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What are the different types of guitar-like instruments?
What is the most guitar-like instrument?
Are there any guitarlike instruments in the world?
Is the guitar the only instrument that functions the same way?
- Ryan Dowell
- Banjo. The banjo was first created by enslaved Africans and their descendants in the Caribbean and colonial North America. Today the banjo is closely associated with American folk music, but you can actually hear its distinct twangy sound in genres like jazz, bluegrass, and of course country.
- Mandolin. Mandolin or mandoline was developed in Italy during the 17th-18th century. While this instrument does remind me of a violin because of its size or perhaps because it’s also tuned like a violin, however, it also shares a few similarities with the guitar.
- Guitarron. It’s hard to miss the similarities between the guitarron and the guitar, but you may be surprised to find out that the Mexican guitarron was “independently developed from the sixteenth-century Spanish bajo de uña.”
- Sitar. Just like the guitar, the sitar is a stringed instrument of the lute family, and you have to pluck or strum the strings to produce the sitar’s unique sound.
- Appallachian Dulcimer. To begin, we have a stringed instrument which is altogether rather divorced from the guitar. Sure, there are still strings, a neck, and frets of some kind, but the sound and mode of play is entirely different.
- Balalaika. The balalaika is a plucked string instrument with its origins in Russia and neighboring Eastern European countries. One of the first things people note is the triangular shape of the body which has a very characteristic tonal quality.
- Turkish Oud. Closely related to other native string instruments like the bouzouki and the bandura (both of which are direct influences on the oud), this instruments features a large and rotund pear-shaped body alongside a short and fretless neck crowned with a headstock bent backward toward the player.
- Bandura. Like other stringed instruments here arrayed, this is an instrument that is meant to be plucked, though make sure you pay heed to all those extra strings!
- Banjo
- Ukulele
- Mandolin
- Guitarron
- Kobza
- Turkish Oud
- Balalaika
- Hybrid Guitars
The banjois perhaps the most well-known and recognizable guitar-like instrument. First created by African slaves in the Caribbean and North America, the banjo was originally a folk instrument. These days it is perhaps more associated with genres like bluegrass and country. Although the banjo is quite similar to the guitar, there are several signifi...
Perhaps the only other guitar-like instrument as famous as the banjo, the ukulele is a small stringed instrument from Hawaii. It is based on other small, Portuguese guitar-like instruments like the machete and cavaquinho. The ukulele is quite similar to the guitar, often being called a mini guitar. It has a similar body shape and fretboard to an ac...
The mandolin is a stringed instrument in the lute family. It originates from Italy, some time between the 17th and 18thcenturies. The mandolin is a fairly small instrument, only slightly larger than a ukulele. The body has a pear shape and a curved, bowl-like back. Mandolins usually come with eight strings, although five and twelve-string versions ...
The most guitar-like instrument on this list, the guitarron, is basically an oversized acoustic guitar. Even though the guitarron is so similar to the guitar, it was developed independently from the 16th-century Spanish instrument bajo de una. Although its body is a similar shape, the guitarron has a much larger body than a guitar, with a curved ba...
The kobza is a traditional Ukrainian instrument. It has some relation to the mandolin as both are in the lute family and are relatives of the mandora. It also has a very similar look to the mandolin. With a similarly pear-shaped body, although slightly larger, with a longer neck. The kobza also has between six and twelve strings. These are normally...
The Turkish oud is by far the oldest instrument on this list. The first reference to the “modern” oud dates back all the way to the 11thcentury. It closely resembles both the kobza and the mandolin. This is mainly because it is the originator that would later influence the creation of the instruments like the mandora, which would eventually lead to...
The balalaika is a traditional Russian instrument and is most associated with Russian folk music. Its most recognizable feature is its triangle-shaped body. Unlike the guitar, the balalaika only has three strings. The strings are also normally tuned with two strings being the same note, and the third tuned a perfect fourth higher. The standard tuni...
There are also plenty of hybrid instruments that combine one instrument with the guitar. This is usually done to give the instrument characteristics of both instruments while making it function more like a guitar. The hybrid instrument usually has the body of the non-guitar, with the neck being more like that of a guitar. It will also normally have...
- Ukulele. The ukulele is a small, four-stringed instrument that originates from Hawaii. It’s similar to the guitar in terms of its construction, but it has a much more cheerful and jaunty sound.
- Mandolin. The mandolin is a fretted stringed instrument that originated in Italy that is similar in appearance to the guitar. However, the mandolin has eight strings arranged in pairs, and it produces a sharp, piercing sound.
- Banjo. The banjo is a stringed instrument with a long neck and round body. It has five strings, which are most commonly plucked with the fingers. Although most commonly associated with American folk music, it has also been used in a variety of other genres, including blues, jazz, and country.
- Sitar. The sitar is also a stringed instrument but this one originates from India. It is typically made of teak wood and has a large, gourd-shaped resonating chamber.
24 minutes read. Think you’ve seen all there is in the realm of stringed instruments because you play the guitar? There’s a whole world of guitarlike instruments out there, each with its own unique sound and cultural background.
There are several instruments that are very similar to the guitar, including the Ukulele, Banjo, Mandolin, Oud, Theorbo, Renaissance Guitar, Baroque Guitar, and even the Balalaika. These instruments developed alongside or before the guitar and are used widely in their respective regions.
The most popular guitar-like instruments that you might consider playing are the: bass. banjo. ukulele. mandolin. and guitar hybrids. Of course: There are plenty more plucked string instruments similar to the guitar that you can find on Wikipedia. But Iv’e listed the most popular ones above.
