“Anyone can make the simple complicated. Creativity is making the complicated simple.”
- Charles Mingus
“You can play a shoestring, if you are sincere.”
- John Coltrane
"When people believe in boundaries, they become part of them." (Don Cherry)
"Do not fear mistakes. There are none." (Miles Davis)
"As you can see, we've been practicing all afternoon" (Joe Pass during a concert late in the afternoon)
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Why is the guitar tuned the way it is?
Why is the guitar tuned the way it is?
Thanks for the great in-depth information Brian
As to why the major third, it seems quite obvious to me that it benefits open string chords, thus improving guitar sound. The examples that come to mind are: E chord (open E, B and E again), A chord (open E, A, E), C (open E, G, E), G chord (open D, G, B – all notes!).
If it was all fourths, we would need more fingers, and sound would not be so open. Let’s not forget that guitar sound volume has always been an issue, when compared to any other orchestra instrument, specially early when the construction was not as good as nowadays.
Of course when we talk about electric guitar on this jazz guitar context, these open-string chords are completely avoidable, because they mess up the sound.
My little bit
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Brian posted this:
Sent: quarta-feira, 20 de Junho de 2007 22:37
To: jazz_guitar@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [jazz_guitar] Re: Why is the guitar tuned the way it is?
There is a wonderful book called "Guitar, Music, History and Players" by Richard Chapman.
It talks about surviving music for the vihuela. It says the vihuela was originally tuned like a lute and had 6 courses, while the guiterra had only 4. As far back as 1555 tunings for the six courses were given as ADGBEA and GCFADG.
In this book there are reproductions of diagrams from a self instruction book called "Guitarra Espanola y Vandola" written by Carlos y Amat in 1596.
The book is written for 5 course guitar tuned ADGBE, and the drawings show some of today's familiar chord forms being played.
I guess the "why" is long lost in history, but it seems that those players did then as they often do today (with dropped D, DADGAD, open G,A and E, to name a few), and tuned their instruments to whatever gave them the sounds they needed to be creative.
Without music life would be a mistake
..........Friedrich Nietzche
Thanks for the great in-depth information Brian
As to why the major third, it seems quite obvious to me that it benefits open string chords, thus improving guitar sound. The examples that come to mind are: E chord (open E, B and E again), A chord (open E, A, E), C (open E, G, E), G chord (open D, G, B – all notes!).
If it was all fourths, we would need more fingers, and sound would not be so open. Let’s not forget that guitar sound volume has always been an issue, when compared to any other orchestra instrument, specially early when the construction was not as good as nowadays.
Of course when we talk about electric guitar on this jazz guitar context, these open-string chords are completely avoidable, because they mess up the sound.
My little bit
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Brian posted this:
Sent: quarta-feira, 20 de Junho de 2007 22:37
To: jazz_guitar@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [jazz_guitar] Re: Why is the guitar tuned the way it is?
There is a wonderful book called "Guitar, Music, History and Players" by Richard Chapman.
It talks about surviving music for the vihuela. It says the vihuela was originally tuned like a lute and had 6 courses, while the guiterra had only 4. As far back as 1555 tunings for the six courses were given as ADGBEA and GCFADG.
In this book there are reproductions of diagrams from a self instruction book called "Guitarra Espanola y Vandola" written by Carlos y Amat in 1596.
The book is written for 5 course guitar tuned ADGBE, and the drawings show some of today's familiar chord forms being played.
I guess the "why" is long lost in history, but it seems that those players did then as they often do today (with dropped D, DADGAD, open G,A and E, to name a few), and tuned their instruments to whatever gave them the sounds they needed to be creative.
Without music life would be a mistake
..........Friedrich Nietzche
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