The Birth of the American 12-string Guitar

(harpguitars.net)

32 points | by bilegeek 2 hours ago

3 comments

  • indymike 37 minutes ago
    The author is Gregg Miner, and Gregg has an extensive library of harp guitar music. A long time ago I met Gregg when one of my friends Brad Hoyt (a keyboard and harp guitarist as well) hosted a harp guitar convention here in Indianapolis, and I got recruited to help. Gregg and the rest of the artists that were there were extremely approachable, and most of the crowd were musicians (some pretty famous ones, too) checking out one of the more interesting variations of the guitar... and what you could do with one. Fun times.
  • pluc 2 hours ago
    12 strings is one thing, but how about microtonal? That's instead of adding strings, you add frets!

    If you haven't heard them yet, you're in for a wild ride: https://www.youtube.com/@AnginePoitrine

    • bilegeek 1 hour ago
      That's the first time I've heard microtonal work in a rock setting. Pretty good!

      I see your added frets, and raise "add frets on the fly using Lego":

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

      • functionmouse 20 minutes ago
        > That's the first time I've heard microtonal work in a rock setting. Pretty good!

        Really? I highly recommend Flying Microtonal Banana.

    • defrost 1 hour ago
      A bit spotty, but alright; meanwhile the Italian instrument makers said guitar-harp? Hold our expressos, this'll take some discipline:

      * https://www.delta-harp.com/

      * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdUztFVwi3I

    • jagged-chisel 1 hour ago
      Why frets? Orchestral strings don’t use frets.
      • bilegeek 1 hour ago
        For plucked instruments, besides ease of use, it adds clarity and sustain. Orchestra AFAIK only has Pizzicato where that would matter.
      • analog31 1 hour ago
        Frets make chords possible.

        You only have to put your finger somewhere in between two frets to get a particular note, so you can play more than the tiny handful of chords that can be played on something like a violin.

        There are non-fretted guitars but they are rare, and I think early banjos were not fretted.

        • jagged-chisel 1 hour ago
          Frets make chords easier
          • BigTTYGothGF 44 minutes ago
            It makes hard chords easy, and impossible chords possible (if not easy). Most barre chords, for example.
        • ErroneousBosh 37 minutes ago
          > Frets make chords possible.

          What do you think double-stops are?

          • bluGill 12 minutes ago
            There are those who say it isn't a chord until you have 3 notes. I'm going to skip the complex music theory behind the arguments (I haven't studied them enough to understand much less form an opinion).

            Of course in most music contexts there is more than one instrument playing and so the others can fill in the missing note making a full chord. Only a "one-man-band) really feels the loss.

          • amanaplanacanal 20 minutes ago
            Whimpy-ass chords. You need three or more notes for a serious(tm) chord.
      • ErroneousBosh 36 minutes ago
        What's the difference in sustain time between a cello played pizzicato and a plucked guitar string?
  • babblingbrook 1 hour ago
    What I love about links like this is that we see information being shared just for the love of it. This person has done a lot of work simply to share knowledge with the world about something they are passionate about. This is what great about the internet and is easily lost amongst all the commercial content.