Five Different Plucked Stringed Instruments

The Ruan (East Asia)

• From China.
• Also known as a moon guitar.
• Has a round wood topped body with four strings and 24 frets.
• Players use a plectrum.
• Dates back to the Qin Dynasty (200 B.C.).
• Used in modern Chines orchestra, tenor or bass.
• Adapts well to Western folk music.
• Tuned DADA / GDGD or GDAE / CGDA.

The Domra (Eastern Europe)

• The three string domra originated in Russian in 1896 and is tuned EAD.
• The Ukrainian version has four strings, dates to around 1920, and is tuned GDAE.
• Played with a plectrum.
• Fills a violin-like role in Russian folk ensembles where it is used to play lead melody lines.
• The top is almost a circle and has a floating bridge.
• It has a rounded, bowl-like back.

The Cümbüş (Middle East)

• Pronounced "joom-bush".
• Its name means "funny" or "revelry" because wherever it may appear it spreads fun.
• Invented in 1930 by Zeynd Abidin in Istanbul, Turkey and would later spread to Greece and Macedonia.
• Has six strings double-course strings, a round metallic top, and a skin or synthetic head.
• The neck is usually fretless and attaches to the rim by a hinge and screw which allows the neck angle to be changed.
• Is a cross between an Arabic oud and an American banjo, representing East and West.
• Never took off in Turkish classical music, but was adapted by folk musicians where its sound cuts through when played alongside instruments like trumpet or clarinet.
• Played with a type of plectrum called a "mizrap".
• Usually played in first position; melodies only (no chords).

The Tiple Doliente (Latin America)

• Tiple is pronounced "tee-play".
• From Puerto Rico.
• Its name means soprano.
• The tiple doliente has 5 single course steel strings tuned in all 4ths, EADGC.
• The scale is about 350 to 365mm.
• Players use a pick to pluck single-note melodies.
• The tiple is one of three Orquesta Jibara Antigua instruments, along with the cuatro and the bordonna.
• It dates to late 1800's, early 1900's Puerto Rico when it was popular due to its small size and for being inexpensive and easy to build however someone wanted to do it.

The Languedoc Guitar (North America)

• Electric guitar with a 25.5" scale like a Fender Stratocaster but with a hollow body and dual humbuckers like a Gibson Les Paul.
• Invented by luthier and sound engineer Paul Languedoc in Burlington, VT, circa 1987.
• The scale length gives the guitar a Fender-like bite while the hollow body lends it a woody, natural tone with lots of sustain.
• The hand carved arched top body is completely hollow.
• The types of tone woods used may include spruce, maple, koa, and padauk.
• The 24-fret neck is made of laminated curly maple and are set and glued to the body with a carved heel-joint.
• The headstock is designed to look like the shape of the state of Vermont.

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Five Questions with DeadPhish Orchestra's Paul Murin (High Country Guitar)

Paul Murin

Paul Murin is the guitarist for DeadPhish Orchestra, a tribute band that bridges the gap between the music of Phish and The Grateful Dead. He is also the creator of High Country Guitar, an online resource for guitar players interested in improvising and composing. His formal study has included the Jazz and Commercial Music program at the Lamont School of Music at the U. of Denver, where he graduated in 2002.

These qualifications mean that Paul knows as much about the music of Phish and the guitar playing of Trey Anastasio as anyone not named McConnell, Gordon, Fishman or Anastasio. Plus, he is approachable and affable. So, fortunately, he was happy to answer the following Phishy questions.

How does Phish’s improvisation differ from jazz improvisation? How is it similar? 
Well, if you're talking about the classic, bebop style of jazz improv, which most true jazz musicians are familiar with (and I, by the way, do not consider myself a jazz musician at all, although I have studied jazz fairly extensively), then I would say it's a LOT different. Jazz is very sophisticated, harmonically--chords tend to be complex, and there are usually a lot of them in a typical jazz piece. Phish's harmony tends to be much simpler, more in the vein of rock, blues, etc., and more static harmony and mode-based as opposed to improvising over a long series of chord changes.

However, jazz did take a turn for the simpler (largely thanks to Miles Davis) starting in the late '50s, and even more so in the 60's and 70's. The crazy-complicated chords of the bebop era got scrapped, and improvisation became more modal, and more groove-based. Here, I do think you could draw some parallels in Phish's improv style, and I would imagine the guys in Phish would cite much of this music as being influential. But Phish's influences come from a lot of places, and this is only one of them. 

Are there specific songs or performances that exemplify Phish’s improvisational style(s)?
I would look to some of their best-known jams as being exemplary. Like the 2013 "Tahoe Tweezer" or the "Tweezer > Prince Caspian" from the Magnaball Festival this summer. I guess some people call these "Type II" jams, though I'm frankly not 100% certain what that means, exactly. The jams start with the key and groove of the song, but before long they stretch out into different feels, and different keys and modalities. And they may or may not return to the original feel. 

I have noticed some interesting chord progressions in some of their newer songs--Waiting All Night has a really interesting chord progression for Trey's solo, as does Wingsuit and Halfway To The Moon. So it seems to me like they are trying to explore some new improvisational territory. 

Compositionally, are there any traits or themes you’ve noticed in Phish’s written music that you’d like to point out?
Off the top of my head, one thing that I see frequently in Trey's older compositions is that a melody will be cycled through several different keys. It happens in David Bowie, Golgi Apparatus, Squirming Coil, Foam, etc.--the same melody played in several different keys. Sometimes there will be slight variations, making things less predictable. 

Another "trick" that you see is that phrases will sometimes be odd lengths. Normally stuff happens in twos, fours, etc., but in Mango Song, for example, each phrase is 5 measures long. And in Runaway Jim, the phrases of the guitar solo are 3 measures long. Again, I think this makes things a little less predictable. 

As a musician, what is the biggest thing you’ve learned by listening to Phish?
They taught me that it's worthwhile to get as good as you can at your instrument, and to never stop learning and improving. 

How might one go about incorporating some of Phish’s writing style and improvisational techniques into his or her own music?
That's actually a tough one--I was in a band in my 20's that was heavily influenced by Phish in our songwriting, and when I listen to it now, it mostly just sounds like second-rate Phish to me. So you do have to be careful, if you're influenced by Phish, not to make that influence too direct. Instead I would recommend reading up on the guys in the band and looking at the music that influenced them. Absorb some of that stuff, as well as the other music that you love. Study it all (at least a little bit), learn to play as much of it as you can. And as you do that, hopefully your own voice develops out of it.

Guitarist Vic DeRobertis on Playing Like Jerry Garcia

Left-handed guitarist Vic DeRobertis of the New England based Grateful Dead tribute band "Playing Dead" shares some tips for playing like Jerry Garcia in this Guestlisted Guitar Lesson with Jeff Gottlieb.

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Learn Guitar With David Brent from The Office

David Brent of the original BBC The Office (Ricky Gervais) has a series of guitar lesson videos on YouTube.  These are of course meant to funny and an opportunity to showcase David Brent's original songs, but the funny thing is that they also serve as actual guitar lessons.  The information that David Brent provides has some merit to it and is not that different from other guitar tutorials on YouTube.  See for yourself!

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Bob Gramann – guitar and banjo luthier, instrument setup and repair

Last year when my banjo was buzzing I took it to someone on the southside of Richmond who looked at it and suggested I get a taller bridge.  Not satisfied with that solution, I researched other instrument setup and repair persons and found Bob Gramann in Fredericksburg, a city about 40 miles north of where I live.  I took the banjo to Bob who removed the neck, made an adjustment to the truss rod and did a few other tweaks while I waited.  The banjo has been great ever since! 

Similarly, my wife recently took her tenor guitar to Bob Gramann to have it setup in the Irish GDAD tuning.  While doing so, Bob noticed some intonation issues and made corrections to those, thus improving the overall sound of the guitar.  During that same visit I brought in a right-handed tenor banjo that had been sent to me as a vintage Gibson neck paired with a Recording King RK-R35 bluegrass rim.  Bob switched it around to lefty by making a new nut, reversing the armrest and making sure that the action and neck angle were properly set.  Now it's a regulation left-handed 19-fret Irish Tenor Banjo with resonator, wink wink!

The Deep Run

Since I’m not much of a tinkerer, I am happy to have found Bob Gramann for our instrument setup needs.  His prices are very reasonable.  It’s also fun to see his shop and check out the guitars and banjos he has made or is currently working on.  Bob makes some fine instruments.  Instead of churning them out one after another, he really puts a lot of care into building each individual guitar or banjo.  I especially like his small body/travel-size Deep Run model which would make an awesome tenor guitar.  He is making a new one of these right now, to be finished this summer.  

The Rappahannock

Bob is also a folksinger and songwriter.  If you are in the Richmond/Fredericksburg/Northern VA general area, I strongly recommend Bob Gramann for instrument setup and repair.  And for those in the market for a handmade guitar, his instruments, which are named after different rivers in Virginia, are well worth considering.  (Gramann sounds like "GRAH-min").  

Five Great Guitar Players: A List

Earlier this month I posted a reference to Paul Murin’s excellent essay on Memorizing Music.  Paul is the curator of the guitar instruction site High Country Guitar.  Among the info on that site is Paul's list of Great Guitar Players.  Being a sucker for lists, I checked out his favorites and was happy to see that 3 of my 5 favorite guitar players were represented!

Trey Anastasio

Here’s how Paul describes Trey Anastasio, the guitarist for Phish.

Trey is known for long, extended improvisations as well as avant-garde instrumental compositions.  Trey is a technical and creative master of the instrument. 

The key element of Trey’s sound is overdrive followed by compression.  You crank up that overdrive, and then you get a grip on it by running it through a compressor.  It creates a warm, soaring sound with seemingly (and sometimes literally) endless sustain.  A key element of his picking style has to do with palm muting - when you play with a lot of overdrive, palm-muting becomes essential to keep things under control.  By making constant (and, at this point, presumably unconscious) adjustments to how the palm of his hand sits near the bridge, Trey is able to coax a lot of different sounds out of his guitar.  

If you watch Trey's right hand, you'll notice that it doesn't actually move much when he is soloing.  His palm tends to hover just over the strings, near the bridge.  This allows him to make those constant, minute adjustments so that some notes come out as more staccato, while others ring out fully.  It also helps create a tight, focused sound.  

Many of Phish's big jams are primarily modal.  Mixolydian tends to be the most common for major key jams, and for minor keys, Dorian seems to be the go-to mode.  In most of these situations, the mode is mixed with a healthy dose of pentatonic/blues licks.

Trey commonly uses chromatic licks approaching chord tones.  Perhaps because of his compositional skills, Trey tends to build solos using motives - little melodies and/or rhythmic patterns that get repeated, moved around the neck, displaced, etc.  These motives give his solos a sense of coherence.  Personally I think Trey is better than just about anyone (in rock and roll) at this kind of thing.  His solos almost always feel very deliberate, and rarely sound like he's just "noodling" in search of an idea.

Many of Trey's more complex compositions feature a "theme and variation" approach, where he takes a lick or melody and moves it around through different keys, sometimes extending it, other times truncating it.  Most of Trey's complex compositions, regardless of how complex they are, are oriented around a groove.  They keep the crowd dancing as they wind through all kinds of weird musical places.  

Jerry Garcia

Next on my list would have to be Jerry Garcia.  Here’s what Paul has to say about ol’ Jerry:

Founding member of the Grateful Dead.  Known for long, extended improvisations.  Strong foundation in American roots styles - blues, country, and jazz. An incredibly passionate and creative musician, and a virtual walking encyclopedia of American music. 

Here are some descriptions of Garcia’s playing by others:

The essence of Garcia's sound came in the way he attacked the notes with his pick.

Jerry could weave colorful passing tones into his lines like no other rocker. 

He had a clear, “well-spoken” tone and a strong and precise connection to the string.

Garcia picked almost every note and seldom used hammer-ons or pull-offs. 

Bill Frisell

Thirdly is Bill Frisell.  I’m so glad that Paul included him on his list.  About Frisell, Paul says:

Bill Frisell is a great player who is difficult to categorize.  Usually categorized as a jazz player, he really blends a strong helping of country/folk/bluegrass in his music.  Known for his restraint and use of space.  I once heard someone say that he plays guitar the way Miles Davis played the trumpet.  One of my favorite players, period.

In a recent article for No Depression, Jake Schepps described Frisell like this:

Frisell is so distinctly American, creating music that is at once jazz, country, blues, and noise.  His music is unique, yet incredibly familiar, and at times sweetly dissonant (like no one else can be).  It has me questioning so many musical preconceptions about how music can work, what makes something compelling, what can be a song, what is soloing, and more. 

With Frisell’s approach to music, when playing folk tunes, Bob Dylan songs, original country twang ditties, and old swing standards the beauty is so pronounced, so touching, melodic, at times so directionless yet with such inevitable and perfect forward movement.  It is jazz, and so “not jazz” (which is actually very jazz).

Norman Blake

Surprisingly absent from Paul Murin’s list is Norman Blake, although to his credit Paul didn’t entirely omit all flatpickers, but chose to list David Grier, Tony Rice and Doc Watson among his favorites in that style.  However, I’d put Norman Blake up there as well.

Others have described Norman Blake like this:  His melodic lines are direct and elegant, without the pyrotechnics often associated other flatpickers.  Blake’s music has an air of authenticity and basic honesty few can achieve.  Blake’s music is of an elemental sort that transcends technological change and the tides of pop culture.  Blake’s music takes you back home to the porch and the living room, where, symbolically and literally, it was born.

Norman is not the fastest flatpicker in the world - but he brings the wood of the acoustic guitar to life. He doesn't play very much beyond the first five frets of the instrument, but that is why he makes one acoustic guitar sound like an ensemble!  The drone of the open strings picked here and there provides an anchor for the tune he picks, so that one acoustic guitar, without any backup, is complete in and of itself.  His crosspicking techniques add to the fullness as well.  (The Flatpick Post)

Grant Green

Lastly, but also missing from Paul’s list is Grant Green, a perpetually underrated jazz guitarist who recorded prolifically for the Blue Note Label throughout the 60’s and early 70’s. 

Grant Green had a "dark-blue", instantly recognizable sound that was influenced by horn players.  He rarely comped, choosing to drop out when trading off with other soloists rather than doing any backing.  When asked why he didn’t play chords Green is said to have responded “Charlie Parker didn’t play chords”.

Jazz Times described Green like this: 

Grant Green was among the most disciplined yet imaginative soloists of his generation.  His single-line statements were rhythmically brilliant, and his use of staccato notes equally intriguing.  Green’s earthy melodies were clean and fluid, his voicings impeccable and he was especially captivating on ballads.  Though his initial fame came through his participation in soul-jazz and organ-combo sessions, Green eschewed blazing speed and notey forays for deft harmonic response, funky rhythmic dexterity and nimble melodic interpretation.

Flatpicking Guitar Tabs for 4 Standard Fiddle Tunes

A few weeks back I got an acoustic guitar:  a pre-owned lefty Larrivee P-03 parlor guitar.  It’s a nice instrument and I’m lucky to have it.  I’m also lucky if I get in 15 minutes at the end of every other day for a little bit of flat-picking after I’m done with all my mandolin and tenor banjo playing.  Things are moving along slowly.  Coming from 4-stringed instruments and having never played guitar before, it’s pretty easy to get lost among the 6 strings.

Even on the guitar, melody is still king for me so I’m more concerned with playing tunes than strumming chords.  I’ve chosen 4 standard fiddle tunes as the first ones to learn on guitar:  Girl I Left Behind Me, Over the Waterfall, Redhaired Boy and St. Anne’s Reel.  Surprisingly, none of these tunes ever struck me as being particularly exciting to play on mandolin or tenor banjo, but the switch to guitar has brought new life to these familiar melodies.

I’ve been using the flat-picking guitar arrangements below to help memorize the tunes.  In each case I like the simple clean lines and the patterns these result in on guitar.  Perhaps there is something to these old favorites after all!

What do you think?!

Choosing Which Instrument(s) To Play

I'm not sure how I knew that the tenor banjo was going to be the instrument for me.  Having never played any music or any instruments prior to getting a tenor banjo, I didn't know about its advantages or disadvantages, didn't really know how it compared to other instruments, and didn't yet know that Irish trad and oldtime would be the type of music that I would play on it.  It may have been when I figured out that GDAE tuned tenor banjo would be like playing a mandolin but with a banjo sound, that I decided to give it a shot.

London based Irish tenor banjo
player Mick O'connor

Tenor banjo remains my primary instrument, but I have since gotten a tenor guitar and a mandolin.  It might seem like that's three distinct instruments, but really it's not because I tune all of them GDAE.  The mandolin, being one octave higher, happens to have a shorter scale, requiring some different finger placements, but is still basically played the same way.  Eventually I would like to branch out to some truly different instruments.

Go-Guitar

One of those different instruments is going to be a guitar.  In fact, I already have a Go-Guitar on order.  I'm hoping this will be the only guitar I need for a while.  I'm not getting it because I have a strong desire to play guitar, but it's such a common instrument that I feel like I should at least familiarize myself with chord shapes and anything else guitar-related that I might need to know.  Although I'm sure it'll be fun flatpicking some fiddle tunes.  

At the risk of stretching myself too thin, eventually I'd like to go beyond just stringed instruments.  When I think along these lines there are two different directions I see myself being pulled.  One is toward the tin whistle.  I can't say that I'm particularly attracted to the tin whistle's sound and playability, but I would be drawn to its portability.  It would be nice to be able to make music on such a small, compact instrument.  Traveling would be easier than trying to lug around a banjo.  

Tin Whistles

Another plus is that tin whistles aren't that expensive.  The only con I can think of is I wonder if my life-long breathing and sinus issues would be a hindrance toward playing this woodwind instrument?  Another instrument I'd put in the portable, inexpensive category is the harmonica, but I'd definitely choose a tin whistle over harmonica.

Two-Row Irish style button accordion

What really calls to me, however, is something in the accordion or concertina family.  At the moment, I'm extremely ignorant when it comes to these types of free-reed instruments, so I don't know whether it should be the piano accordion, the Irish button accordion or the Anglo concertina?  I just know that I like the sound of all three.

I can probably rule out the piano accordion.  I've never played piano, so it wouldn't have any advantage there.  It's also bigger than the button accordion and concertina, and not as common in one of the styles of music I like to play - Irish trad.  

Dan Gurney, accordion

The Irish button accordion is the one - you guessed it - used in Irish music. One possible influence for me could be Dan Gurney of The Yanks.  He is one of the leading young players of this instrument and I'm already a fan.  Going farther back, the County Tipperary Paddy O'Brien is another accordion player that I admire.   Paddy composed many tunes as well.  I have his tunebook with the notation.

Oldtime concertina player Bertram Levy

The Anglo concertina seems cool too though.  It's more compact than an accordion, fitting into what looks like a little hat box or bowling ball case.  Niall Vallely is an Irish concertina player whose playing I am fond of.  Another big pro for the concertina is the fact that Bertram Levy uses it in oldtime music.  His "The Bellow and The Bow" CD with Kirk Sutphin is one of my favorite oldtime recordings.

It's more by coincidence than anything else that the instruments mentioned above - tin whistle, concertina and accordion - all happen to be instruments used in Irish music.  If I chose one of these instruments, I would certainly want to also bring to life suitable Appalachian melodies.  I love oldtime fiddle tunes, but most, if not all, of the common oldtime instruments are stringed instruments, and outside of getting a guitar I don't want to pursue any more stringed instruments.

Augustus Pablo on melodica

Actually, another instrument I may have an interest in is the melodica, and that's mainly because one of my idols John Medeski plays one and the Jamaican musician Augustus Pablo played one.  A melodica may encourage exploration into other styles of music.  Once again though, having never played piano, I wouldn't have that experience to base it on, and my breathing/sinus problems may be a hindrance.

Speaking of piano, I've been thinking for a while that an electronic keyboard would be a good instrument for ear training and the study of music theory.  I don't see myself actually wanting to play a piano, but a little keyboard might be a good practice instrument, to help increase my overall understanding of music and intervals.

Yamaha keyboard

I guess there's no reason why I can't pursue each of these instruments over time.  One thing that just occurred to me is that, as a lefty, all of my stringed instruments are made to be lefty with the strings reversed from normal.  But the non-stringed instruments I mentioned here are neither righty nor lefty - you simply play them the way they are without the option or need(?) for reversal.  That might be interesting in an ambidextrous kind of way.  Tenor banjo will likely always be my main instrument, but this music bug is making me want to experiment with other "exotic" instruments.

Go Guitars - Hand-Made Travel Guitars For Less Than $250

Luthier Sam Radding playing one of his Go Guitars

I’m not the first person to write about Go Guitars, but I feel compelled to mention these ultra-cool instruments.  Go Guitars are hand-crafted by Sam Radding in San Diego, CA.  The regular Go Guitar ($218.90) and the Go Grande model ($240.90) are designed to be travel guitars, but feel and play like much more expensive instruments.  The price is similar to (or even lower than) most mass-produced travel guitars, which is remarkable for a luthier-made instrument.  He also makes a parlor guitar – The Type II Parlor Guitar.

Sam uses solid woods for all of his guitars – Sitka Spruce for the top, Dark Walnut or Honduras Mahogany for the back and sides.  Rosewood is also available.  The necks are 24.5” and the neck/nut width is customizable – 1-11/16”, 1-3/4” or more.  Tuners are either open face, or you can upgrade to sealed minis for $18 more.  All steel string Go Guitars have fully adjustable truss rods.  Sam can also install a Fishman Matrix pickup or Baggs Element.  A custom fit Go “Puffy” Gig Bag is available for $45.  Go Guitars are available in left-handed. 

As someone who plays left-handed mandolin and tenor banjo in oldtime and Irish sessions, I’ve been wanting to learn a little bit more about guitar in general.  Guitar will probably never be my primary instrument, but I wouldn’t mind having one to expand my overall knowledge of music, do some flat-picking on and strum some campfire songs.  The smaller, unique size of the Go Guitar is appealing to me, as is the price point.  I also love the fact that these are hand-made instruments!  I would go with the 2-3/4” thick Grande model instead of the 2” regular depth – the extra air volume in the deeper Grande body gives it a larger sound.

Here’s a video of a Go Grande in action.

My wife has now ventured into guitar playing by recently getting a Luna Muse Safari 3/4 size travel guitar, priced at $160 at our local indie guitar and ukulele shop.  It's a decent starter guitar, but eventually she’d like to get a parlor guitar.  We were looking at vintage parlor guitars, but are now strongly considering Sam Radding’s Type II Parlor Guitar.  With an 8” upper bout, a 12” lower bout, 16” body length, 24.5” scale, customizable body depth and neck width, and 34.5” overall length, the Go parlor might be the best overall option for a smaller bodied guitar under $800. 

Go Parlor Guitar

I’ve seen nothing but positive reviews online.  The current build time for a Go Guitar is about 4-weeks, but Sam can sometimes make them faster than that under certain circumstances.