|
|
#1
03-22-2020, 11:42 AM
|
|||
|
|||
Bill Kanengiser- Tone Production video
|
|
#2
03-25-2020, 11:11 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I was struck by this comment in may 2019:
John Taylor 10 months ago Hi Bill, I've been meaning for years to congratulate you publicly on this brilliant demonstration, and to thank you for citing that old book of mine on tone production, the key points of which you bring to life so entertainingly. The outsize string and giant nails are (whether apoyando or tirando) strokes of genius! If I may, I'd just like to throw in a couple of comments that viewers might like to take on board... 1. It might not be quite clear from the video why it's so important to project the string inwards towards the soundboard, rather than pulling it out in the opposite direction. (After all, the aim is to get the soundboard to vibrate transversely, perpendicular to its own plane, and this can be done very effectively by displacing the string away from the soundboard, as a glance under the lid of a grand piano or harpsichord shows.) But on the guitar, what you get if you pull a string away from the soundboard and let it go is a Bartók pizzicato, because that outward displacement rapidly travels as a wave along the string, is reflected inwards at the nut or fret, and slaps loudly against the fingerboard! Conversely, the same thing happens in the opposite direction if you push the string towards the soundboard and let it go: when the wave is reflected at the nut or fret, the string jumps harmlessly up, away from the soundboard, rather than hitting the frets. That's why it's absolutely key to good tone production to get the nails working as miniature ramps, always projecting the strings inwards, both in rest stroke and free stroke. Especially this one: 2. Seen as a ramp, the nail has a second function which you show very clearly in the video – to release the string more smoothly, and less abruptly, than a small pointed object would. This tends to give a warmer, less bright sound because it tends to excite the string's fundamental and other low-numbered modes of vibration, in preference to the higher-frequency modes. However, over the years I've come to wonder whether I overemphasised this idea of 'gradual release' in my book, and perhaps gave the impression that it's generally a good idea to use the nails in a way that positively aims to suppress those higher frequencies. Having made recordings of many excellent players, it seems to me that the 'holy grail' of tone production is the ability to make the guitar really sing with a clear, ringing sound where the full range of frequencies is present and nothing is suppressed. (And, of course, to be able to vary the tone and dynamics with a wide palette of colours.) Nearly always, if a nail sounds thin, it's not so much because it's failing to release the string gradually, but because it's catching on the string at some point, and failing to project the string in towards the soundboard. What happens is that the nail is forced to ride over the top of the string – so instead of being pushed downwards, the string pushes the nail upwards, and then twangs off! This is why a non-functioning nail feels bad as well as sounding thin: the catching results in wasted effort, and a bumpy ride. Compare and contrast that satisfying feeling of the string sliding sweetly under that little ramp, and completely under your control. To quote an apt phrase, effortless classical guitar... Your good friend and admiring fan, John Did John Taylor really write this ? Then this is a revolution in sound...
|
|
#3
03-25-2020, 01:16 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Yes, I'm pretty sure John Taylor wrote it, as there was some discussion of it over at the Delcamp forum. For anyone who doesn't know, he also wrote the long out of print book 'Tone Production on the Classical Guitar', the text of which can be found here and there on the Web, I think.
|
|
#4
03-26-2020, 01:39 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I know the book well. The forum (Delcamp) is also not sure about this.
Frankly speaking, I am surprised by the fact that there has been no reaction to this comment from the GFA (on whose channel the video was published) and from the maestro Kanengiser himself, to whom it was addressed personally. It is necessary to comment (at least, somehow) on this really revolutionary situation of the need to change not only the priorities in sound, but also, of course, in ... technique.
|
