mark indigo -> RE: High tension strings and legatos (Aug. 21 2022 22:49:04)
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Ligado=bound or tied together, aka “legato” or “slur”, not individually articulated. Legado=legacy. As I understand it, the word "Ligado" is Spanish, and the word "Legato" is Italian. They both have more or less the same literal meaning: tied or bound, deriving from the Latin "Ligare" to bind. In 30-ish years of learning/playing flamenco guitar I have only ever heard hammer-ons and pull-offs referred to as "ligados", never as "legatos" EXCEPT in some cases of poor translations of Spanish to English made by non-English speakers or non-musicians who have basically used a literal type translation to render the Spanish word "ligados" into English with the Italian word "legatos" (like an auto-translate or a literal and un-idiomatic dictionary translation). I never studied classical guitar before flamenco, but have dipped into classical guitar method and technique books out of curiosity, and in the sources I have looked at hammer-ons and pull-offs have never been referred to as "legatos" but have also been referred to as "ligados". Legato has always been used to refer to smooth connected playing, regardless of the use of hammer-ons or pull-offs. Many words have general meanings in Spanish and/but specific meanings in flamenco: compás, remate, duende etc. etc. IMO it is better to keep the Spanish words than constantly try to render them into English as bar, killing off, elf etc. Same with "ligados" especially when that word is used specifically in relation to the Spanish (flamenco or classical) guitar to mean hammer-ons and pull-offs, while "legatos" is an Italian word with a general musical meaning relating to articulation. I have taken a look around the net to check this out a bit, and noticed the wikipedia article on "legato" in music has a section on guitar which starts "In guitar playing (apart from classical guitar) legato is used interchangeably as a label for both musical articulation and a particular application of technique" and goes on to talk about electric guitar. I think it is fairly safe to include flamenco with classical guitar as an exception to the use of "legato" interchangeably as a term for both articulation and technique. I have no idea if "legato" is actually used interchangeably as a term for articulation and technique in other guitar styles - there are no references to back up any of this wikipedia article. I also came across a guitarist called "Vic Dillahay" as my search terms turned up a page on his website with this: "Legato (Italian for “tied together”) Bound together. Performance of music so that there is no perceptible pause between notes, i.e. in a smooth manner, the opposite of staccato. The Oxford Dictionary of Music Ligado (Spanish for “connected”) A guitar technique in which a note is sounded either by pulling sideways or by hammering down on a string on the fingerboard using a finger of the fretting hand. The New Grove Dictionary of Jazz, 2nd edition So, guitarists often use ligado technique as part of legato phrasing. We can also pick legato phrases and use ligado to play staccato."
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