustani raga, laid flat and played with a bar, the line that led to the [Indian slide guitar](/en-fr/instrument/indian-slide-guitar). Prasanna's ornament, rhythm and improvisation differ from Kabra's. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, a renowned player with his own style, plays the mohan veena he designed. With sympathetic and drone strings and raised action for lap slide, it uses no fretting and sounds closer to a Hawaiian lap steel than a Spanish guitar. ### History The guitar grew from the vihuela and four-course guitar of 16th-century Spain and Italy, which gained fifth and sixth courses; Gaetano Vinaccia of Naples set six strings by 1779. Torres of Seville's fan bracing, wider body and longer scale set the classical blueprint; the steel-string arose in the late 19th-century United States. Traders and missionaries brought it to India's coasts in the 16th to 18th centuries; Portuguese Goa, over four centuries, built its deepest guitar culture in church music, Konkani song and dance. In the 19th century amateurs played it in anglicised drawing rooms of Calcutta, Bombay and Madras and at princely courts, never on the professional stage. Bombay film orchestras used session guitarists for chords and fills behind violins and harmonium from the 1930s, electric guitar from the 1940s; O. P. Nayyar made it the pulse of 1950s and 1960s film song. From the late 1950s US records and students back from UK universities raised club bands playing Chuck Berry, the Beatles and Cliff Richard. Kabra's *Call of the Valley* (1967), with Hariprasad Chaurasia and Shivkumar Sharma, set the guitar in raga for a generation of players. Frets bend for meend and gamaka; the range suits melody and rhythm. How a guitar is made The top, or **soundboard**, is spruce or cedar, braced underneath with wooden struts. Spruce tops give clarity and projection, and cedar warmth for a lighter touch. Classical guitars use fan bracing, struts radiating below the soundhole, which nylon's lower tension allows; steel-string acoustics use X-bracing, two crossing struts that American makers used from the 1840s. Mahogany or rosewood back and sides colour the tone inside the body, with rosewood adding sustain, and luthiers voice each top by tapping and adjusting brace height. Steel-string and electric necks carry an adjustable truss rod; most classical necks do not. Bridge pins anchor steel strings in the bridge plate, which spreads their pull; the bone or synthetic saddle sets action and intonation, and a bone nut with exact slots sustains better than plastic and stops open-string buzz. The neck joint, glued, bolted or through-body, shapes sustain. An electric guitar's **pickups** sit under the strings: a vibrating string disturbs the magnet's field and induces a current. Single coils sound bright but hum; Seth Lover's humbucker for Gibson, patented in 1959, winds two coils out of phase to cancel it. Solid bodies such as the Stratocaster and Les Paul favour sustain; semi-hollows add acoustic warmth. ### At a glance ClassificationChordophone: plucked string String count6 strings (standard); classical guitars use nylon, acoustics and electrics use steel Body typesClassical (nylon-string), steel-string acoustic, archtop, semi-hollow and solid-body electric Key figures in IndiaBrij Bhushan Kabra (Hindustani), R. Prasanna (Carnatic) and the Goan guitar tradition Indian contextsHindustani classical, Carnatic classical, Hindi film music, Goan folk, fusion Standard tuningE2–A2–D3–G3–B3–E4 (low to high); open tunings for some Indian classical work, and Prasanna's E B E B E B for Carnatic music ### Playing techniques - Krintan (Hammer-on/Pull-off) - Gamaka (Oscillation) - String Bending - Fingerpicking - Plectrum Picking ### Materials - Acoustic Spruce - Mahogany - Rosewood - Bone - Nickel-wound Steel Full specifications #### Physical dimensions Overall length (acoustic)965mm – 1030mm (38 – 40.5 inches) Body length480mm – 510mm (19 – 20 inches) Body width (lower bout)360mm – 410mm (14 – 16 inches) Body depth90mm – 110mm (3.5 – 4.5 inches) Scale length628mm – 650mm (24.75 – 25.5 inches) Total weight1.5kg – 4.5kg (acoustic to solid-body electric) #### Body construction & tonewoods Soundboard (top)Spruce (Engelmann, Sitka) or cedar Back & sidesMahogany, rosewood, sapele, or koa Internal bracingFan bracing (classical); X-bracing (steel-string acoustic) Electric body woodAlder, ash, mahogany, or semi-hollow maple Body bindingPlastic, tortoiseshell, or wood purfling Surface finishNitrocellulose lacquer (vintage) or polyester/polyurethane #### Neck, fretboard & action Neck materialMahogany, maple, or multi-piece laminate Fretboard materialRosewood, ebony, or maple Fret count19 – 22 frets (acoustic); 21 – 24 frets (electric) Nut widthAbout 52mm (classical); 41mm – 43mm (steel-string) Action height (12th fret)1.6mm – 2.2mm treble side; up to 3mm for Indian classical bending Truss rodAdjustable steel rod controlling neck relief against string tension; most classical guitars have none #### String & tuning specifications Standard tuningE2 – A2 – D3 – G3 – B3 – E4 (low to high) String count6 (standard); 12 for 12-string variants Acoustic gauges0.011 – 0.052 (light); 0.012 – 0.053 (medium) Classical string materialNylon or fluorocarbon (treble); silver-wound nylon (bass) Electric gauges0.009 – 0.042 (super light); 0.010 – 0.046 (regular) Electric string materialNickel-wound or stainless steel over steel core #### Acoustic & electronic characteristics Frequency range~82 Hz (low E) – 5 kHz (upper harmonics) Pickup typeSingle-coil, humbucker, or piezo (acoustic-electric) Output level100mV – 300mV RMS (passive pickups) Tonal bend rangeUp to minor third (3 semitones) for Indian classical gamaka Sustain3 – 6 seconds (acoustic); 6 – 15 seconds (electric with amplifier) Explore the music ## Hear the guitar Hear KalaSudha's [recordings](/en-fr/releases) and [concert videos](/en-fr/videos). ### Recordings to start with - [ Raag Madhuvanti Alaap \| Debasis Chakroborty & Giuliano Modarelli Debasis Chakroborty, Giuliano Modarelli 13:46 ](/en-fr/video/raag-madhuvanti-alaap-debasis-chakroborty-giuliano-modarelli) - [ Raga Unison \| Indian Slide Guitar & Guitar \| Debasis Chakroborty & Giuliano Modarelli \| Edinburgh Giuliano Modarelli, Debasis Chakroborty, Shahbaz Hussain 8:50 ](/en-fr/video/raga-unison-indian-slide-guitar-guitar-debasis-chakroborty-giuliano-modarelli-edinburgh) ### Players - [ Giuliano Modarelli Artist ](/en-fr/artist/giuliano-modarelli) Ask us to book a guitar player for a concert, event or recording. [Book a guitar player ](/en-fr/book-indian-classical-musicians) Keep exploring ## More around the guitar - [ Discipline Guitar The standard electric guitar, playing the gamakas of Carnatic ragas ](/en-fr/instrumental/carnatic-classical/guitar) Questions ## Guitar: common questions Buying, learning, care and the instrument itself. ### How do I start learning Indian classical music on the guitar? To start Indian classical music on the [guitar](/en-fr/instrumental/carnatic-classical/guitar), learn with KalaSudha online or in a workshop, beginning at **Foundation** level. The first stage settles your sitting position and right-hand technique, whether you fingerpick or use a plectrum. We teach children as well as adults: ask us about a starting age and about a guitar size for a younger learner. Guitarists returning after a long break start again where they left off. Our [courses](/en-fr/courses) run in levels, so your teacher reviews where you stand first. ### Can you play Indian classical music on the guitar? Yes, Indian classical music is played on the **[guitar](/en-fr/instrument/guitar)**. Hindustani guitarists mostly play lap-slide instruments that grew out of the Hawaiian guitar, following Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra, who laid a modified Gibson archtop flat and played it with a slide; Barun Kumar Pal also plays Hindustani slide guitar. In Carnatic music, R. Prasanna plays a fretted electric guitar in his own Carnatic tuning, B E B E B E, and renders gamaka through slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs. Other guitarists use open tunings for some Indian classical work. ### What is the difference between a guitar and an Indian slide guitar? An **[Indian slide guitar](/en-fr/instrument/indian-slide-guitar)** grew from the Hawaiian lap-slide tradition: Brij Bhushan Kabra modified a Gibson Super 400 archtop [guitar](/en-fr/instrument/guitar) with a drone string and a high nut that lifts the strings off the fretboard. He played it seated and flat, with fingerpicks and a bar. He also added more chikari (high drone strings) and tarab (sympathetic strings). ### What is the difference between a classical and an acoustic guitar? A classical **[guitar](/en-fr/instrument/guitar)** carries nylon strings, and nylon's lower tension lets it use lighter internal reinforcement than a steel-string acoustic guitar. The bracing pattern is one of the main differences between the two. Classical guitars also generally lack an adjustable truss rod, which steel-string necks typically carry, though some modern nylon-string models, Taylor's among them, include one adjusted at the soundhole. ### What humidity should I keep my guitar at? Taylor, the **[guitar](/en-fr/instrument/guitar)** maker, recommends keeping a guitar at 45% to 55% relative humidity, and builds its own guitars at 46%. Keep a digital hygrometer in the case to measure it. Taylor advises against humidifiers that seal the soundhole unless one is paired with a second at the headstock; two-way humidity packs hold 45% to 50%. ### Does a classical guitar have a truss rod? Most classical **[guitar](/en-fr/instrument/guitar)s** have no adjustable truss rod; nylon's lower tension lets them use lighter internal reinforcement. Steel-string necks typically carry a truss rod. Some modern nylon-string models, Taylor's among them, do include one, adjusted through the soundhole. Check which kind you have before attempting any neck adjustment. ### How do I adjust a guitar's truss rod? To adjust a **[guitar](/en-fr/instrument/guitar)**'s truss rod, first tune the strings to pitch. Aim for a very slight forward bow in the neck. Tighten the rod clockwise if the neck has too much relief, and loosen it anticlockwise for back-bow and buzz. Most classical guitars have no adjustable rod, while steel-string necks carry one, so check yours before you start. ### How can I tell my guitar is too dry? Taylor lists the signs of a **[guitar](/en-fr/instrument/guitar)** that is too dry: low action and buzzing, fret ends that protrude from the fingerboard, cracks, a sinking top and a lifting bridge. Taylor advises measuring humidity with a digital hygrometer kept in the case. It recommends 45% to 55% relative humidity, and two-way humidity packs hold 45% to 50%. ### Where can I buy a guitar for Indian classical music? You can buy a guitar for Indian classical music from KalaSudha, by quote or made to order, wherever you live: we deliver worldwide. We pack every instrument for international shipping and can advise on cases and insurance; ask us. Any guitar can come to us for service or repair, in any country, wherever you bought it. We also supply strings and spare parts. For help with your guitar after the sale, ask us through the chat on any page or at . We arrange gift vouchers, class sets for schools and flight cases for travel on request. ### Can I book an Indian classical guitarist for a concert, event or recording? You can book an Indian classical guitarist through KalaSudha for a concert, event or recording. Tell us what the occasion needs through our page to [book Indian classical musicians](/en-fr/book-indian-classical-musicians). Before you choose, hear our artists in KalaSudha's [recordings](/en-fr/releases) and [concert videos](/en-fr/videos). ### Who plays Indian classical music on the guitar? Indian classical guitarists include [Pandit Brij Bhushan Kabra](/en-fr/legendary-masters/brij-bhushan-kabra) (1937 to 2018), who took the **guitar** into Hindustani raga, laid flat and played with a bar, and R. Prasanna, who has played Carnatic music on the electric guitar since the 1990s. Kabra studied with Ali Akbar Khan, whose fretless sarod he emulated with a slide, and his line led to the [Indian slide guitar](/en-fr/instrument/indian-slide-guitar). Prasanna renders gamaka through slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs. ### How is a guitar tuned for Indian classical music? A **guitar**'s standard tuning runs E2-A2-D3-G3-B3-E4, low to high, and some Indian classical work uses open tunings instead. In Carnatic music R. Prasanna plays in his own "Carnatic tuning", which sets every string to E or B. Fingerpickers hold a drone under the melody, as a tanpura would. ### Still have questions? Our support team can help you find the right answer. [Contact support](/en-fr/form/learner-enquiry?source_entity_type=node&source_entity_id=113) Talk to us ## Tell us about the guitar you want Ask for a quote on an instrument made to order, or about learning to play it with our teachers. [Ask for a quote](/en-fr/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=113) [Ask about learning](/en-fr/form/learner-enquiry?source_entity_type=node&source_entity_id=113) Stay close ## Keep KalaSudha close. Receive news of concerts, learning opportunities, recordings and the work taking shape at KalaSudha. - Concert news - ·Learning opportunities - ·Recordings and stories We respect your privacy. Unsubscribe at any time. Buy a guitar from KalaSudha [Ask for a quote](/en-fr/form/custom-instrument-quote?instrument_id=113)