3rd Movement - Tutti
In this section we'll see how to play these guitars
Contents
- Playing an orchestra Guitar
This lecture © Derek Hasted 1999 - please enjoy!
Playing an Orchestra Guitar
Are they easy to play?
Yes they are! The Bass, in particular, is so similar in size and feel
to a Classical that anyone will feel at home with it in a matter of minutes.
What makes them easy to play, apart from the obviously familiar feel
that they all have, is the notation.
Despite the range of keys these instruments span, they are all notated
as if the top string were E. This makes all the instruments "Transposing
Instruments", in that what the composer writes and what the listener
hears aren't one and the same.
Have a look in my Masterclasses
where I talk about other Transposing Instruments. This principle that
each instrument is apparently the same as each other is the way that a
British Brass Band is laid out. Any player can move to another instrument
with little to learn apart from adjusting to the size. Compare this with
the string quartet, or recorder consort, in which the instruments have
a similar feel and the same basic technique, but every instrument's top
string or open pipe is notated differently - it's almost impossible for
players to swap instruments. It's only when tuning up these Orchestra
Guitars that the true pitch of the instruments is a concern. During playing,
it's the composer or arranger who's done all the thinking - the player
just plays what's on the page, and can forget about which instrument is
being played.
Mind you, I do advocate dots on the neck, even though they are out of
fashion, for anyone who moves between instruments in the Orchestra family
- one can screw up big-time whizzing up the neck and losing the plot...
If you have Full Score music, then Orchestra music can be quite odd to
study - like Brass Band Music, it's in a variety of keys, but all apparently
at the same pitch, with the bass parts apparently no lower than the tune.
Back to top
Technique for
the higher instruments
The basic technique is identical to a normal guitar. Nothing is different.
The strings are marginally closer together but not enough to notice.
Because these new instruments bring new, higher, notes, most arrangers
will concentrate on these extra notes, which are, of course, found in
the higher positions of the neck, where the reach is a lot smaller than
the same area on the Classical Guitar. Some left hand tidiness is required!
Just as a violin's pizzicato is briefer than a double bass, so the sustain
on these higher instruments isn't as long as on the Classical or Prime
Guitar. For this reason, well-written music for these instruments tends
to be a little "busier" - always on the move - possibly with
rests where other guitars are playing sustained notes.
A busy part is not necessarily a difficult part, however, because the
stretches on the left hand aren't so huge.
Back to top
Technique for the
lower instruments
The basic technique is identical to a normal guitar. Nothing is different.
The strings are marginally wider apart but not enough to notice.
Because these new instruments bring new, lower notes, most arrangers
will concentrate on these "extra" notes. These, of course are
in the first position, meaning that the music for the lower instruments
is often quite straightforward. A sensitive arranger, however, will also
use the rich 'cello like sound which can be obtained with vibrato round
about fret 7.
Four or six strings are wound, and this can tax your fingernails in the
right hand. However, the thumb is well suited to the job of providing
bass, and by driving the strings into the soundhole, as it were, the axis
of motion of the bridge couples well to the motion of the strings and
gives deep and powerful bass notes.
It is discordant to allow two bass notes to ring on together by accident,
and some tidiness is needed when dealing with open strings. A good apoyando
or rest stroke will prevent a lower open string from continuing to vibrate.
The upper open strings are best replaced by the duplicate on fret 5 of
the string below.
Hear the alto, prime bass
and contra guitars (my Guitar
Orchestra recorded live)
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