A# is a different note than Bb? Spartacus of guitar says yes!
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Yes folks, we have been duped by the domination of the pianoforte Renaissance theory and it's tempered tuning science and wasting time applying it to the guitar before fully understanding the guitar. It is true that I spent so much time learning music that I do have very complex mental constructs enabling me to calculate the mathematics of compensating for the inherent inconsistencies in the piano's ability to represent the structural nature of music. The great news is that it is not necessary to waste time learning piano theory in order to fully master the skill of guitar theory as applied to popular music. Of course unless you want to, such as the case with students who also play the piano.
Here's how it REALLY works: There are 10 demi-tones in between the whole step A to B. therefore the exact middle of the two notes is an infinity point or a subtlety that is indiscernible to the conscious capability of humans. Therefore A# is one demi-tone lower than it Bb. A skilled concert violinist will place his finger slightly lower on the string for the sharp key's in order to compensate for this fact.
On the guitar an A# is actually ia A# and not a Bb. Guitar is designed for sharp keys, and therefore is a brighter or happier instrument by its nature. Sharp keys are happier than flat keys in a subtle but noticeable way. Flat keys are used many times to help facilitate instruments which are much easier to play in the flat keys. Unfortunately if the song is happy then right away there is a musical conflict, however subtle.
Ever notice that all the beginner guitar songs have the chords in the sharp keys of the cycle of fifths? Take the chords for "Hey Joe" for example: C (no sharps or flats) G (one sharp) D (2#'s) A (3#'s) E (4#'s) then B (5#s) going right around the cycle nefore changing
keys by flatting the 3rd....coincidence? I think not. Guitar is on the happy side of the cycle of keys. :-)
If you tune your guitar down half step to Eb, then the guitar becomes a flat key instrument in which the 6th fret on the E string is a Bb and not A#. Now speculate on all the musicians that tuned their guitar down to get a heavier tone, and correlate that with how many of those musicians fell prey to Jack Daniels and barbiturates. Did the flat keys bring them down? LOL
On piano we use "tempered tuning" which means that we adjust for the accidentals as we go higher on the keyboard in order to compensate somewhat for the fact that if we tuned the piano for 12 perfectly spaced notes it would sound horrible. It is similar to the way we use daylight savings time and calendar adjustments to compensate for the difference between the 24-hour day concept and how long it actually takes the world to revolve compared to an exact 24 hour cycle.
There or truths and there are absolute truths. For me something is closer to absolute truth when the examples of its nature parallel the foundation of physical and emotional nature. To really understand guitar, one must understand why the guitar is the way it really is and how it relates to the true nature of music. There is too much struggle, too many barriers, too much memorizing, too much copying,and frankly too much gibberish when it comes to soloing. These symptoms can be eliminated easily, happily, and with great ecstatic satisfying pleasure. All it takes is real understanding and using new technology to increase your learning curve to an exponential level.
Call me now to receive your gift of 3) WebCam guitar lessons just for reading this article. Call Paul T. Harrison: (707) 634-4447
spartacusofguitar@gmail.com
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