The Anatomy of The Acoustic Guitar

Here we have a chart of the fundamental anatomy of the acoustic guitar (steel string in this photo). All parts are named according to terms most commonly used in the present day. Click Here For Printer Version

Understanding The Staff

This chart has recently been completed to fill the demand by my students for a clear and concise reference as to how they may understand the staff. With this particular chart I have added all the basic information for understanding the fundamentals of the staff in treble and bass clefs. Click Here For Printer Version

8 Stave Manuscript Paper (My Personal Favorite)

This is my personal favorite staff paper, it is 8 stave and is great for lead sheets and/or general notation. Please feel free to print as many copies as you would like.

8 Stave Manuscript Paper (Printable Version)

Chord Diagram Blanks (5 Fret Range)

Here are the 9-to-a-page chord diagram blanks that I use regularly in my teaching. Feel free to click, enlarge and print as many as you like! Click Here For Printer Version

Fretboard Diagram Blanks (15 Fret Range)

For all of you visually oriented learners (that would mean guitarists) I have made these 15 fret range fretboard diagram blanks. Click For Printer Version

Roland Cube 15xl: Gear Review

When you play a lot of jazz you need to have an amplifier that is clean, loud enough for the playing situation, and can accurately reproduce the sound of the instrument. This combination is found in the Roland Cube 15xl which offers a myriad of other pro features which we will discuss later. But first the amp and its specifications:

- 15-watt guitar amp with 8” high-performance speaker
- Two channels: independent Clean and Lead
- 3 authentic BOSS Lead tones including METAL ZONE, plus new EXTREME
- Power Squeezer for full gain at low volume
- AUX IN jack to connect portable music players

- Width (W) 335 mm/13-3/16 inches

- Depth (D)240 mm/9-1/2 inches

- Height (H)335 mm/13-3/16 inches

- Weight 7.2 kg/15 lbs. 14 oz.

My first impression of this amp, which was purchased for my lovely girlfriend for her Christmas gift, was very good. I was happy with the built quality, compactness, and rugged look of the amp. Of course I assumed that this amp was only large enough for the practice room, but I was mistaken. After plugging in with my Fender Telecaster I was pleasantly surprised at the capable volume this amp puts out. I would be comfortable playing with a trio with brush drums and bass (maybe even a piano quartet). All this only on the clean channel!

The Tele also ran through all the distortion settings, all of which are very nice and usable. I personally do not use much of the overdriven sounds these days but my personal favorite on this amp is the "Overdrive" preset. This selection is a mild, mid range enhanced classic tone. My guess is that it is modeled after the Boss OD-3 pedal. The "distortion" is based on the DS-1, the "Metal Zone" is obvious and the "extreme" may be based on the Boss ML-2 Metal Core.

Once I plugged the old ES-175 into this amp and switched to clean then put all the EQ controls at 12 o'clock I had the classic "Polytone" jazz sound. This tone is warm, dry, detailed, bell-like in the highs and slightly thumpy in the lows (due in part to the flat wounds) and most of all very clean!

One point of suggestion I may add is that due to this combo's 8 inch speaker you may experience some speaker distortion (breakup) as you increase the volume. My remedy to this is to decrease the bass (down to "0" if you can handle it) and slightly boost the middle control past 12 o'clock. This will prevent speaker breakup and still sound full.

I tend to be impressed by the finer details in gear so here is what I observed: light weight, rugged construction (metal grille, big corner protectors), heavy duty control knobs, real jacks, simple control layout, power switch on top (not on back leaving you feeling around for 10 seconds), line cord attached (so you don't get to a gig 20 miles away without it), long line cord (8 1/2 feet), double insulated line cord (has 2 prongs yet is grounded so you can play out in the sticks at Uncle Grumpy's hamburger joint with plugs from the 1840s and not get zapped), line cord retainer (so you don't trip on your cord as you are leaving Uncle Grumpy's and fall in the hamburger grease), closed back design for a tight sound in a small package.

The Roland Cube amp series is just an incredible value and provides a road worthy, good sounding amp in any of the models. This one is a great unit for the money and really does have a professional sound. This company reminds me of the watch I wear, a Casio G-Shock; they are built right, no frills, does the job, never fails and lasts forever. If you have never played a Cube I suggest you do so; every one I have played is great!

The Twentieth-Century Guitar: An Essay

The following essay was prepared for a college course I took in pursuit of my Bachelor's degree of music performance (classical guitar). The essay deals with the nylon-stringed variant of our favorite instrument and may be insightful to curious readers. Enjoy!

Guitar Literature and History

March 27, 2011

The Twentieth-Century Guitar

           

The era of modern guitar essentially began upon the death of legendary Spanish guitarist and composer Francisco Tárrega. By the time of his death in 1909 Tárrega had set precedents that guitarists were to follow for the better part of the century (Wade).

Echoes of Tárrega and his standardization can first be seen in the modern era of guitar beginning with the Spanish guitar maestro Andres Segovia (1893-1987). From the outset of his concert career Segovia, who never actually met Tárrega showed much respect for the manner in which Tárrega programmed his recitals. Also carrying out this same style of a program which selects a number of shorter works from various time periods and composers was a famous pupil of Tárrega, Miguel Lobet (1878-1938). Interestingly during this time instrumental recitals did not follow the chronological order of programming as came to be a standard in later years (Wade).

In the decade from 1920-1930 the classical guitar saw an ever-expanding volume of new repertory that was created for it. Segovia in particular had a way of inspiring the composers, both with knowledge of the guitar and without, to write a piece for him to play. Very notably were the pieces written for Segovia by Manuel Ponce (1882-1948), Roussel (1869-1937), Ravel (1875-1937), Grovlez (1879-1944), Turina (1882-1949), Torroba (1891-1982) and Falla (1876-1946) (Wade).

With the advancement of technology during the first half of the twentieth-century guitarists for the first time in history were able to record their music by electrical means. The Paraguayan guitarist Augustin Barrios Mangore is thought to be the first classical guitarist to have been recorded. These examples date back to 1913. Miguel Lobet recorded fifteen discs in his lifetime beginning in 1925. Segovia began his first recordings in Havana, Cuba in 1923 with his first commercial recordings being released in 1927 to rave reviews (Wade).

During the years of 1924-1930 Segovia began editing new pieces by the contemporary composers and rearranging or transcribing classic works. These included works by Bach, Torroba, Ponce, Mozart and Turina and helped to expand the guitar repertory.

Meanwhile, as Segovia focused his energies on works of many different periods, Emilio Pujol (1886-1980) did much research in the way of Renaissance and Baroque guitar. An interesting difference of opinion between Pujol and Segovia regarding the usage of fingernails when playing the guitar occurred when Pujol published his infamous “Dilemma on the Timbre of the guitar” in 1930. In this work Pujol asserts that the sound of the nail striking the string is “…conical, pungent, and nasal…” while striking with the fingertip “…possesses an intrinsic beauty…” Of course, Segovia vehemently disagreed stating that plucking with fingertips is a “…detriment of the full rendering of the guitar’s characteristic qualities…” And in the end Segovia would win this battle (Wade).

During the following years of the late 1920’s to mid 1930’s the guitar repertoire continued to expand most notably with a guitar concerto by Castello-Nuevo Todesco. In 1937 Segovia acquired one of the finest guitars ever made, a German-made 1937 Hermann Hauser I (1882-1952). This guitar would be called by Segovia, “the greatest guitar of our epoch”, and he would continue to play Hauser guitars for many years to come. Another guitar concerto, the “Concierto de Arjuanez” by Rodrigo was debuted in 1940; it later became the most popular large-scale work for guitar (Wade).

Also in 1940 the Brazilian composer, Heitor Villa-Lobos (1887-1959) presented to Segovia his “Six Preludes” one of which was very sadly lost. Fortunately, these five preludes were well received by the public and have gone on to become some of the best music for guitar.

In 1945 a great innovation took place in the realm of the guitar string. Until this point guitarists had used gut (catgut) treble strings and metal-wound spun silk for basses. These strings were plagued with constant breakages, intonation and tuning issues and thus had guitarists and luthiers seeking a better alternative. After meeting luthiers Albert Augustine (1900-1967) Segovia encouraged the maker to research nylon material for strings and in 1947 the product was copyrighted.

As time passed and many of the composers Segovia worked with had died, his fame increased exponentially and he continued to edit works and make recordings. A new generation of younger players including Yepes (1927-1997), Presti (1924-1967) and Bream (1933) began to rise to success under the carefully established techniques of the Maestro Andres Segovia.

During the 1950’s Segovia continued began teaching summer-school guitar classes, thus giving the younger generation a chance to study with him. He also continued editing pieces, and wrote the preface to the famous “Douze Etudes” by Villa-Lobos which were to be published in 1952.

Julian Bream was by the late 1950’s beginning to achieve much popularity and reputation. He, like Segovia, began to have pieces written for him to play in concert and thus made a greater name for himself in his 20s. By this time the son of Hermann Hauser I, who had since died, was building guitars in the vein of the work of his father. Hermann Hauser II (1911-1988) made what would be the guitar that Bream made famous in 1957.

In 1958 John Williams (1941) had gone to study at the Segovia summer-school program. The Maestro was greatly impressed by the young Williams and labeled him as the most promising young guitarist. In the coming years both Bream and Williams were to record commercially successful albums and give the public a point of comparison between Segovia and the new generation.

            A turning point in the guitars of Segovia was to occur in 1960 when Jose Ramirez III (1922-1995) convinced Segovia to play his instruments. The Maestro put aside his 1937 Hauser and would play Ramirez instruments for the remainder of his life. After seeing and hearing Segovia play the unique guitars with a red cedar soundboard, many other artists also switched to Ramirez guitars.

            As time wore on the new generation of guitarists including Bream, Williams, Los Romero’s, Barrueco, Barbosa-Lima, Galbraith, Isbin, Rak, Ghilia, and others have risen to fame. Luthiers with innovative and traditional ideas have added to the ever-changing technology of the guitar including Fleta, Romanillos, Rubio, Bouchet, Smallman and others. Composers such as Lauro, Brouwer, Domeniconi, Tippet and Takemitsu have all come to prove their artistry through the guitar. Only time will tell the fate of our favorite instrument, but judging by historical evidence, it seems that a bright future is ahead.

References

Wade, Graham. A Concise History of the Classic Guitar. Pacific, MO: Mel Bay Publications, 2001.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Williams_(guitarist)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narciso_Yepes

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Villa-lobos

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilio_Pujol

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turina

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torroba

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_de_Falla

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermann_Hauser,_Sr.

http://www.cinellimusic.com/imgclick.asp?src=GuitarFamilyTree_large.jpg

http://www.hauserguitars.de/

Understanding Time Signature

The fundamental concept of time signature is illustrated here; although not exhaustive it serves as an excellent foundational reference for all students. If a question may arise do not hesitate to ask. Click Here For Printer Version

Understanding Guitar Tablature

The interesting and widely popular system known as guitar tablature is explained in its fundamental form here. Note: many slight variations exist in the usage of symbols with the tablature system. It is due to these non-standardized practices that symbology is not covered here. As always, feel free to ask if you have any questions. Click Here For Printer Version

Understanding Chord Diagrams

In this installment we are looking at the full explanation chart of the notational system guitarists use known as chord diagrams. If there are any questions you may have, feel free to ask! Click Here For Printer Version

Left Hand Positions

Here we have the full explanation chart of the concept of left-hand positions on the guitar. If you have any questions feel free to ask! Click Here For Printer Version