Starting to play Baroque Guitar - suggestions and advice very welcome! - Early Guitars and Vihuela2024-03-29T13:27:35Zhttp://earlyguitar.ning.com/forum/topics/starting-to-play-baroque?commentId=2111060%3AComment%3A24456&feed=yes&xn_auth=noA brief update -it may be of…tag:earlyguitar.ning.com,2011-09-12:2111060:Comment:264302011-09-12T13:12:25.954ZTonyyyyhttp://earlyguitar.ning.com/profile/Tonyyyy
<p>A brief update -it may be of interest to others starting to play or interested in trying the baroque guitar</p>
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<p>It certainly is getting easier with time not 'normal' yet compared with classical, but the left hand is adjusting well. I am still working on pieces I didnt try on classical. In retrospect I would have started with very very very easy pieces rather then just fairly easy pieces!</p>
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<p>I worked on some Sanz with fully re-entrant tuning - very satisfying. Now …</p>
<p>A brief update -it may be of interest to others starting to play or interested in trying the baroque guitar</p>
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<p>It certainly is getting easier with time not 'normal' yet compared with classical, but the left hand is adjusting well. I am still working on pieces I didnt try on classical. In retrospect I would have started with very very very easy pieces rather then just fairly easy pieces!</p>
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<p>I worked on some Sanz with fully re-entrant tuning - very satisfying. Now I have changed back to semi re-entrant and working at some Murcia (La Jelousie and Zarambeques). And also some movements of the Folia from Herzberg (thanks for the recommendation- it is a real gem and very playable)</p>
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<p>One current problem I am trying to solve is downward slurs and trills on the paired strings in higher position - the two strings of the course seem just a bit too far apart for total control , especially for my pinkie which is quite skinny. Maybe it is a guitar thing rather than a technique thing, though my guitar does look to have similar course spacings that others have (just looking at close-up pictures)</p>
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<p>Best wishes, Tony</p>
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<p>and thanks again for the encouragement - it means a lot</p> i suppose i am *slightly* for…tag:earlyguitar.ning.com,2011-07-20:2111060:Comment:246562011-07-20T05:17:15.883ZEdward C. Yonghttp://earlyguitar.ning.com/profile/EdwardCYong
<p>i suppose i am *slightly* fortunate in approaching BG from a background of lute and ukulele - i have no later guitar training or mentality of any sort to work against. </p>
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<p>must say, saving up to buy my first guitar and acquiring my first guitar chordbook makes me feel like i'm 15, rather than 30 :D</p>
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<p>James Tyler mentions no rest-strokes, only free-strokes. is this the general consensus?</p>
<p>i suppose i am *slightly* fortunate in approaching BG from a background of lute and ukulele - i have no later guitar training or mentality of any sort to work against. </p>
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<p>must say, saving up to buy my first guitar and acquiring my first guitar chordbook makes me feel like i'm 15, rather than 30 :D</p>
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<p>James Tyler mentions no rest-strokes, only free-strokes. is this the general consensus?</p> trying to find a comfortable…tag:earlyguitar.ning.com,2011-07-18:2111060:Comment:246192011-07-18T12:17:28.493ZEdward C. Yonghttp://earlyguitar.ning.com/profile/EdwardCYong
trying to find a comfortable holding position is precisely why i'm trying to find someone to put a button on the end so that i can use a strap. the guitar luthiers in Singapore only know electrics and have only metal endpins - i'm not letting those guys near my instrument. the violin luthiers are all terrified and refuse to work on it. i'm tearing my hair out, really.<br />
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what do most of you find to be a good angle for holding the instrument? i've no classical guitar background, so i don't…
trying to find a comfortable holding position is precisely why i'm trying to find someone to put a button on the end so that i can use a strap. the guitar luthiers in Singapore only know electrics and have only metal endpins - i'm not letting those guys near my instrument. the violin luthiers are all terrified and refuse to work on it. i'm tearing my hair out, really.<br />
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what do most of you find to be a good angle for holding the instrument? i've no classical guitar background, so i don't automatically find the 45 deg angle i seem to see on CG players to be a comfortable one.<br />
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i already pretend my tenor ukulele is a renaissance guitar - i find the ren pieces work on it quite nicely! I think some of the hurting m…tag:earlyguitar.ning.com,2011-07-18:2111060:Comment:246182011-07-18T11:57:50.693ZTonyyyyhttp://earlyguitar.ning.com/profile/Tonyyyy
<p>I think some of the hurting might be from the slightly different angle putting a slight strain on the wrist .I am gradually discovering a comfortable sitting and holding position.Playing just fairly simple hand-friendly little pieces, I can feel a day by day adjustment.</p>
<p>Sometimes I put a capo on and pretend it is a renaissance guitar!</p>
<p>I think some of the hurting might be from the slightly different angle putting a slight strain on the wrist .I am gradually discovering a comfortable sitting and holding position.Playing just fairly simple hand-friendly little pieces, I can feel a day by day adjustment.</p>
<p>Sometimes I put a capo on and pretend it is a renaissance guitar!</p> mine's a 66cm Thomann too. i…tag:earlyguitar.ning.com,2011-07-18:2111060:Comment:246142011-07-18T10:24:00.666ZEdward C. Yonghttp://earlyguitar.ning.com/profile/EdwardCYong
<p>mine's a 66cm Thomann too. i play a 67cm Harz-model archlute, but playing that doesn't tire my hands. after some 10 minutes of the 66cm BG, my left hand starts hurting. it must be the constant full chords and barrés, as i rarely do those on archlute, where i'm usually playing 2-3 part harmony.</p>
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<p>i'm very very much encouraged by Rob's words about the hands opening up.</p>
<p>mine's a 66cm Thomann too. i play a 67cm Harz-model archlute, but playing that doesn't tire my hands. after some 10 minutes of the 66cm BG, my left hand starts hurting. it must be the constant full chords and barrés, as i rarely do those on archlute, where i'm usually playing 2-3 part harmony.</p>
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<p>i'm very very much encouraged by Rob's words about the hands opening up.</p> Maybe not what you have in mi…tag:earlyguitar.ning.com,2011-07-12:2111060:Comment:244932011-07-12T19:19:41.882ZJuan Pablo Pirahttp://earlyguitar.ning.com/profile/JuanPabloPira
<p>Maybe not what you have in mind when you think about baroque guitars. But this one</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.crane.gr.jp/MakingBaroqueGuitar/CRANE_baroque_Gt_A003Plan_PDF/CRANE_baroque_Gt_A003_1_2.pdf">http://www.crane.gr.jp/MakingBaroqueGuitar/CRANE_baroque_Gt_A003Plan_PDF/CRANE_baroque_Gt_A003_1_2.pdf</a></p>
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<p>has a 62.2 cm string length. Mine is a lot like this one and it works just fine.</p>
<p>Maybe not what you have in mind when you think about baroque guitars. But this one</p>
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<p><a href="http://www.crane.gr.jp/MakingBaroqueGuitar/CRANE_baroque_Gt_A003Plan_PDF/CRANE_baroque_Gt_A003_1_2.pdf">http://www.crane.gr.jp/MakingBaroqueGuitar/CRANE_baroque_Gt_A003Plan_PDF/CRANE_baroque_Gt_A003_1_2.pdf</a></p>
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<p>has a 62.2 cm string length. Mine is a lot like this one and it works just fine.</p> Apparently you already know h…tag:earlyguitar.ning.com,2011-07-12:2111060:Comment:244852011-07-12T17:38:17.868ZChris Despopouloshttp://earlyguitar.ning.com/profile/ChrisDespopoulos
Apparently you already know how obsessed I am with fully re-entrant tuning, so I won't belabor the point. I'll just urge you to go long enough to really have fun with it. It really is a significant difference, and for me anyway it has brought new conceptions of guitar playing.
Apparently you already know how obsessed I am with fully re-entrant tuning, so I won't belabor the point. I'll just urge you to go long enough to really have fun with it. It really is a significant difference, and for me anyway it has brought new conceptions of guitar playing. Hello Monica
Yes! Not the fa…tag:earlyguitar.ning.com,2011-07-11:2111060:Comment:244562011-07-11T20:41:06.829ZTonyyyyhttp://earlyguitar.ning.com/profile/Tonyyyy
<p>Hello Monica</p>
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<p>Yes! Not the fair sex, but with smallish hands. They do spread quite well with a little gentle persuasion, so I will be patient and take Rob 's advice and let time and daily practice take its course.</p>
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<p>Tony</p>
<p>Hello Monica</p>
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<p>Yes! Not the fair sex, but with smallish hands. They do spread quite well with a little gentle persuasion, so I will be patient and take Rob 's advice and let time and daily practice take its course.</p>
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<p>Tony</p> You play along, and expect th…tag:earlyguitar.ning.com,2011-07-11:2111060:Comment:244552011-07-11T20:36:15.785ZTonyyyyhttp://earlyguitar.ning.com/profile/Tonyyyy
<blockquote>You play along, and expect the lower notes to be further up on the thumb side. It definitely makes it hard to play when the pitch you hear isn't what you expect to hear. I quickly went to fully re-entrant (no bordones) because I was focusing on G. Sanz... That's even harder to get used to.</blockquote>
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<p>Ive played charango and ukulele, so the re-entrant aspect is not too much of a surprise. I experimented with substituting treble strings for…</p>
<blockquote>You play along, and expect the lower notes to be further up on the thumb side. It definitely makes it hard to play when the pitch you hear isn't what you expect to hear. I quickly went to fully re-entrant (no bordones) because I was focusing on G. Sanz... That's even harder to get used to.</blockquote>
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<p>Ive played charango and ukulele, so the re-entrant aspect is not too much of a surprise. I experimented with substituting treble strings for string 4 and 5 on a spare modern guitar to play Sanz, and liked the sound (I think it was after reading one of your posts about this a few months ago).</p>
<p>At the moment I have bourdon on 4th but not 5th. I am enjoying Sanz at the moment so will try fully reentrant on baroque some time soon.</p>
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<blockquote><p>The only down side in switching back and forth between Baroque and modern guitar is fingernails. Can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.</p>
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<p>I am trying a short-nail hybrid, trying to get flesh for baroque and some nail for classical. Not too bad but not ideal; I will probably move on to no-nail soon. I don't mind no-nails on classical with aquila strings</p> Baroque guitars were certainl…tag:earlyguitar.ning.com,2011-07-11:2111060:Comment:244422011-07-11T14:31:49.510ZMonica Hallhttp://earlyguitar.ning.com/profile/MonicaHall
<p>Baroque guitars were certainly of different sizes - and some must have been smaller than what is considered appropriate today as they were tuned as much as a 4th apart. Mine does actually have a string length of only 61.5cms because I wanted it like that - being of the fair sex and a lot of women played the guitar in the 17th century. All these generalizations are based on what has survived to the present day. Mine is based on an instrument by Tessler in the Royal College of Music. …</p>
<p>Baroque guitars were certainly of different sizes - and some must have been smaller than what is considered appropriate today as they were tuned as much as a 4th apart. Mine does actually have a string length of only 61.5cms because I wanted it like that - being of the fair sex and a lot of women played the guitar in the 17th century. All these generalizations are based on what has survived to the present day. Mine is based on an instrument by Tessler in the Royal College of Music. Apparently the neck has been cut down and this is certainly the case of another surviving Tessler guitar. It would be interesting to know when and why they were cut down - certainly whilst still 5-course instruments. There is however a problem with a shorter string length and that is that it makes playing barres at high frets very awkward - and these are commonplace in the repertoire. So - as you are not of the fair sex (I think) perhaps you should just do what Rob suggests and persevere. Monica </p>
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