# how hard is playing multiple voices on guitar?



## mileer

Is it like playing bach on piano or harder/different


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## Head_case

You mean...playing polyphony on guitar, or chords?


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## Praeludium

Piano is "better" than guitar for polyphony. Two-parts inventions by Bach are considered relatively approachable works on the piano, but playing them on guitar would require some serious chops.
We mainly play BWW995 from bwv1013, that's not were the 5 parts fugues are. 

You can listen to fantasias by Dowland, Navraez, Da Milano, Milan, etc. to get an idea of what a lute/vihuela/guitar can do with polyphony. Most of the time it's 3 parts writing.


If you're thinking about chords, the answer is "it depends". You can use 6 notes chords (they have to be guitaristic). But most of the time it's less than that in classical guitar.


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## mileer

Thanks. I wonder in the guitar is moving around with the left hand challenging. I'm not even gonna go into the hand positions. But that seems like the hardest part. Would that cause a beginning guitar player to play very choppy? Like static-y? Like C pause...... G..... Nope A...... Cause that sucks fish bananas while trying to play bachs wtc.


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## Guest

The guitar has very little inherent sustain, so holding voices for the notated length is very difficult, especially when shifting positions. Couple that with often very awkward left hand fingerings and the massive difficulties of the right hand, then polyphony becomes extremely difficult. Often the voices do not even have the same note values/rhythms, so now the complexities are even more extreme. Just watch Jorge Caballero play the Fugue from Bach's Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue (all three movements are available):


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## mileer

Thanks for the response.


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## Guest

Sure. Unless you've tried to play contrapuntal music, it's hard to appreciate the heroic achievement by Caballero. That piece is not normally considered playable on the guitar!


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## mileer

I think you should pay a visit to the man they call " reinhart". He's waiting. And I'm........


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## Guest

What shall I do upon my arrival? Grovel at thy feet?


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## mileer

Excuse me? I am but a humble peasant......


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