The guitar used to be very different.

[Geoff]

As a classical guitar player I have always loved music from previous era’s. We always imagine that classical music was written down and prescribed but it actually wasn’t so. There was a lot of improvisation back then too.

This is a playing of a Caspar Sanzer piece called “Canarios” by Miguel Rincon. The guitar he is playing is a later version of the lute just before it all fell out of favor for the harpsichord. I have played this piece in the past and, listening to this I am pretty sure he is improvising large parts of this very much in the tradition of flamenco guitarists – this guy is a really phenomonal player.

[Billy]

He really is a phenomenal player, ive often wondered on the tuning of these instruments.

..Billy..

[Geoff]

Thats a good point. Drop D is quite common on the modern classical guitar but I have a book that has F# tuning on some works – it put so much tension on the G string of my guitar that I was too scared to do it.

[brian-belsey]

I was a bit puzzled by your reference to an Fsharp tuning. The overwhelming majority of classical guitar music is in standard tuning or in Drop D as you know, but some transcriptions of lute music in the past have involved tuning the G string down to F sharp. I assume though that this is not what you are referring to.

[Geoff]

You know what, you are quite correct. I think I was doing it all wrong with the tuning 🙁 Going to take a look at that music again.

Thanks Brian.

[Richard G]

Wonderful rendition Geoff, such delicate fingering and real vibrance. We mortals have a long way to go…….

Richard

[Geoff]

Hi Richard, I thinks it’s a reminder to all of us that the guitar is a ‘long and winding road’ as John Lennon might have put it 🙂

[brian-belsey]

This is terrific playing, Geoff, thanks for posting it!

The early guitar, 4-course (=pair of strings) and 5-course baroque guitar, is quite a specialist area isn’t it! I don’t believe leading modern classical guitarists get much involved with the early guitar, although Julian Bream was a notable exception when he included some 4- and 5-course guitar in a tv series he made in the 1980s called Guitarra. The playing techniques are also different aren’t they. Miguel Rincon’s right hand looks more like lute technique to me than modern classical guitar technique, and I have just noticed that Youtube has come up with a video of him playing the theorbo, which is in the lute family!

[Geoff]

Hi Brian, I have got a feeling you are a lot more knowleagable than me on this. Can’t help wondering how one would even find a baroque guitar and, if someone possesed one, where would he purchase string replacements?

As far as know, there are no leading modern classical guitarists involved with them but it’s a real shame because they are such cool sounding instruments. When I look on youtube I find many variants on the guitar including some more like the original lute and others with weird extensions for base notes – I can’t imagine playing one of those. Like you say, the technique for playing these must be different especially on the right hand.

I have a whole book by Julian bream emphasizing specific techniques and a lot of his examples come from the baroque period. Haven’t looked at the book for a long time but I am going to pull out some stuff from there, learn it, and put it up on the ‘Showcase’ section.

[brian-belsey]

Hi Geoff, I would guess someone wanting a baroque guitar would need to have one made by a luthier, as this is such a specialist area, but I am not sure about strings! All the instruments for the tv series Guitarra I mentioned were made by the excellent Spanish maker Jose Romanillos, with whom Julian Bream had a close working relationship.

Regarding right hand technique, you have probably noticed that Miguel Rincon plays with his thumb inside his fingers, unlike modern playing technique, but as lute players do. Also he seems not to be using nails, again consistent with lute practice.

[Author]

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