The Guitar Thread

[horacejesse]

No doubt about it, Ern could become a fingerpicker and I could play keyboards. Will we, though?I find myself thinking it would take too long and I don't have time, even though I would be starting with excellent knowledge of music theory plus dexterity from another instrument. I know I can do it yet I tell myself I can't. Ern plays keyboard with right hand and one-handed bass with the left, but tells himself he just can't fingerpick guitar. What are we really telling ourselves? Karma points for the correct answer. I am glad to see Knopfler finally made it to church.

[sgs4u]

Quote:What are we really telling ourselves? Karma points for the correct answer. where there us a will, there is a way... build it and they will come...

[horacejesse]

Gong, gong! Contestant #1, incorrect. "Don't bother me, mister, this grease monkey don't slide," is the correct translation. If you can tell me where that is from, you win super karma points.What are you doing lurking around here today Steve? Don't you have music to write and produce?

[sgs4u]

Quote: Gong, gong! Contestant #1, incorrect. "Don't bother me, mister, this grease monkey don't slide," is the correct translation. If you can tell me where that is from, you win super karma points.What are you doing lurking around here today Steve? Don't you have music to write and produce?Don't we all? Besides, HJ, some of my "inspiration" comes from what you write about!

[ernstinen]

Quote:Ern plays keyboard with right hand and one-handed bass with the left, but tells himself he just can't fingerpick guitar. What are we really telling ourselves? Karma points for the correct answer.Mental block? Here's another conundrum:I could play classical piano like Mozart when I was 8 years old. I gave it up a few years later and learned to play by ear. That's where my left hand bass chops were obviously a natural thing for me. And I can improvise and solo with my right hand.NOW, (I don't like to use the word CAN'T) I can't, er, I have a REAL hard time reading piano music and playing both parts at the same time. I can read and play single lines (oboe, voice etc.) fine, but putting both hands together when I read piano music doesn't work. I'm at a 5-year-old level. Must be brain damage. Ern

[horacejesse]

When you were eight you could read piano music like a whiz. Now you are one thousand times the musician you were then and you can't read piano very well. We can forget almost anything given enough time.Reading guitar is pretty difficult too. I am at a level I call advanced mediocre, when it comes to reading guitar music. Hey, I've got students I have to stay ahead of.I can now read intermediate stuff by Guliani, Sor, et al, and it actually sounds a fair bit like the piece is supposed to the first time through.Fast forward to about 1890 and cats like Tarrega, and I just have a hell of a hard time reading them with any clarity. The harmonies and even the fingerings of the old masters are so predictable that it makes reading them fairly easy. But as soon as I get near the modern age, the guitar composers stop using predictable harmonies and fingerings, and I sound like one of my students trying to read Guliani. An observer wouldn't even be able to tell how the song sounds. Sigh.

[horacejesse]

I was wondering how other guitarists on here deal with string squeak. Or do you deal with it at all? Maybe you just leave it as it is and do not worry about it, accepting it as a natural by-product of the instrument.There was a string squeak in one of my pieces that forced me to do the whole thing over it was so horrible.Do some of you guys have ways of equalizing the bad squeaks out or down at least? It seems to be worse on acoustic guitars, perhaps classicals especially.On the old Segovia records the squeaking can get quite pronounced. No one seemed to bothered by it. But I have noticed on Christopher Parkening recordings there is almost none. Is that a result of recording processing or playing technique?

[ggalen]

Funny that you mentioned string squeak.On the first tune on my website player (Traveling By Night), there is a pronounced string squeak halfway through it...at first I wondered about it, but after listening a few times I found I actually like it. It gives the piece a "live feel", I think.

[clonsberry]

Quote:I was wondering how other guitarists on here deal with string squeak. Or do you deal with it at all? Maybe you just leave it as it is and do not worry about it, accepting it as a natural by-product of the instrument.When I first started recording new age guitar stuff, squeak made me crazy. Since then, I've heard a lot of "professionals" with squeak in their tracks. So I've learned to lighten up a bit and view it as part of the nuance of the instrument. I draw the line though when it becomes distracting from the tune. You're listening to a melody and someone drags a flaming cat across a razor blade. Yeah, I'd either edit that down some or retake, depending on how bad it is. Just like a vocal on a demo.. you don't want something that draws attention away from the song. But a little character is okay. For guitar squeak, it's personal preference. Or.. there's Finger Ease String Lube.

[horacejesse]

Crazy For Squeak might make a good band name these days.