The genealogy of the guitar on the European continent can be traced back to the instruments that we consider its predecessors – the vihuela and the lute. The Baroque period brought a greater popularization of the guitar compared to previous periods, but it still remained in the shadow of its predecessors, the vihuela and the lute. The Classical period marks the transition from the Baroque guitar with five courses to the romantic guitar with six individual strings. At that point, the guitar moves further away from its predecessors and features of the modern guitar begin to appear. Dionisio Aguado left behind a legacy that had a lasting impact on the world of classical guitar. His works and methods, innovations in the guitar technique, as well as his passion for the instrument, laid the foundation for the progress of the instrument and the education of the next generation of famous guitarists. Aguado's most significant work is not a performance piece but a pedagogical one – Nuevo Método para Guitarra, published in 1843 in Madrid. Ferdinando Carulli was a self-taught guitarist and composer. His talent and passion for the guitar quickly established him as one of the most important guitarists of his time. His method called Méthode compléte pour parvenir a pincer de la Guitare, op. 241 was revolutionary because it covered all aspects of guitar playing, from basic techniques to advanced skills. Fernando Sor is one of the key figures in the history of the guitar, both as a composer and as an excellent performer. Méthode pour la Guitare is the name of Sor's method for the classical guitar, and it was published in 1830 in Paris. It is also the first and only authentic edition of Sor's method. Although there are conflicting opinions about Sor's method, its importance lies in the fact that its author is one of the first performers whose fame will arise to that of performers of other, then much more popular instruments.