Quote:
Originally Posted by AndreF
Muriel Anderson is an excellent choice of role models btw! 
This is actually something they teach in classical guitar technique, i.e. trying to apply only as much pressure as is needed in order for the note to play cleanly.
Certainly a by-product of that will be better intonation, but the real goal is to have "quiet" hands to lessen overall tension and improve fluidity of movement.
It's revealing to realize how little pressure is required. We're probably all guilty of applying too much.
You seem to have to hypersensitive ears when it comes to intonation, so keeping a soft touch might be something you need to remain mindful of going forward in your nylon experience. |
Yes Andre, I was born with very sensitive pitch. In church as a boy I would
CRINGE at slightly off notes...
My mother would tell me to stop it as it could hurt peoples feelings. I would say, "but mom it hurts!" She allowed to discreetly cover my ears by laying on her lap (I was a young boy) but she also told me I needed to stop making those faces. Of course she was right. Then my hearing changed 5 years ago, with my high frequencies hearing being VERY acute. Most 40+ years old people barely hear to 8000 hz, I hear up to 12,500 and it's loud.
These nylon strings are quite literally a God send for me! I played for well over an hour last night with no fatigue. In fact, it felt exhilarating!
GAME CHANGER
I just found a Cordoba C10 at a local store. This is what I have been missing. The tone and volume was nicely balanced. Very warm but also punchy. If you had blindfolded me I would have told you it was Cedar topped, but it was Euro Spruce (IE Rosewood B/S). VERY nice sustain and resonance in the upper registers. Quite beautiful really. I could play twice as fast AND play twice as clean. I wasn't spending as much energy fighting for tone... it was just there. The action was almost 1mm lower than mine now, so that also helped I am sure. It also comes with high tension strings which I didn't even notice.
The intonation was worse than what I have and the saddle was even thinner. Not much adjustment left. For some reason it was even harder to get past the 12th fret. I would have to have a new saddle made and maybe even the saddle slot widened to accommodate something that could be properly intonated.
However this has shown me where I can go from here. There is some wonderful tone out there. This is like a whole new world!