title: Guitarmaking: Tradition and Technology (Guitar Reference)
author: Jonathan Natelson
description: Jonathan D. Natelson builds and repairs classical guitars and is a national supplier of tone woods for constructing stringed instruments. He lives in Philadephia.<br /><br />William R. Cumpiano is a master guitarmaker and teacher of instrument building and repair in Amherst, Massachusetts, serving professional musicians across the country.
zlib_text: ![](Images/image00309.jpeg)
  
  The Cambridge Companion to the Guitar
  
  From its origins in the culture of late medieval Europe to enormous
  
  global popularity in the twentieth, the guitar and its development
  
  comprise multiple histories, each characterized by distinct styles,
  
  playing techniques, repertories, and socio-cultural roles. These
  
  histories simultaneously span popular and classical styles,
  
  contemporary and historical practices, written and unwritten
  
  traditions, and Western and non-Western cultures. This is the first
  
  book to encompass the breadth and depth of guitar performance,
  
  featuring twelve essays covering different traditions, styles, and
  
  instruments, written by some of the most influential players,
  
  teachers, and guitar historians in the world. The coverage of the
  
  book allows the player to understand both the analogies and the
  
  differences between guitar traditions; all styles – from baroque,
  
  classical, country, blues, and rock to flamenco, African, and
  
  Celtic – wi