# What are your thoughts on the classical guitar? (GUITARISTS PLEASE ABSTAIN)



## Wisconsin

I am a pianist that just recently heard Rodrigo’s Concerto de Aranjuez, and was astonished by the emotional power of it. With curiosity, I bought a couple of recordings of the classical guitar, one of which, the recordings of the Suite Spagnole by Albeniz, made me feel a little bit uneasy about playing the thing on a piano, and I was wondering what your thoughts were regarding the instrument. Generally, discussions about this subject (such as a very recent one in this very same forum) tend to be very polarizing, and I’m just interested in the non-guitarist perspective. Is the guitar a classical instrument? Do you like it? Will you put it next to the violin, or the piano, or the cello? Is it easier?


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## djj

cant resist, sorry, I'm a classical guitarist, but as a child I learnt piano, and it really was only a matter of convenience that I started playing guitar. (try moving house half a dozen times with a piano). I still play piano when I can. The great thing about the guitar, and other stringed instruments, is that you have control of the sound once you have played it, tremolo vibrato etc. Where as on a piano it is not possible to have such control. On a piano you are committed. Once the key is struck it is out there, apart from the pedals, there is no control over the subsequent decay of the sound. I guess bowed instruments allow the greatest control by precisely shaping the attack and decay sound. 
On the other side of things the problem with the 'classical' guitar is that it is an intimate instrument, un amplified, necessitating a small audience and difficult in an orchestral setting. Most recordings of the Rodriguez I have heard I am pretty sure the guitar is separately miked, to bring it to the fore ground, and the two times I have been privileged to see it performed live, the guitar seemed to be miked and amplified. Hence its keyboard linage, I would guess. 
I think the most important factor is the intent and skill of the musicains not the instruments on which they play To become polarized is a fools game. It is possible to judge and enjoy music on its merits, not its fashion.


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## emiellucifuge

I do believe it is a classical instrument and throughout history has been used as one. Unfortunately its a very specialist instrument, very hard to combine with.. say... an orchestra.
As for this its better used as a solo or in small ensembles. It takes a lot of skill and knowledge to eight for one.


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## Mr.Vivaldi

I really don't like guitars in general. I don't think they should exist. Though I do have to say, I like lutes.


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## djj

Mr Vivaldi, not liking something is one thing but saying that you dont think they should exist, for the undeniable pleasure they give many people, is a bit over the top. Have you heard John Williams playing the Bach lute suites?


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## Weston

Certainly the guitar is a classical instrument. One need only listen to Boccherini's guitar quintets to verify that. 




Of course I think anything that makes sound can be a classical instrument, so what do I know?

As for comparing it to other instruments, I confess I rarely enjoy _solo _classical guitar music. For me it is an ensemble instrument, like most other non-keyboard instruments. I do enjoy John Dowland pieces or the Bach lute suites when played on guitar. But in an ensemble situation such as the Rodrigo orchestral works, it can be powerfully expressive.


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## alexan0030

Well I'm also a classical guitarist. And I say yes. Classical guitar is an classical instrument. The guitar (lute) was one of the first string instruments even before the piano. By classical instrument I assume you mean an instrument where only true compositions are played on? 
I don't think you should compare instruments to each other. Each instrument has its own mood. And the mood of the guitar is very subtle and very intimate.
One of my favorite composers is Agustin Barrios Mangore. This link has two video's that I think are his best as well as some biographical info on him. He has compositions that will blow your mind. A truly passionate composer who was deeply inspired with the music of Bach. I play a few pieces of him but the most are just too difficult.

But talking about the guitar as a classical instrument I think that after listening to his music you won't question it anymore.


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## Octo_Russ

The Guitar certainly *is* a Classical instrument, [i'm not a Guitarist], the Violin and especially the Piano have a naturalness towards Classical music, that's why they're used so much more frequently in Classical music, the Cello or Clarinet less so, but the Guitar is like an odd instrument in the Classical world, it doesn't fit well, Rodrigo proved that it *can* work so well.

The Guitar in my mind works better in a solo setting, unlike the piano which you can listen to in a 30 minute Sonata, the Guitar is harder to concentrate on for extra long periods, that's why it's a king of the miniature.

I love the Guitar, it's so underestimated, people don't take it seriously, here's a YouTube video of some inspiring music i found,


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## djj

*all good music is good*

thanks for those links.. very nice. I learnt in music history that the eras of European music can be divided into the Baroque (Bach), the classical(Mozart), the romantic (Beethoven) and the modern (Stravinsky). I always found these delinations somewhat arbitary and unhelpfull, biased somewhat towards western music. What about the great classical music of ancient India for instance (relegated to the somewhat dismisive catagory 'ethnomusic', along with aboriginal tribal music and other non western music) I strongly believe that to appreciate music in its fullest is to discard labels and approach it with an open ear and mind.


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## Mr.Vivaldi

I'm sorry to everyone who took my post to be offensive. What I mention to say is that they shouldn't exist in modern music because I think that all sounds ugly.


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