Disharmony in SS Guitars

You can ask questions here about Trevor and Gerard's exciting new book on Luthiery.

Moderators: kiwigeo, Jeremy D

Post Reply
Dave M
Blackwood
Posts: 595
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2014 6:44 am
Location: Somerset UK

Disharmony in SS Guitars

Post by Dave M » Fri Nov 16, 2018 9:40 am

This may seem a slightly odd place to put this query but bear with me.

I am quite at ease with musicians playing classical style music on steel string guitars but I came across a really disturbing video tonight.
I have huge respect for Michael Chapdelaine as a player but I listened to him playing Couperin's Mysterious Baricades on both classical and steel strings and the SS version really sounds terrible:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DEDgqBLKd8

You can pursue his other pieces on the video channel yourselves.

It is fine on a classical guitar but there is so much bad harmony on the SS. Just listen to the final chord. Now he is obviously too professional not to be in tune when he starts and it is unlikely that the instrument has gone out of tune during the piece so something else is going on.

Is it that the sound is sustaining for so long and the notes are going down (perhaps should be damped) or is it an inherent quality of the harmonics of the steel strings.

I pursued this with other tunes played by Michael and am hearing the same terrible disharmony - including an otherwise perfectly executed piece of Bach.

Can anyone enlighten me?
------------------
Dave

User avatar
lamanoditrento
Blackwood
Posts: 585
Joined: Thu May 05, 2016 9:50 am

Re: Disharmony in SS Guitars

Post by lamanoditrento » Tue Nov 20, 2018 9:35 am

Do you have a link to the classical guitar version?
Trent

Dave M
Blackwood
Posts: 595
Joined: Tue Jul 15, 2014 6:44 am
Location: Somerset UK

Re: Disharmony in SS Guitars

Post by Dave M » Wed Nov 21, 2018 3:58 am

This is it Trent:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PO__iHHQyC0

It has a rather odd intro and outro but the playing is good
------------------
Dave

User avatar
kiwigeo
Admin
Posts: 10582
Joined: Sat Sep 29, 2007 5:57 pm
Location: Adelaide, Sth Australia

Re: Disharmony in SS Guitars

Post by kiwigeo » Wed Nov 21, 2018 2:22 pm

I dunno...I reckon it's all relative. Michael Chapdelaine might sound a bit ratty on that steel string...but he sounds a whole lot better than this guy :mrgreen:

https://youtu.be/TxgDb5IJQ9Y
Martin

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 32 guests