Feb 10 2008
Guitar and Vocal Qualities
I have always found it a wonder the way a guitar can “vocalise” in different accents. If you listen to John Williams, for example, playing the famous Memories of the Alhambra, it will sound immaculate, the rippling tremolo melody flawlessly executed, but it will not “sound Spanish” in the same way as Spanish virtuoso Pepe Romero
Carlos Perez brings out the Latin American accent, while listening to him it is easy to experience the Latin American Rhythms and colour. Vladimir Mikulka’s guitar has the more harsh Balkan accent, more austere perhaps, but not without it’s own whimsical beauty.
A classic case in point is Julian Bream, who I think plays Albeniz and Granados second to none. Yet, it is like a classical rendition of Idiomatic Spanish music.
What is it about the six strings of the guitar that can “vocalise” so effectively? Is it the instrument itself or the player, or both? I think the latter. Of all the musical instruments, there are only very few which the sound is made by direct contact between the fingers and instrument. The Harp is one, the Guitar the other. Mandolin and the Lute also come to mind in same way. With Piano, for example, the sound comes from hammering on the strings, as such the Piano is considered a percussive instrument. Violin, and Cello, mostly the sound comes from the bow.
But I think even wind instruments such as the Flute, Clarinet and Oboe, for all their great melodic capabilities, do not quite match the Guitar’s “accents”, even though the human breath comes into play to make the notes. Listen to Bream playing Albeniz, then Romero, to get my point 
Tags: classical guitar, vocals
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