My Music And Song's

Posts Tagged ‘Guitarists’

Laurindo Almeida, one of the most influential guitarists on the North American scene, was born on September 2, 1917, in São Paulo, Brazil. After a radio debut at the age of 15, he gave concerts in Brazil’s major cities. After crossing the Atlantic as a musician on the liner Cuyaba, he heard Django Reinhardt play in Paris, an experience that changed his whole attitude to music.

After World War II Almeida relocated to the United States and became an important member of the Stan Kenton orchestra. In the sixties he was one of the first to introduce the Brazilian bossa-nova sound. He led a quartet with saxophonist Bud Shank, and together they made a number of highly successful records for the Pacifica label. In addition, he recorded many classical guitar works, including the debut recording of Heitor Villa-Lobos’s guitar concerto. Later in his life, Almeida gave recitals with his wife, soprano Deltra Eamon. A musician of extraordinary versatility, he composed more than 200 works. His death in 1996 was a great loss to the guitar world.

Most guitarists learn to strum without thinking about what they’re actually doing. A strummed guitar fulfills two functions: one is rhythmic, the other harmonic. The harmonic function is to supply a “wash” of sound relating to a chord, the equivalent of holding a chord on a keyboard. But because the guitar does not have much sustain, the notes will die unless they are struck again. Repeated striking sustains the presence of the chord. The relationship between strumming technique and sustain can be vividly heard on the mandolin, where rapid strumming is required to keep the notes “present”. Violinists solve this problem when they draw a bow across the string, continually exciting it to vibrate.

The rhythmic function has two components: the rhythm with which the chords are produced and the percussive attack (usually produced by a pick) on the guitar strings. Both aspects are important for solo performers accompanying themselves on the guitar. Guitarists working with a rhythm section or recording with a variety of instruments need to realize, though, that they no longer have to carry the whole of the rhythm with their strumming.

Good strumming patterns balance tempo against sustain. At a slow tempo, you hit the strings more frequently because the chords die away. At faster tempos, you might not need to hit them so often, unless like Jimmy Nolan or Nile Rodgers your guitar part is at least as significant for its percussive effect as for its harmonic effect.

In the Christian era, the guitar is mentioned in two forms in the thirteenth century: the Latin guitar and the Moorish guitar. Both are illustrated in beautiful miniatures in the manuscript “Cantigas de Santa Maria” attributed to Alfonso the Wise of Spain. Of the two, the Latin guitar is closer to the figure-eight shape of the guitar as it developed in Spain and Italy. In early sixteenth-century Spain, the vihuela became the instrument of choice for the serious musician. The vihuela was in fact an early form of the guitar, with six pairs of strings. Vihuela music may be played without alteration on the modern guitar.

The only significant difference was the pairing of strings to produce a stronger sound, comparable to the 12-string guitar of today. The vihuela was played with the fingers, and a considerable repertoire of music existed for it in the notation form known as “tablature.” The tuning was like that of the Renaissance lute, which in the rest of Europe was considered the “King of Instruments” and whose music is now a fertile source for guitarists.

At the same time, a smaller guitar, first with four and then with five sets of strings (known as courses), developed as a less sophisticated instrument for chording and the strumming style known as rasgueado used as accompaniment for the dance.