"...the guitar is nothing without its sound..."
--John Taylor, Tone Production on the Classical Guitar
Some variables that affect tone:
1) the guitar itself
What type of wood? How old? Solid or laminated top? What type of bracing? Where was it assembled? By whom? Which brand?
All these count I guess. But the only way to judge a guitar is to play it. JB Music has a really nice one on display worth more than 100000php but it sounds amazing--loud and warm and responsive. Lyric had a Cordoba I tried out recently--not the famous C5 but something worth double. Not as amazing as the first one, but also not as expensive--it costs less than 40k.
Hmmm. This window shopping is giving me problems. I still want one by Tabo Derecho though. And I want to try out some of the higher-end Cebu guitars.
2) strings
Well, since the guitar simply amplifies the "signal" from its strings, good strings really count.
I had been relying for decades on D'Addario Pro Arte Normal Tension strings, but decided to try Savarez. Was a bit cautious because its higher tension might wreck my Yamaha CG-80A. So far so good. They sound a bit weaker but the tone is more nuanced. Or maybe I just got a little bit better since I last changed strings.
3) bridge nut material
It might be my imagination but ever since Sir Arie Hipolito replaced my plastic bridge nut with one of bone, my guitar has never sounded the same. I guess there's a reason why people believe that bone is the best material to transfer a string's vibrations to the guitar body.
4) nail shape
Sir Ruben Reyes taught me gow to file my nails with two grades of sandpaper.
But then I read Christopher Parkening's guitar Method and used a file instead, with some sandpaper for fine tuning.
The right shape gives the guitar a warmer, fuller sound and greater volume. Plus it's very easy to play with correctly-filed nails.
5) attack, hand position, string choice
A thicker string creates a smoother tone.
The higher you are on the fretboard, the warmer the tone.
Knuckles lined up parallel to the strings creates more definition/clarity.
Knuckles at an angle produces a warm sound.
When I get this, and can play my pieces perfectly, maybe I'll deserve a new guitar.
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
not-so-random musical musings
A few things I learned recently.
1) TRITONE SUBSTITUTIONS
My brother Jona came from the Elements Songwriting Camp a few weeks ago. He told how he met Gerard Salonga and how they talked for a while about tritone substitutions.
Tritone what? So I did what any decent music theorist would do. I googled it.
Found that I could change the bass on a C7 and make it an F#7 as I transition to an F (root) chord. And so on and so forth. Thanks Jone and Gerard.
2) MORE SUBSTITUTIONS
I'd listened to a Joe Pass instructional video (Hot Licks) a few years back and learned some chord modifications I could do. Flat 5th, sharp 5th, Flat 9, Sharp 9, 13, and their combinations.
But now armed with the tritone insight, the next part of the video finally clicked in my mind. I could look for modified chords which had some notes in common and use them for substitutions.
A long time ago, I saw in the Jingle magazine OPM issue how Apo Hiking Society's "When I Met You" would transition AM7 to D using G13, D#9 instead of the usual Em, A7. And now I could finally explain why that worked.
G13 shares the notes E, G, and B with Em. While D#9 has the notes G, C#, and F from an A7#5. And so on and so forth. Next up: make it automatic. And learn how to build scales based on those chords.
3) UNIFIED THEORY OF MUSIC
Jona also mentioned how he now had a "unified theory of music". I asked him what it was and he only anwered cryptically along the lines of "stuff you do that makes music music."
He explained in more detail eventually. But then I had observed enough of him, Noel Cabangon, Alvin Barcelona, and even some of my students to form my own theory. Something close to "laging galing sa puso" as Bro. Alvin told us during practices for his IMPinoy concerts.
4) VOCALIZATION
Noel Miranda asked Jen and me to sing "Mercy and Compassion" for the whole high school.
The show started early in the morning and I needed to be alone in one wing of the chapel to vocalize. I asked Ma-an for advice and she said the sound should fill up my sinuses. She used to tell me to sing like the sound was emanating from the area around my nose and forehead, but it was the first time I had heard mention of sinuses. Those few minutes in the chapel was also the first time I could feel and visualize sound filling the spaces in my sinuses. And that did it.
5) PREREQUISITES
I was surprised that we had to sing on stage. I thought we would be off to the right of the stage where I could read lyrics. I hadn't memorized the song yet. So I had to improvise. Got a few pieces of bond paper and a permanent marker, wrote my verse down, and taped them to the monitor. Voila--instant teleprompter!
Once I felt comfortable with the notes, and was sure I could read the lyrics if I suddenly forget, I had a chance "na kumanta malalim na lugar"/to sing from a deep place. To make music. To communicate.
6) PRACTICE
Just came from playing a Mass and a few Christmas songs with EnPsalm--friends I'd been singing with for more than 20 years. I had the pieces. I wrote down the chords. My guitar was tuned, my hair waxed, my blazer on.
Still I made mistakes.
For the first song which I had never performed before, I was foolhardy enough to start playing without the chords in front of me.
For the other song, I had written down the chords because I'd also never performed it and I wanted to apply the new chord sunstitutions. Turns out complicated chord names aren't easy to speedread. And I had to stop for 2 or 3 measures.
:( especially since we were getting paid and I thought of myself as a professional. Not professional enough it seems.
Reminds me of something Junji Lerma mentioned in a Klaseng Ibang Klase session maybe 7 years ago: "If you can't play it standing up, lying down, sleepy, or drunk, don't bother playing it." This must have come from his experience at the UP Conservatory where he had to learn pieces until he could play them perfectly, and maybe even put in his own personality, or better yet actually say something new.
How long did that take? And how much did he learn from mastering even the simplest of pieces? nd how can I recreate that experience for myself?
Hmmm...
1) TRITONE SUBSTITUTIONS
My brother Jona came from the Elements Songwriting Camp a few weeks ago. He told how he met Gerard Salonga and how they talked for a while about tritone substitutions.
Tritone what? So I did what any decent music theorist would do. I googled it.
Found that I could change the bass on a C7 and make it an F#7 as I transition to an F (root) chord. And so on and so forth. Thanks Jone and Gerard.
2) MORE SUBSTITUTIONS
I'd listened to a Joe Pass instructional video (Hot Licks) a few years back and learned some chord modifications I could do. Flat 5th, sharp 5th, Flat 9, Sharp 9, 13, and their combinations.
But now armed with the tritone insight, the next part of the video finally clicked in my mind. I could look for modified chords which had some notes in common and use them for substitutions.
A long time ago, I saw in the Jingle magazine OPM issue how Apo Hiking Society's "When I Met You" would transition AM7 to D using G13, D#9 instead of the usual Em, A7. And now I could finally explain why that worked.
G13 shares the notes E, G, and B with Em. While D#9 has the notes G, C#, and F from an A7#5. And so on and so forth. Next up: make it automatic. And learn how to build scales based on those chords.
3) UNIFIED THEORY OF MUSIC
Jona also mentioned how he now had a "unified theory of music". I asked him what it was and he only anwered cryptically along the lines of "stuff you do that makes music music."
He explained in more detail eventually. But then I had observed enough of him, Noel Cabangon, Alvin Barcelona, and even some of my students to form my own theory. Something close to "laging galing sa puso" as Bro. Alvin told us during practices for his IMPinoy concerts.
4) VOCALIZATION
Noel Miranda asked Jen and me to sing "Mercy and Compassion" for the whole high school.
The show started early in the morning and I needed to be alone in one wing of the chapel to vocalize. I asked Ma-an for advice and she said the sound should fill up my sinuses. She used to tell me to sing like the sound was emanating from the area around my nose and forehead, but it was the first time I had heard mention of sinuses. Those few minutes in the chapel was also the first time I could feel and visualize sound filling the spaces in my sinuses. And that did it.
5) PREREQUISITES
I was surprised that we had to sing on stage. I thought we would be off to the right of the stage where I could read lyrics. I hadn't memorized the song yet. So I had to improvise. Got a few pieces of bond paper and a permanent marker, wrote my verse down, and taped them to the monitor. Voila--instant teleprompter!
Once I felt comfortable with the notes, and was sure I could read the lyrics if I suddenly forget, I had a chance "na kumanta malalim na lugar"/to sing from a deep place. To make music. To communicate.
6) PRACTICE
Just came from playing a Mass and a few Christmas songs with EnPsalm--friends I'd been singing with for more than 20 years. I had the pieces. I wrote down the chords. My guitar was tuned, my hair waxed, my blazer on.
Still I made mistakes.
For the first song which I had never performed before, I was foolhardy enough to start playing without the chords in front of me.
For the other song, I had written down the chords because I'd also never performed it and I wanted to apply the new chord sunstitutions. Turns out complicated chord names aren't easy to speedread. And I had to stop for 2 or 3 measures.
:( especially since we were getting paid and I thought of myself as a professional. Not professional enough it seems.
Reminds me of something Junji Lerma mentioned in a Klaseng Ibang Klase session maybe 7 years ago: "If you can't play it standing up, lying down, sleepy, or drunk, don't bother playing it." This must have come from his experience at the UP Conservatory where he had to learn pieces until he could play them perfectly, and maybe even put in his own personality, or better yet actually say something new.
How long did that take? And how much did he learn from mastering even the simplest of pieces? nd how can I recreate that experience for myself?
Hmmm...
Thursday, October 15, 2015
Best setup so far
Played at 2 concerts during the last months (which is a lot for a hobbyist). Noticed again how hard it is to mic my the Yamaha CG-80A classical guitar I've been using for the past 20 years. And how it's almost impossible to get the sound I really want if there's not much time to do a soundcheck and I'm not the one mixing.
So I finally decided to install a pickup inside my priceless guitar. Surfed the net and was overwhelmed by the number of pickups to choose from. What seemed to be the best one would cost me 12000php (the Anthem) which cost more than a brand new Yamaha CX40 classical guitar with preamp.
Good thing my award-winning composer friend Toto Sorioso gave me his guitar tech's number a while back. And I am immensely happy that I brought my guitar to Sir Arie Hipolito of Guitar Hospital near Welcome Rotonda.
He installed an under-the-saddle pickup from his supplier, replaced my loose plastic saddle with a bone saddle, returned the action to the original one which was perfect for me, and applied beeswax on the pegs of my recently-replaced Yamaha machine head.
I also just strung my guitar with Savarez 520R's. And bought a Behringer V-tone ADI21 Acoustic preamp which was on sale.
So now, if I file my nails just right, I can create tones I never even knew were possible. Maybe the thicker Savarez strings (higher tension than my usual D'Addarios) linger just a split second longer on my fingers. Or maybe the strings are just more balanced and nuanced. Or maybe the bone saddle is more efficient at transferring the sound to my brigde and soundboard. (Or maybe I've learned a thing or twonah!) But my unplugged sound is better than ever.
And plugged--I wouldn't say sounds better--but sounds exactly the same! Which is what a good pickup and preamp combination should be able to dorecreate the sound of a miced classical guitar.
Played with this setup 4 days straight for my Papa. I'm sure he was clapping right along with me. As some Filipinos say: Thanks God!
So I finally decided to install a pickup inside my priceless guitar. Surfed the net and was overwhelmed by the number of pickups to choose from. What seemed to be the best one would cost me 12000php (the Anthem) which cost more than a brand new Yamaha CX40 classical guitar with preamp.
Good thing my award-winning composer friend Toto Sorioso gave me his guitar tech's number a while back. And I am immensely happy that I brought my guitar to Sir Arie Hipolito of Guitar Hospital near Welcome Rotonda.
He installed an under-the-saddle pickup from his supplier, replaced my loose plastic saddle with a bone saddle, returned the action to the original one which was perfect for me, and applied beeswax on the pegs of my recently-replaced Yamaha machine head.
I also just strung my guitar with Savarez 520R's. And bought a Behringer V-tone ADI21 Acoustic preamp which was on sale.
So now, if I file my nails just right, I can create tones I never even knew were possible. Maybe the thicker Savarez strings (higher tension than my usual D'Addarios) linger just a split second longer on my fingers. Or maybe the strings are just more balanced and nuanced. Or maybe the bone saddle is more efficient at transferring the sound to my brigde and soundboard. (Or maybe I've learned a thing or two
And plugged--I wouldn't say sounds better--but sounds exactly the same! Which is what a good pickup and preamp combination should be able to do
Played with this setup 4 days straight for my Papa. I'm sure he was clapping right along with me. As some Filipinos say: Thanks God!
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