Volume

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Volume

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flyeogh

Posts: 729
Joined: Oct. 13 2004

Volume

Like many I have learnt to play at home. And thus when playing my guitar I have no great need to play at high volume. Quite the reverse if you ask my family about repetitive practice

Clearly if I wanted to play in a more spacious environment I could use amplification.

But has anyone any thoughts on:

Should one practice trying to produce a reasonable volume of sound?
Is there some balance one should try and achieve between the highest volume of say rasqueos to lower volume when hammering-on on the high E string (for example - and obviously depends on the piece your playing)?

Cheers for any thoughts.

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nigel (el raton de Watford - now Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz)

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 23 2020 17:49:50

TonyGonzales84

Posts: 78
Joined: Apr. 23 2020
From: San Diego, CA

RE: Volume (in reply to flyeogh)

I'm new to the Foro but I've been playing for many years. In the mid '80s I lived in a small apartment complex, consequently tried to be a good neighbor by playing quietly. My teacher saw it in my playing and explained I needed to play at volume to ensure my hands developed properly, and that my new guitar would open up properly.

He gave me a small piece of styrofoam to use as a damper (place near the bridge, between the strings and the top). You can play as hard (loud) as you like, and the neighbors, family, etc, can live without frayed nerves.

You can see Paco de Lucia using such a damper here:

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Tony

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 23 2020 22:36:02

Ricardo

Posts: 14801
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: Volume (in reply to flyeogh)

Playing with controlled dynamics and perfect tempo is the goal of advancing musicians. The feeling comes through when you can control the dynamics even if you have machine like precision of rhythm. Controlling dynamics means what’s RELATIVELY loud vs soft. Taste becomes a big part of it. There are traps to avoid along the way...for example don’t expect to recreate the sound of a digitally compressed studio recording as the dynamics might not fairly represent how it was played, fast doesn’t equal loud, free stroke doesn’t mean play delicate or soft, rasgueado or PICADO doesn’t mean play hard, etc etc. Practicing the opposite of what you think should happen, or is happening unintentionally, might be a good focus sometimes, however good taste will dictate when it’s time to dig in with aggression vs playing with intimate delicacy.

The sponge idea is a great tool for technique and timing, but dynamics are compressed. Best recommendation is to record yourself. Hopefully you will notice things you don’t like and work on improving them for the future. If you record and hear yourself sounding exactly like paco, then you have no hope of improving.

_____________________________

CD's and transcriptions available here:
www.ricardomarlow.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 23 2020 23:09:11

El Burdo

Posts: 632
Joined: Sep. 8 2011

[Deleted]

Post has been moved to the Recycle Bin at Dec. 22 2022 15:32:17

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 23 2020 23:15:34

kitarist

Posts: 1715
Joined: Dec. 4 2012

RE: Volume (in reply to Ricardo)

quote:

If you record and hear yourself sounding exactly like paco, then you have no hope of improving.

Yet not an entirely dreadful outcome

(if real)

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Konstantin

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 23 2020 23:43:28

rombsix

Posts: 7807
Joined: Jan. 11 2006
From: Beirut, Lebanon

RE: Volume (in reply to Ricardo)

quote:

If you record and hear yourself sounding exactly like paco, then you have no hope of improving.

Even when Paco recorded and heard himself he thought it sucked.

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Ramzi

http://www.youtube.com/rombsix

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 24 2020 2:01:28

flyeogh

Posts: 729
Joined: Oct. 13 2004

RE: Volume (in reply to Ricardo)

quote:

If you record and hear yourself sounding exactly like paco, then you have no hope of improving.

I certainly do record myself and listen to PdL. LIstening to us both playing Solea for example, I must say that I hear two very unique and difficult to reproduce sounds

Cheers Tony and Ricardo for the thoughts. I for sure try to play at times as hard (if that is the right word) as I can without getting distortion, unwanted sounds, broken nails, etc. And at times I try to dampen the rasqueos while playing the single string elements (especially the hammer-ons and pull-offs) with more volume.

Also I note that if I am focusing on relaxing and playing a light left hand (as discussed recently on the barre thread), that it is hard to stop the right hand doing the same. And vice versa. Which again impacts volume.

I guess just like trying to pat your head and rub your tummy, it all comes down to practice

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nigel (el raton de Watford - now Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz)

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 24 2020 6:52:51

Ricardo

Posts: 14801
Joined: Dec. 14 2004
From: Washington DC

RE: Volume (in reply to rombsix)

quote:

ORIGINAL: rombsix

quote:

If you record and hear yourself sounding exactly like paco, then you have no hope of improving.

Even when Paco recorded and heard himself he thought it sucked.

Thank god. That’s why he was great, it’s the best way to improve on things.

_____________________________

CD's and transcriptions available here:
www.ricardomarlow.com

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 24 2020 13:24:20

devilhand

Posts: 1598
Joined: Oct. 15 2019

RE: Volume (in reply to Ricardo)

quote:

Thank god. That’s why he was great, it’s the best way to improve on things.

I wonder if Paco recorded himself and listened back in his early days? Let's say in the late 50's and early 60's. I'm not sure if the cassette player had a record function back then.
I watched him sitting in front of a cassette player in Rito series. It looked like a normal player with a record button. But that was in 1973.

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Say No to Fuera de Compás!!!

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 24 2020 16:26:02

flyeogh

Posts: 729
Joined: Oct. 13 2004

RE: Volume (in reply to devilhand)

No problem recording in the 60s. I frequently recorded the Stones and The Beatles off the radio (often Radio Luxembourg). The first cassette recorders came from Philips in 1963.

In the 50s (and earlier) there were reel to reel recorders but they were not common in the home.

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nigel (el raton de Watford - now Puerto de Santa Maria, Cadiz)

REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 24 2020 17:57:39

mark indigo

Posts: 3625
Joined: Dec. 5 2007

RE: Volume (in reply to devilhand)

quote:

I wonder if Paco recorded himself and listened back in his early days? Let's say in the late 50's....

when he was 10!

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 24 2020 19:21:03

mark indigo

Posts: 3625
Joined: Dec. 5 2007

RE: Volume (in reply to flyeogh)

quote:

The first cassette recorders came from Philips in 1963.

In an interview Manolo Sanlucar spoke about buying his first tape recorder in the late sixties. Something like he spent his first months wages from his first job in a tablao on a tape recorder.... but my memory being what it is I might have just made that up....

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REPORT THIS POST AS INAPPROPRIATE | Date Apr. 24 2020 19:29:11