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easier to play with capo?
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gj Michelob
Posts: 1531
Joined: Nov. 7 2008
From: New York City/San Francisco
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RE: easier to play with capo? (in reply to Pablito)
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quote:
I've noticed it's a lot easier to play anything if I use a capo. Anyone else feel this way? I think it's because the tension is tighter which leads me to think I should get high tension strings. “if I can sing it I can feel it” this my rule of thumb when composing or interpreting. I shift the capo so to be in what serves as the most singing-friendly key. However, later –when I reach a degree of confidence in my interpretation- I play the same piece without capo and in a variety of different positions seeking the key which allows the guitar to sing that piece best. The capo narrows the frets, shortens the scale and increases tension all of which will facilitate playing. It will –to put it with Ricardo (answering the same question I had posed to him some time ago) “tighten those basses”, also a useful consequence. Todd reminded me that one would scarcely see Gerardo Nunez’s guitar sporting a capo, and I still do not understand how he achieves such beautifully “tight” tone without it. I struggle with the same question when I see a capo on the 5th fret for cante accompaniment, and yet the tone remains rich –not as mandolin-like as I would expect. Recently, I noticed how Vicente Amigo plays/appears capo-less. In the past, he had a capo consistently on the first fret. As a general and generic observation it would seem that the left hand position shifts accordingly, the higher the capo (4th or 5th fret) the closer to the sound-hole, and vice-versa, closer to the bridge.
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gj Michelob
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date May 28 2010 6:07:34
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ToddK
Posts: 2961
Joined: Dec. 6 2004
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RE: easier to play with capo? (in reply to Pablito)
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quote:
So you're saying that this happens even with high end guitars? i think maybe you arent sure what equal temperament is. It does not matter how great the guitar is, or how great your intonation is. Equal Temperament is a musical tuning system that divides the Octave into 12 geometrically equal steps. Each step is one semitone. When moving up one step, the frequency (or pitch) increases by 2^(1/12). Using this system, the Octave (12 semitones) is perfect, because 2^(12/12) = 2^1 = 2, an exact doubling of frequency. But the Fifth (seven semitones) is 2^(7/12) = 1.498 times the root. A perfect fifth, on the other hand is exactly 1.5 times. The difference is small, but it is significant. If you want to hear this, play the 6th string 7th fret harmonic. Now stop the string at the 7th fret and play the assisted harmonic at the 19th fret (effectively the new 12th fret). This note will sound very slightly flatter than the 7th fret harmonic. In Equal Temperament tuning, the slightly flat note is the correct pitch. A common reaction is that Equal Temperament must be 'wrong'. Surely it's better to use perfect intervals instead? •The theoretical problem with this is that you are then restricted to very simple music that remains mostly in one key. If you progress through the 'cycle of fifths' (C, G, D, A, etc) by perfect intervals, when you finally get back to C (after 12 steps) you'll find that it's a very different C from the one you started on! However, by slightly flattening each fifth, after 12 steps you'll arrive back exactly where you started. Thus Equal Temperament slightly compromises every interval (except unison and octave) so that all keys are equally acceptable. This brilliant invention is what made Western music so harmonically rich and varied. •The practical problem, for a guitarist, is that your instrument has a fretboard layout mathematically designed for Equal Temperament. Unless your open strings are correctly tuned, all your 'cross-string' intervals become arbitrary
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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE |
Date May 28 2010 16:09:00
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