“So David”, Al asked me last week, “why do we have flats and sharps?” Well the reason we have these is because our 'system' of Western music is comprised of both whole steps and half steps. That's the way it evolved from Gregorian chant. (For we fretted instrument players, a whole step is two frets and a half step is one fret. It's a whole step from fret 1 to fret 3 and a half step from fret 1 to fret 2.) So why are flats and sharps important ….? Well, to start with we need flats and sharps in order to have half steps and we need half steps in order to make music that sounds 'right' to our traditional Western ears. OK, guitar players, try this: starting with C on the 2nd string first fret and staying on the 2nd string, play every other fret (whole step) until you reach C on the 13th fret. How does that sound? Doesn't it make your ears want to hear some half steps somewhere in there? Also as a result of the evolution of 'Western" music is the fact that the intervals of fourths (C to F) and fifths (C to G) became very fundamental to Western music. (Without those intervals we wouldn't have all the three-chord songs that are so near and dear to our hearts.) You simply can't get from either C to F or C to G without using a half step. Think that's complicated? Then don't ask me about double sharps and double flats! So that's it; Western music 'needs' half steps … and you need flats and sharps to create them in every key but C and A minor. -david
0 Comments
Fifty years ago or more I spent hour after hour staring at and dreaming about the electric guitars on display at Lyon & Healy, Chicago’s largest musical instrument store.
This was the era before Fender Strat and Gibson Les Paul copies so dominated guitar design. Local guitar manufacturers such as Kay, Harmony, Valco, Supro and more were experimenting with wonderful “out of the box” designs. These were soon followed by imports such as Teisco, Greco, Guyatone and others. Crazy shapes, crazy electronics, crazy colors and crazy materials; I drooled over them all. Some had vibrato systems, most of which barely worked. Some had built in speakers – you can imagine how that sounded. Body styles and designs were as varied as can be. Remember, this was the time when automobile design was featuring fins and tons of chrome. Product design in general was beginning to reflect the culture’s fixation on outer space. Electric guitar design didn’t escape this trend. But all of these electric guitars had one thing in common – they were cool, very, very cool! And now Sylvan Music is about to make that cool available again. We’re set to receive our first shipment of Airline electric guitars in about a week and we’re all excited about it. These instruments have the same cool factor as the originals but are built much better, sound much better, and feature better overall playability than the originals. Best of all, this retro cool is available at very reasonable prices. Make sure to come by soon and try them out. - David Life without music would be intolerable.
Wanna make great music??? Listen very, very carefully and remove the silence where it doesn't belong. -david Sylvan Music carries almost every stringed instrument imaginable. But here’s one that just wouldn’t fit! It’s the Octabass.
First introduced around 1850 in Paris, it has three strings, and is essentially a larger version of the double bass. Because of the extreme fingerboard length and string thickness, it requires the musician to play it using a system of hand and foot-activated levers and pedals. The pitch of the Octabass’s highest string is the same pitch as the lowest note of a modern double bass with a low C extension. The lowest string is tuned to C, 16.25 Hz, one octave below the lowest note on a piano. By the way, you can see an Octabass at the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, AZ. It’s a great museum with an amazing collection of musical instruments from all over the world. You don’t have to be an ethnomusicologist to be in awe of this incredible collection. -David Way, way back in the late 1960’s I was rehearsing with a small avant garde multi-media ensemble in Chicago. This group was lead by William ‘Bill’ Russo, former head arranger for Stan Kenton. Russo was also founder of Columbia College’s music department and director of its Center for New Music. During one rehearsal, Russo said we were going to have a special visitor drop by. Later that evening the special visitor arrived. It was Duke Ellington. We were all, of course, completely star struck; it was as if a god had walked in. Ellington listened for a while and during a break spent a few minutes with each of us individually, encouraging us to ask him questions. When my turn came I asked Ellington how can I become the best musician I possibly can. His response was “Always seek opportunities to play with musicians that are better than you.” And as he did with everyone he spoke with, he smiled and kissed me on both cheeks. Playing with musicians better than yourself is the best advice I ever received - and it’s the advice I have told countless players over the decades - ever since hearing it from the Master. -David David Robin got his start in the 1960's Chicago rock n' roll scene and has built up an impressive, lengthy musical resume in the years since. After all these years, his love of the guitar is as strong as ever. What’s “High Strung” or “Nashville” tuning? You hear it on songs like Pink Floyd’s “Hey You”, “Dust in the Wind” by Kansas, and the Stones’ “Wild Horses”, not to mention countless others. Specifically, High Strung/Nashville tuning uses standard 1st and 2nd strings, and one octave higher on the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and 6th strings. Strings 3 through 6 are actually the ‘octave strings’ from a 12-string set. High quality string manufacturers like D’Addario make dedicated High Strung/Nashville string sets. You can purchase individual strings as well. Typical gauges (high to low) are: .010 .014 .009 .012 .018 .027 High Strung or Nashville tuning is most frequently heard on acoustic guitars and is commonly used to “double” a standard-tuned acoustic. Strung in this manner, a guitar takes on an entirely different character. It sounds bright and almost piano-like. Capo up at the fifth fret and the guitar begins to sound like a harpsichord. At about $5 a set, High Strung tuning is the simplest and lowest–cost change you can do to enable your acoustic guitar to sound like a very interesting and entirely different instrument. Give it a try. - David David Robin got his start in the 1960's Chicago rock n' roll scene and has built up an impressive, lengthy musical resume in the years since. After all these years, his love of the guitar is as strong as ever. Question: What piece of gear is equally essential to both beginners and pros alike - regardless of what kind of music they are learning and playing? And what could it be that has great computing power yet costs only $20 or so? Answer: It’s the electronic tuner! This key piece of equipment does so much yet costs so little. It makes it possible for players to quickly and accurately tune their instruments. This makes practicing and playing much more enjoyable. The electronic tuner even makes it possible for large groups of musicians to sound in tune. What would a gathering of ukuleles sound like without the inexpensive clip-on tuner? The evolution of the tuner has come a long way. In the 1930’s Conn introduced the first electronic tuner. It worked on an optical/strobe synchronization principle and was very large, heavy and cost hundreds of dollars. Not portable by any stretch of the imagination. Most of today’s clip-on and pedal tuners work on a frequency-counter principle. A microprocessor counts and clocks the incoming signal, analyzes it and translates the data and displays the results as a note. Pretty amazing for as little as twenty dollars! There are also more expensive clip-on tuners that combine microprocessor and strobe tuning technologies. These offer more extensive features such as alternate temperament tunings and drop key settings. Regardless of what music you play or what you play it on, playing in tune makes music more enjoyable for players and listeners alike. David Robin got his start in the 1960's Chicago rock n' roll scene and has built up an impressive, lengthy musical resume in the years since. After all these years, his love of the guitar is as strong as ever. Choosing the right acoustic guitar shouldn't be difficult, even if you’re new to the world of guitars. There’s just a few things to consider that will help you select the perfect instrument. First and foremost: nylon or steel strings? The type of music you want to learn and play makes a difference. Nylon string guitars are generally used for classical, flamenco and sometimes folk music. They are not as loud as steel string acoustics and they are almost always played with the fingers rather than with a pick. They produce a wonderful warm and intimate sound. In recent years the sound qualities of the classical guitar have been finding their way into pop and jazz as well. This has given rise to a newer kind of classical guitar called a “hybrid” or “crossover” guitar. This instrument features electronics, nylon strings and a neck and fingerboard that more closely resembles that of a steel string guitar. Acoustic guitars - also referred to as “steel string” guitars - are louder, brighter and are great for strumming, picking, playing in a group and accompanying singing. Remember, you can’t put steel strings on a nylon string guitar and, though you can put nylon strings on an acoustic guitar, the resulting sound will be undesirable. Different acoustic guitar body styles and shapes produce different kinds of sounds. One of the most popular steel string guitar styles is the large dreadnaught size. It produces a rich, loud, full-bodied voice that favors the lower end (bass) frequencies. Another popular size is the OM which stands for “orchestra model.” This style features a smaller body that for some players can be more comfortable to hold than larger sizes. The OM produces a more refined, balanced tone and is not as loud as the dreadnaught. Some beginners are attracted to nylon string guitars because the strings are softer than metal and they’re concerned about sore fingertips. This shouldn’t be a consideration since a properly set up (adjusted) steel string guitar will be just about as easy to play, and callused fingertips are an asset to every guitarist. In addition, nylon string guitars usually have a wider fingerboard that may be challenging for some players. Finally, talk to the folks at your local music shop. They can answer all your questions and help guide you to the perfect instrument. -David David Robin got his start in the 1960's Chicago rock n' roll scene and has built up an impressive, lengthy musical resume in the years since. After all these years, his love of the guitar is as strong as ever. |