The Truth About The Parlor Guitar
Few things in this world are more strongly tied to American identity than the guitar. Upon mention any person can instantly recall a famous performance or guitar hero from any number of musical genres. In recent years a revival in an unassuming small acoustic guitar has taken place. With this newfound popularity the parlor guitar has found itself a subject of interest and a topic of discussion at the local guitar shop. The truth of the instrument and it’s origins have been clouded by myth and legend. Stories about it being made small for women and played for folk music abound. This article will set the record straight on several fronts. First the guitar was not made small for women. Second the guitar was played by people from all genders and backgrounds, and Finally the guitar was part of a musical tradition that had European roots and classical study.
What Is It?
The parlor guitar is a small acoustic guitar that came to prominence during the late 1800’s and early 1900’s in America. The instrument differs from a classical guitar in that it was strung with steel strings instead of catgut and came out of a European design instead of the Spanish design.
Why So Small?
Many people believe that the parlor guitar obtained its small size in order to be marketed and sold to women. The truth is that the guitars of the time were much smaller than today’s guitars by tradition. The guitars of the 1800’s were small by today's standards, possibly due to their evolution from the similarly sized lute. It was not until 1916 that the dreadnought size (the most common size today) was even produced [1].
A Guitar for Women?
The most prominent myth about the parlor guitar today is that it was a women’s instrument. This myth falls apart with the guitar’s first arrival to America. In his book “Guitar an American Life” Tim Brooks shows that the guitar was played by both men and women in the Spanish colonies before the nation even began [2]. The popularity of the guitar among both men and women would continue into the establishment of the United States and become a large part of new American views on music during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In earlier times the study of music was reserved for masters of the craft. It was something to be played by a talented few middle class artists for their patrons[3]. During the emergence of the parlor guitar American’s viewed music as an academic pursuit that would better the life of the common person. This new populist view of music allowed both men and women to study, play, and teach the guitar. This freedom of teaching and performance for women would have a great impact on society at the time. Historian Barbara Howe documents the acceptance and prominence of women Guitar teachers in Wheeling Virginia: arguing that the cultural and artistic prominence of the city wouldn’t have existed without the influential women of the time [4].
Folk Guitar or Folklore?
The final misconception about the parlor guitar regards the music played on the instrument. The term parlor guitar comes from the musical tradition that it was predominantly part of, the parlor music tradition. This tradition is often categorized as informal folk music; however, this could not be farther from the truth. Jeffrey Noonan rails against this idea arguing instead that the European heritage of parlor music and formal study propelled the guitar to its success [5]. The parlor tradition was not only studied but tremendously influential in American society. Parlor Musicians studied and performed at all skill levels. Even children were taught and encourages to play and sing along to the music as recalled by Edith Borroff.
“whoever could make music made it. This included household members and gusts, and it most especially included the children, who listened regularly birth (and before), and who performed when they were able” [6].
It is this widespread access which constitutes the fundamental strength of the parlor movement. Instead of a system of music which separates the amateur and the professional musician as we have today, parlor music was a social institution in which families and friends came together to enjoy playing and dancing to music.
A Parlor Like No Other
The American parlor music tradition would give rise to new styles by the beginning of the 20th century. While the parlor guitar would lose its prominence to the larger bodied guitars it has remained in use by folk and blues musicians to this day. With the recent resurgence in popularity the humble parlor guitar has even earned the honor of being the first acoustic guitar played in space.
[1] “Dreadnought Story,” Martin Guitar, Accessed November 26, 2018, https://www.martinguitar.com/about/martin-story/dreadnought-story/.
[2] Tim Brookes, Guitar an American Life, (New York, Grove Press, 2005),17–22, 29–35.
[3] James H. Ston, “Mid-Nineteenth-Century American Beliefs in the Social Values of Music”, (January 1957), 38–49.
[4] Barbara J. Howe, “On Stage and in Class: Women Artists in Mid-19th-Century Wheeling, (Spring/Summer, 2010), 184–209.
[5] Jeffrey J. Noonan, The Guitar in America: Victorian Era to Jazz Age, (Jackson Mississippi, University Press of Mississippi, 2008), 5.
[6] Edith Borroff, “An American Parlor at the turn of the Century”(Autumn 1986), 303.
