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Classical
Comfort
Q
When
I try to play a standard classical guitar, the edge presses on a
nerve in my arm. I can play a dreadnought guitar without experiencing
the problem. Is there a large-bodied classical guitar on the market?
Or is there some sort of armrest I can install on my classical?
James Ferguson
Fort Worth, Texas
| A
It's
unusual for a large guitar to be more comfortable than a smaller
one, but if you're used to a dreadnought and are switching to
classical, you may simply have built up a callus in the place
where the body hits your arm. You may just need to develop a
similar one with the classical. But take a close look at how
you're holding the instrument, and if you haven't done so already,
bring up the issue with an experienced teacher.
Typically, nylon-string guitars
do not approach dreadnoughts in size. Years ago, Candelas
Guitars in Los Angeles (www.candelas.com)
made a José Feliciano signature model that was quite
large, but it's hard to find one these days. There are some
size variations in regular classical guitars, with Ramírez-
and Fleta-style instruments tending to be a bit larger than
Torres- and Hauser-inspired guitars.
You may be able to get your
current classical guitar to rest comfortably in your lap by
using a footstool. Or you could look into using a guitar support
that elevates the instrument on your lap. GHS Strings makes
a unit that sticks to the guitar with a large suction cup,
and the Gitano Guitar Support works in a similar way. There
are also A-frame supports and special cushions (the Dynarette
Cushion is a popular one). Any store that specializes in classical
guitars should have some of these in stock, and you can find
them on the Web at Guitar Salon International (www.guitarsalon.com).
In addition, you could check out the John Pearse Armrest (www.jpstrings.com).
This device attaches to the bass side of the guitar's lower
bout and sometimes increases comfort by effectively adding
to the width of the instrument.
—Teja
Gerken
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The
Gitano Guitar Support in action.
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Fiddle
Tune Fretting
Q
I
am attempting to teach myself to flatpick fiddle tunes using the
Acoustic Guitar book, Flatpicking Guitar Essentials. I understand
the picking techniques, but I have a question on fretting. In the
book, the tune "Soldier's Joy" (in Scott Nygaard's "Flatpicking
Fiddle Tunes" lesson) is in the key of C. Is it best to fret the
C chord and pick around it, followed by the G and F chords, etc.?
Or is it best to fret just the notes that are picked?
Dennis Murphy
Montrose,
Colorado
A
As with many questions on technique,
it really depends on the specific musical situation. When I play
the first part of the version of "Soldier's Joy" you mentioned,
I usually keep my index finger down on the C note at the first fret
of the B string, lifting it off only when the chord changes to G
or when the melody goes up to the high E string. This keeps the
open B string from sounding if I should accidentally brush it. But
holding down all the notes of the chord is too much work for your
hand. Generally I recommend holding the notes of the chord that
are part of the melody—as long as doing so doesn't impede your
playing of the rest of the melody. This lets the melody notes ring
out longer and will create a more fluid sound. For example, when
the melody goes down to the E note on the fourth string, hold that
note with your middle finger until it's needed to play another note
or until the chord changes, at which point you adopt the same approach
for that chord. When the chord is a G, I'll usually fret the G note
at the third fret of the high E string with my pinky, as long as
I don't need it to play part of the melody, and if the melody goes
down to the B note on the second fret of the fifth string, I'll
continue fretting it until I need that finger for something else.
—Scott
Nygaard
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Krafty
Dobros
Q
I
have a resonator guitar with a brass body with no plating and an
overlapping "fiddle edge" where the top and sides meet. It has a
V neck, a solid headstock, "rolled" (as opposed to sharply punched)
f-holes, and a bound fretboard with 14 frets clear of the body.
There's an Old Kraftsman logo on the front of the peghead and a
Dobro logo on the back. What can you tell me about this guitar?
Earl Zamora
Lacey, Washington
A
Old Kraftsman was a brand name
owned by the Spiegel mail-order company. Most Old Kraftsman instruments
were made by the Chicago-based manufacturer Kay, but some were made
by Gibson, mostly in the 1930s. But another Chicago company, Regal,
made Dobro-style resonator guitars for Spiegel and was licensed
to use Dobro hardware. Regal produced instruments under the Dobro
brand and used Dobro-type construction for a variety of distributors
under various brand names. This could be the origin of your resonator
guitar, which would likely date its manufacture between 1935 and
1942.
—George
Gruhn
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Excerpted from
Acoustic Guitar magazine,
August
2003, No. 128.
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