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Tipping
the Scales
Q
Why is a Gibson J-45 described as short scale
and a Martin D-28 as long scale? What difference does scale length
mean to a player?
Vince
Melli
Lancaster, New York
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A
Scale length
can be a confusing topic. With electric guitars, people often
refer to the "Fender scale" vs. the "Gibson scale" (most Gibson
electrics feature a short, 24 3/4-inch scale, while Fenders
generally have the longer 25.5-inch scale), but acoustic scale
length doesn't tend to be as black and white. The guitars
you've identified are good examples of instruments by major
manufacturers using a short or a long scale, but each brand
also offers alternative lengths. For instance, Gibson's J-200
has a 25.5-inch scale (with some very early models even sporting
a length of 26 inches), and Martin traditionally uses a short
scale on instruments smaller than a 000.
Scale length influences
both the sound and the feel of a guitar. A longer scale results
in higher string tension, often giving a guitar more volume
and punch than a short-scale instrument. However, the higher
tension also makes the guitar a little harder to play, and
the wider spacing between the frets necessitates longer reaches.
If you use a lot of lowered tunings, you might find that the
strings get a little too floppy on a short-scale guitar. It's
a good idea to play a few guitars with varying scale lengths
so you can see for yourself how these differences feel and
sound. Ultimately though, it's important to remember that
scale length is an integral part of an instrument's inherent
sound. If you find yourself preferring the sound of one of
the guitars you mentioned, scale length could be the reason.
—Teja
Gerken
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A
short scale (left) and long scale guitar.
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License
that Tune
Q
I
want to record a version of the Tom Waits tune "Pony." How do I
get permission to do this?
Andy
Coates
Des Moines, Iowa
A
Since any song,
once it is recorded or otherwise put into a tangible form, is protected
by copyright law, you'll need to obtain permission (called a mechanical
license) from the song's publisher. The Harry Fox Agency (www.nmpa.org/hfa.html)
was created by the National Music Publishers Association to issue
mechanical licenses on publishers' behalf (you can even obtain a
license through their site). If HFA can't help you, many performing
rights organizations, such as ASCAP (www.ascap.com)
and BMI (www.bmi.com)
have searchable online databases of songs with publisher's contact
information.
—Nicole
Solis
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Backward
Memorization
Q I have
trouble memorizing guitar pieces. What can I do to learn them more
easily?
John
Baird
Scottsdale, Arizona
A Memorizing
written music helps you get more out of your lessons and allows
you to build a larger repertoire. The more you play a section of
music, the better you will have that section memorized. That's why
the beginning of a piece is often the most familiar part; you have
played it a hundred times but have rarely reached the end. When
beginning a new piece, first play through the whole thing to get
acquainted with the structure and the difficult sections. Don't
worry about mistakes and don't stop; you are just surveying the
terrain. After you make your way through the piece, set your metronome
to a reasonable tempo and begin playing the last measure. It shouldn't
take you long to get this single measure down. Once you can play
this measure without looking at the page, start with the second-to-last
measure and play the last two measures until you have them memorized.
Continue adding the preceding measure until you are playing the
piece in its entirety, from beginning to end. (For some pieces,
it may be easier to go phrase-by-phrase rather than measure-by-measure.)
Backward memorization is one of the fastest memorization techniques,
because the piece gets more familiar the further into it you play.
The beginning will work its way into your memory the more you play
the piece.
—Ben
Harbert
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Excerpted from
Acoustic Guitar magazine,
June
2003, No. 126.
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