Part 1
-When to change strings...
-Removing the strings....
-Polishing...
-The
Fingerboard...
Inspecting the Guitar...
_____
Part 2
-The
Strings...
-Installing the Treble Strings to the Bridge...
-Installing the Bass Strings to the Bridge...
_____
-Removing string coiling....
-Installing Bass Strings to Tuners....
-Installing Treble Strings to Tuners....
_____
Part 4
Tune the guitar....
Methods of tuning....
-Stretching the strings....
Tune again....
-Final Polish....
-Final thought....
_____
Part 4
Tune the guitar....
Tune to pitch. There are many ways to tune a guitar. Some are better than
others. The Classical Guitar is a compromised instrument. It is designed for
the best possible tuning of the twelfth fret to its open string. All notes
fretted in between may be either slightly sharp or slightly flat to their
desired pitch. This allows all the strings to share the same fret.
Without this compromise, the frets would be divided into as many as six
individual parts, which would create a whole new set of problems less relevant
to the subject at hand.
Tune strings with
moderate even strokes in playing position. Weight of attack can affect
tuning. Due to the gravity on its neck, a guitar tuned while
lying flat on a table will drift flat when brought to playing position.
__________________
Methods of tuning....
A few methods of tuning a guitar are:
| Electronic tuner | Good in noisy conditions. Pickup some times necessary. Adequate tuning.
|
|
| Using Harmonics | Generally at the fifth and seventh frets. Easier to hear pitches of two different strings. Looks professional. Adequate tuning, but sometimes requires tweaking for certain keys and/or nut height and string height. | |
| Octaves | In first position. End result reveals that a fret shared by six strings is a compromise. Fair tuning. Needs tweaking to complete tuning.
|
|
| Fifth/fourth fret to open string | Best compensates for fret position, nut height and string height. Looks less professional, but generally achieves the best results. |
All methods should be referenced to A 440.
__________________
Stretching
the strings....
Use
Light
pressure of thumb and fingers while sliding up and down the strings.
(Aggressive pressure can damage the strings.)
....the entire length of the string....
__________________
Tune again....
A
collector views a virtuoso's guitar as top dollar because of its
pedigree,
while an
experienced player knows it's littered with sweet spots.
It is important
to consistently keep your guitar tuned to concert pitch
(A
440).
Anyone who has owned a
new instrument will attest that it requires a breaking-in period to improve
its tone. A small amount is attributed to the aging of the wood, but the
greatest single event contributing to improved tone of an instrument as it
ages is its ability to learn to vibrate at frequencies that will most often
be used. The classical guitar consists of approximately 40 major wooden parts, all
glued together to hold their idle state. If the instrument vibrates regularly
at set frequencies, these glue joints will open in such a way that the top,
back and sides will eventually begin to vibrate more freely with notable
improvements in tone, response, dynamic range, and volume
(Sweet Spots).
An average break-in
time for a new guitar can take one to two years. For a professional, one to
two months with huge improvements in weeks! A novice guitarist can
experience this phenomenon. Play something in the key of C with non-open
strings, then play the same in Cb (one fret lowered). Notice a drop in tone, sustain, dynamics,
and volume on some of these notes. This occurs because the frequencies
have dropped out of the sweet spots of the top, back and sides. The more these
notes are used the smaller the drop.
Another example can be seen when
restringing a well-kept guitar. When bringing
the open strings to pitch,
notice as the pitch is reached the volume increases with improved sustain.
This will occur more notably on the E, A and D strings. This phenomena
best occurs when
the guitar is regularly tuned to concert pitch. Dropped tuning is OK because
you're leaving from one sweet spot to another.
A misconception can also be attributed to this phenomenon. Many performers
believe that removing all of the strings at one time will somehow
temporarily deaden the top. What actually occurs with newly installed
strings is a massive settling of tensions between the bridge, saddle,
playing area, fingerboard nut, and tuners. String settling is often referred
to as stretching. When the strings are installed and tuned they will
immediately move flat and drift out of their sweet spots causing a slightly
muted effect to the guitar. With repeated tunings, stretching decreases
and the top appears to come back to life.
__________________
Final Polish....
Polish the remaining areas of the guitar.
__________________
Final thought....
Although only one brand of strings was mentioned, no attempt is made to
promote one over another. Choices of brands, alloys, tensions, tonality,
durability, and feel can vary as much as the make and models of guitars
themselves. An increase of silver in a string may improve
tone, but shorten durability. Scale length, string height, style of attack,
or even hardness of frets can
alter ones views of strings.
Lastly, never to be
overlooked, a choice of strings may be decided by the
music itself. High tension strings might be chosen to perform
Morning
(by Grieg) because of its/their dynamic range, while low tension strings may
be more suited for
Prelude in G Minor
(by Rachmaninoff) to achieve a driving, raw, and gritty sound and ease left hand fingerings.
These
guitars are all strung with
different strings,
different fingerboard nut heights,
and
different saddle heights,
for different playing purposes because......
life is full of different circumstances.
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Classical Guitar Sheet Music & Tablature
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...Classical Guitar
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Since
November 1, 2002
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