Playing classical tunes on a steel string

[RustyZombie]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

Of course there is a bell curve on taste, but it was a pretty safe statement to make among people who have spent time playing through a fair amount of the classical music repertoire and appreciate the expressiveness and round tones of a good classical guitar.

Your essentially saying is that the choir will agree with you when you preach to the choir.

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by BlackmoresNight

Your essentially saying is that the choir will agree with you when you preach to the choir.

Exactly, the choir of knowledgeable classical guitarists (even better those who have done quite a bit playing on both nylon and steel string and know the differences, pros and cons).

[Guitar1083]

now now now cant we all just get along
and just do paper rock scissors the best
2 out of 3 wins

[Bunny64]

Maybe you good folks could point me in the direction of a nice " bang for buck " classical to have in my armory so to speak. There are a few pieces I would like to start or complete.Be a nice change from the steel string where I tend to play and sing. New or used. Lets say $200-$300.

[Guitar1083]

Originally Posted by Bunny64

Maybe you good folks could point me in the direction of a nice " bang for buck " classical to have in my armory so to speak. There are a few pieces I would like to start or complete.Be a nice change from the steel string where I tend to play and sing. New or used. Lets say $200-$300.

Anything in that price range, espana for Bout $500-$600 is really nice cutaway and electric

[Bunny64]

Originally Posted by Guitar1083

Anything in that price range, espana for Bout $500-$600 is really nice cutaway and electric

Thanks for that. do you have a model number?

[Guitar1083]

Originally Posted by Bunny64

Thanks for that. do you have a model number?

http://www.deanguitars.com/query?upc=819998004583

http://www.deanguitars.com/query?upc=819998006297

they used to have better one sorry

[Bunny64]

Originally Posted by Guitar1083

http://www.deanguitars.com/query?upc=819998004583

http://www.deanguitars.com/query?upc=819998006297

they used to have better one sorry

Many thanks. Saw some good reviews on these.

[Guitar1083]

Originally Posted by Bunny64

Many thanks. Saw some good reviews on these.

Kool

[lodi_55]

Anyone can play anything on anything. Period.

I've played classical on a Uke and was told my tremolo was quite nice!

[grampa]

My steel stringer is a Gibson F-25 which has a neck exactly like a classical and it's perfect for playing classical with steel strings.

[Jmaulz]

I earned a bachelor's in classical guitar in the 80's and over the years developed focal dystonia, lost the ability to play altogether, and over the last 5 years have regained the ability to play pretty well with a flat pick. The point is that I'm passionate about classical music arranged for plectrum guitar. Most of my arrangements require filling in harmonies on the strings that lay between the strings that the music is written to be played on, or muting them. Sometimes this sounds really rich, other times it can't be done with respect to the intended harmony. Technically it's more of a jazz guitar style, but used to play Bach, Sor, Villa-Lobos... Whatever it takes to get your jam on!

[puggy]

It reminds me of that classic guitar expert who was always getting the sack cos he turned up drunk all the time....

What was his name now.....?

Oh yes, I remember......

Sigovia carpet.......

(Makes more sense if you say it out loud)
















No? I'll get me coat..........

[cyclistbrian]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

No, you don't need a classical guitar - and if your picking technique is sufficiently developed you don't need to play fingerstyle either. Although largely forgotten now there was a whole school of "serious" archtop guitar that flourished from about 1925-1940, even as the Loar-style instrument was rising to prominence in the world of popular music. Drawing on influences from the pre-Segovia American classical style (Foden, Bickford, et al.) and late-Romantic composers as well as jazz, a number of players attempted (unsuccessfully) to advance the position of the archtop plectrum-style guitar to "legitimate" status in classical-music circles, via transcriptions of the works of major composers as well as newer/original compositions. FYI several of these are available on YouTube, and even after eighty or more years they still retain their artistic/technical merit; one can only wonder what might have been had the first-generation acoustic archtop (with its visual/structural roots in the violin family), rather than the Torres-style instrument and its successors, gained acceptance as the standard "classical" guitar. FWIW Mel Bay publishes a collection of these transcriptions/originals (a few of which appeared in the more advanced volumes of his Modern Guitar Method) under the title Masters of the Plectrum Guitar; I'd recommend it highly to any serious archtop aficionado, as well as anyone else who seeks to explore the classical repertoire from a steel-string point of view...

If I had an endless well of time to start over (and at 50 I do not) I would absolutely work on mastering this style. I spend a lot of time listening to Rob McKillop online and other plectrum artists past and present like the late great Harry Volpe. Totally valid and wonderful interpretations of classical music as well as classical inspired guitar music. For those who have not discovered it, its absolutely worth seeking out.