Napoleon was a guitarist

Guitar is one of the most popular instruments among people today, yet in the past, they were considered a prized instrument within royal families and nobility, and with women in particular. According to Memoirs of the Count de Grammont by A. Hamilton, who wrote in detail about the British royal family in the seventeenth century, a guitar was as common instrument for beautiful woman just like lipstick and fake moles. The secret to the guitar's popularity was that it is relatively easy to play, can be played alone, and has a classy appeal. Yet the expert skills required for the production of guitars meant that it was out of reach of the majority of the general population.

In fact, Napoleon Bonaparte (1769 to 1821) was a guitar lover, and a collection of his guitars was discovered after his death. The image of that famous military man strumming his guitar seems somewhat strange.

Reference: Harvey Turnbull (Author), Jiro Hamada (Translator), The Guitar: From the Renaissance to the Present Day," Ongaku No Tomo Sha Corp, 1985

Paganini copied his techniques from the guitar?

Niccolo Paganini (1782 to 1840) was famous as a talented violinist who used his special techniques to impress audiences. He was actually a skilled guitarist too.

Paganini always carried his guitar with him on tour, and is said to have played it constantly. He also composed several guitar solos, or duets written for both a guitar and violin. This seems to indicate an immense knowledge of the guitar.

Yet another aspect can be identified about Paganini's relationship with the guitar. He adapted certain parts of his unique method of playing the violin from the way he played the guitar. When viewing his technique, the flagioletto, a style often used to play violins, and his plucking of strings with his left hand seem to closely resemble that of the guitar.

Reference: The Fun Guitar Encyclopedia (Yamaha Music Media)

Classical guitars have position markers?

Most acoustic guitars have position markers on the top and side of the fingerboard. It is normal for these guitars to have such marks on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 12th frets.

However, it is not out of the ordinary for entry-level classical guitars to have position markers on the side of the fingerboard on the 5th, 7th, 10th, and 12th frets (some may have fret markers only on the 5th and 7th frets). High end classical guitars generally do not have any position markers whatsoever. As with instruments in the violin family it seems that, traditionally, classical guitars did not have position markers.

Position markers are very handy for guitarists who are still learning the basics. Actually, even some professional musicians apply their own markers to their guitars!

The guitar provided consolation for Africa Americans in the nineteenth century

In the nineteenth century, several million Africans were transported to America to work as slaves on plantations in the south of the country. They expressed their desire to play music, but plantation owners thought that drums might be used as some form of communication, and banned all percussion instruments. Yet they allowed stringed instruments, and African Americans turned to the guitar as a way to seek solace. Guitars became extremely popular amongst these African Americans, and developed to such an extent that jazz and pop music became one of the most popular forms of music around the world-transcending racial and cultural barriers.

Reference: Fountain of Knowledge: Musical Instruments, Dohosha Publishing edition

The classic piece “Forbidden Games” was a low-budget composition?

The timeless masterpiece Forbidden Games (directed by Rene Clement in 1952) is well known for its beautiful guitar pieces throughout movie, and the title track is particularly famous. The one person who support this masterpiece was a young guitarist named Narciso Yepes (1927 to 1997), who was only 20 at the time. Clement and Yepes met by chance at a cafe in Paris.

By the time of that first meeting, Clement had already finished filming Forbidden Games, but was unable to include music due to a lack of funds. Upon hearing this, Yepes offered to create the soundtrack with only his guitar - the results of which greatly exceeded all expectations.

The "Forbidden Games" theme song is a classic that any beginner guitarist can play with a little practice. The original song is said to be a Spanish folksong, but no one knows who it was written by. With this one song, Yepes became a world famous guitarist.

Reference: The Fun Guitar Encyclopedia (Yamaha Music Media)