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The classical guitar is sometimes called the "Spanish guitar" or the "nylon string guitar." The traditional classical guitar is an acoustic (nonelectric) instrument with six strings. These strings are plucked with the fingers (not with a pick).
The six strings consist of three trebles strings made of nylon and three bass strings made of metal thread wrapped around a flossy nylon filament core. Nylon strings were developed in the 1940s by Augustine and Segovia. Before that time, classical guitarists typically used gut strings for the trebles and metal wound over silk or gut for the basses. Since that time, carbon fiber and various composite materials have been used to make classical guitar strings, but nylon is still the most popular material.
While six is the traditional number of strings for a classical guitar, the seven-string classical guitar has been popular in Russia since the 1800s. Eight- and ten-string classical guitars also have their followings (Narciso Yepes being a notable proponent of the 10-string guitar). Even 11- and 13-string classical guitars are becoming popular these days. These "extended range" classical guitars are usually used to play lute music in the original tunings, although there is also new music being written for them.
And then there are nylon string harp guitars, arch guitars, harp-arch guitars, contra guitars, guitars with two or three necks, guitars with carbon-fiber lattice tops and double soundholes and no sound holes and pluggable ports and -- but let's just talk about the traditional six-string classical guitar for now.
(And by the way, I know that some -- notably the followers of Aaron Shearer -- like to call it the "classic guitar." That terminology is fine with me. I'm not against it. I know that the use of the term "classic guitar" avoids certain semantic problems. But it's too new-fangled for me. I'm sticking with the classic: Classical Guitar.)
Ok, so far we've got an acoustic guitar with six nylon strings. But that doesn't make it a "classical guitar." (If it did, we could put nylon strings on a Gibson dobro and call it a classical guitar.)
To be continued...