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Everything You Need To Know About Classical Music Gear 25

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Jennib And Friends

Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of, Western art, or ecclesiastical and concert music, in the period from the 9th century to the 21st century. The central norms of this tradition became codified between 1550 and 1900, which is known as the common practice period.


Classic music is still played by many of today’s musicians. European classical music is largely distinguished from many other non-European and popular musical forms by its system of staff notation, in use since about the 16th century.


Classical and popular music are often distinguished by their choice of instruments. The instruments used in classical music were mostly invented before the middle of the 19th century. Some of them had been designed even earlier, and codified in the 18th and 19th centuries. They consist of the instruments found in an orchestra, together with a few other solo instruments such as the piano, harp, accordion, and organ.


The great majority of classical music gear fall into six major categories – bowed strings, woodwind, brass, percussion, keyboard, and the guitar family. The first four form the basis of the modern symphony orchestra.


The classical guitar was originally a Spanish-derived, six-stringed instrument. It is played using a plectrum or the finger-nails, with frets set into the fingerboard. Popular music tends to use amplification for both the six-stringed instruments and the four-string bass guitar. The guitar family gradually supplanted the lute which had come to prominence during the Renaissance.


The piano is widely used in Western music for solo performance, chamber music, and accompaniment. It is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal. Although not portable and often expensive, the piano’s versatility and ubiquity have made it one of the most familiar musical instruments.

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Performer and Teacher of Singing and The Guitar 0

Posted on March 05, 2010 by Jennib And Friends

Joseph Fernando Macari Sors was born in Barcelona, Spain, on February 13, 1788. He later dropped the final “s” from his last name in favor of Sor, the name by which he is commonly known. At the age of 11 he entered the excellent music school at the monastery of Montserrat, though his enthusiasm for the guitar had to remain private. At the age of 18 he wrote an opera that was produced in Barcelona, and subsequently he went to Madrid, where he enjoyed the patronage of the Duke of Medinaceli and others. During the period of French occupation, Sor chose to support the puppet government of King Joseph Bonaparte in the hope of political reform, and accepted an official appointment in Jerez de la Frontera. When the French were driven out of Spain in 1813, Sor left with them and subsequently settled in Paris.

Two years later he moved to London, where he became celebrated as a performer and teacher of singing and the guitar, publishing many guitar works including his Variations on a Theme of Mozart, one of the most successful guitar pieces ever written. His ballet Cendrillon, based on the Cinderella story, was first produced at the King’s Theatre in London, and went on to a tremendously successful run in Paris and further performances in Moscow.

Of all the classical “guitar gods,” Sor was probably the most rounded musician, and he did much to raise the level of interest and appreciation of the instrument. His works still appear constantly on concert programs. He died in 1839.

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The Technique that Produces The Fullest Sound 1

Posted on January 25, 2010 by Jennib And Friends

Now that you have some playing experience under your belt, we can move ahead to some more interesting playing styles. This chapter covers the basics of playing individual notes,rather than just strumming chords. To learn to play melodies, we have to learn more sophisticated right-hand playing techniques.This chapter introduces two of the more common styles of playing individual notes: the rest stroke and the free stroke. By learning these techniques, you will be able to play notes cleanly and easily, with a full sound. These techniques will lay the basis for all of your future playing, so we will break down their components so you can quickly understand and master
them.

Up to now, most of what we have covered could be played with a pick, but we will be studying arpeggios that are much easier to play with the fingers. For the single-note melodies that follow, a pick could be used, but now is a good moment to learn the principal stroke used for melody lines on the finger-style and classical guitar, known as the rest stroke.

The rest stroke is the technique that produces the fullest sound from a single note. It is played by plucking the string in such a way that, when the movement is completed, the fingertip comes to rest on the adjacent stringhence the name.

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