The author is Gregg Miner, and Gregg has an extensive library of harp guitar music. A long time ago I met Gregg when one of my friends Brad Hoyt (a keyboard and harp guitarist as well) hosted a harp guitar convention here in Indianapolis, and I got recruited to help. Gregg and the rest of the artists that were there were extremely approachable, and most of the crowd were musicians (some pretty famous ones, too) checking out one of the more interesting variations of the guitar... and what you could do with one. Fun times.
The Birth of the American 12-string Guitar (2013)
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Re: The Birth of the American 12-string Guitar (2013)
#12Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why frets? Orchestral strings don’t use frets.
Frets make chords possible. You only have to put your finger somewhere in between two frets to get a particular note, so you can play more than the tiny handful of chords that can be played on something like a violin. There are non-fretted guitars but they are rare, and I think early banjos were not fretted.
> Frets make chords possible.
What do you think double-stops are?
Re: The Birth of the American 12-string Guitar (2013)
#1312 strings is one thing, but how about microtonal? That's instead of adding strings, you add frets! If you haven't heard them yet, you're in for a wild ride: https://www.youtube.com/@AnginePoitrine
Why frets? Orchestral strings don’t use frets.
What's the difference in sustain time between a cello played pizzicato and a plucked guitar string?
Re: The Birth of the American 12-string Guitar (2013)
#1412 strings is one thing, but how about microtonal? That's instead of adding strings, you add frets! If you haven't heard them yet, you're in for a wild ride: https://www.youtube.com/@AnginePoitrine
That's the first time I've heard microtonal work in a rock setting. Pretty good! I see your added frets, and raise "add frets on the fly using Lego": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPCEImSfCwc
> That's the first time I've heard microtonal work in a rock setting. Pretty good!
Really? I highly recommend Flying Microtonal Banana.
Re: The Birth of the American 12-string Guitar (2013)
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
Frets make chords possible. You only have to put your finger somewhere in between two frets to get a particular note, so you can play more than the tiny handful of chords that can be played on something like a violin. There are non-fretted guitars but they are rare, and I think early banjos were not fretted.
> Frets make chords possible. What do you think double-stops are?
Whimpy-ass chords. You need three or more notes for a serious(tm) chord.
Re: The Birth of the American 12-string Guitar (2013)
#16Earlier quoted context omitted.
Frets make chords possible. You only have to put your finger somewhere in between two frets to get a particular note, so you can play more than the tiny handful of chords that can be played on something like a violin. There are non-fretted guitars but they are rare, and I think early banjos were not fretted.
> Frets make chords possible. What do you think double-stops are?
There are those who say it isn't a chord until you have 3 notes. I'm going to skip the complex music theory behind the arguments (I haven't studied them enough to understand much less form an opinion).
Of course in most music contexts there is more than one instrument playing and so the others can fill in the missing note making a full chord. Only a "one-man-band" really feels the loss.
Re: The Birth of the American 12-string Guitar (2013)
#17I'm probably preaching to the choir in a story about guitars, but if you're looking for some good 12-string music, Leo Kottke's 6 and 12 String Guitar is a good start.
If you haven't heard (or seen) Michael Hedges play a harp guitar, there's some background and links to videos here:
Re: The Birth of the American 12-string Guitar (2013)
#18Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Frets make chords possible. What do you think double-stops are?
There are those who say it isn't a chord until you have 3 notes. I'm going to skip the complex music theory behind the arguments (I haven't studied them enough to understand much less form an opinion). Of course in most music contexts there is more than one instrument playing and so the others can fill in the missing note making a full chord. Only a "one-man-band" really feels the loss.
Power chords only have two notes (although more than two octaves, I don't know if you count that)
Re: The Birth of the American 12-string Guitar (2013)
#19Re: The Birth of the American 12-string Guitar (2013)
#20Earlier quoted context omitted.
There are those who say it isn't a chord until you have 3 notes. I'm going to skip the complex music theory behind the arguments (I haven't studied them enough to understand much less form an opinion). Of course in most music contexts there is more than one instrument playing and so the others can fill in the missing note making a full chord. Only a "one-man-band" really feels the loss.
Power chords only have two notes (although more than two octaves, I don't know if you count that)
It's self-consistent: those who say that a chord must have at least 3 notes also say that power chords are not technically chords