what is a six course guitar?

by Dr. Theodore Grady 8 min read

The twelve-string guitar has twelve strings, in six courses. The courses are most often tuned E-A-D-G-B-E, similarly to a six-string guitar; however, older instruments were often tuned one tone lower D-G-C-F-A-D to reduce the tension on the neck, and commonly played with a capo on fret 2.

The six-course guitar, like the contemporary harpsichord and the five-course guitar, is highly registered in its colour; the pairing of its (gut) strings means that notes sounded at in a low, medium and very high position sound very different, and the higher you play on any string, slightly and increasingly out of tune ...May 17, 2015

Full Answer

How many courses does a six-course guitar have?

It had six courses (usually), lute-like tuning in fourths and a guitar-like body, although early representations reveal an instrument with a sharply cut waist. It was also larger than the contemporary four-course guitars.

What is a course on a guitar?

A course, on a stringed musical instrument, is either one string or two or more adjacent strings that are closely spaced relative to the other strings, and typically played as a single string. The strings in each multiple-string course are typically tuned in unison or an octave .

When was the five course guitar invented?

There were many different plucked instruments that were being invented and used in Europe, during the Middle Ages. By the 16th century, most of the forms of guitar had fallen off, to never be seen again. However, midway through the 16th century, the five-course guitar was established. It was not a straightforward process.

Why are the strings on a five course guitar different?

The strings were a whole octave apart from one another, which is the reason for the different method of tuning. Because it was so different, there was major controversy as to who created the five course guitar. A literary source, Lope de Vega's Dorotea, gives the credit to the poet and musician Vicente Espinel.

What is a course guitar?

A course, on a stringed musical instrument, is either one string or two or more adjacent strings that are closely spaced relative to the other strings, and typically played as a single string. The strings in each multiple-string course are typically tuned in unison or an octave.

What is a five course guitar?

The Baroque guitar (c. 1600–1750) is a string instrument with five courses of gut strings and moveable gut frets. The first (highest pitched) course sometimes used only a single string.

What do you call a 6-string guitar?

A contrabass guitar is a low-register bass guitar with four, five or six strings. It is often called, simply, a six string bass guitar. The five string bass guitar is rarely called a contrabass guitar, even though it typically has the same lowest note.

What is a double course guitar?

A “course” is another word for a string – previously, guitars had each string doubled up, e.g. “double course”. A modern “12 string” acoustic guitar is really a double-course 6-string guitar.

What is a four course guitar?

Juan Bermudo in his "Declaracion de Instrumentos" (1555) describes the guitarra as having four courses tuned as the second to fifth courses of the vihuela. Mudarra describes it as having ten frets and a bordón on the fourth course at an octave below. TUNINGS.

What is a baroque guitar called?

4:5510:40Introducing: The Baroque Guitar - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipIt has 9 strings total. But we actually call this a five-course guitar of course is a pair ofMoreIt has 9 strings total. But we actually call this a five-course guitar of course is a pair of strings that we play simultaneously.

How many courses are there on a baroque guitar?

For example, a nine-string baroque guitar has five courses: most are two-string courses but sometimes the lowest or the highest consists of a single string. An instrument with at least one multiple-string course is referred ...

How many strings does a 12 string guitar have?

The twelve -string guitar has twelve strings, in six courses. The courses are most often tuned E-A-D-G-B-E, similarly to a six-string guitar; however, older instruments were often tuned one tone lower D-G-C-F-A-D to reduce the tension on the neck, and commonly played with a capo on fret 2.

How many strings does a mandolin have?

Main article: mandolin. All members of the mandolin family, except some versions of the lowest-pitched, have courses each of two or three strings, most commonly eight strings in four courses. The exception is some varieties of mando-bass, which have four individual strings. An acoustic 12-string guitar.

What is a coursed instrument?

An instrument with at least one multiple-string course is referred to as coursed, while one whose strings are all played individually is uncoursed.

What are some examples of instruments that use four strings?

Examples of instruments that use four- (or more) string courses include: Cimbalom. Guitar rón chileno. As may be seen, some instruments contain courses with differing numbers of strings. A typical piano, for example, contains courses with one, two, and three strings, in different parts of its range.

What is Waldzither course?

A course, on a stringed musical instrument, is either one string or two or more adjacent strings that are closely spaced relative to the other strings, and typically played as a single string. The strings in each multiple-string course are typically tuned in unison or an octave .

What are the different types of guitars?

There are three main types of modern guitar: the classical guitar (Spanish guitar/nylon-string guitar); the steel-string acoustic or electric guitar; and the Hawaiian guitar (played across the player's lap). Traditional acoustic guitars include the flat top guitar (typically with a large sound hole) or an archtop guitar, ...

How many frets are there on a guitar?

Pressing a string against a fret determines the strings' vibrating length and therefore its resultant pitch. The pitch of each consecutive fret is defined at a half-step interval on the chromatic scale. Standard classical guitars have 19 frets and electric guitars between 21 and 24 frets, although guitars have been made with as many as 27 frets . Frets are laid out to accomplish an equal tempered division of the octave. Each set of twelve frets represents an octave. The twelfth fret divides the scale length exactly into two halves, and the 24th fret position divides one of those halves in half again.

How does a capo work on a guitar?

A capo (short for capotasto) is used to change the pitch of open strings. Capos are clipped onto the fretboard with the aid of spring tension or, in some models, elastic tension. To raise the guitar's pitch by one semitone, the player would clip the capo onto the fretboard just below the first fret. Its use allows players to play in different keys without having to change the chord formations they use. For example, if a folk guitar player wanted to play a song in the key of B Major, they could put a capo on the second fret of the instrument, and then play the song as if it were in the key of A Major, but with the capo the instrument would make the sounds of B Major. This is because, with the capo barring the entire second fret, open chords would all sound two semitones (in other words, one tone) higher in pitch. For example, if a guitarist played an open A Major chord (a very common open chord), it would sound like a B Major chord. All of the other open chords would be similarly modified in pitch. Because of the ease with which they allow guitar players to change keys, they are sometimes referred to with pejorative names, such as "cheaters" or the "hillbilly crutch". Despite this negative viewpoint, another benefit of the capo is that it enables guitarists to obtain the ringing, resonant sound of the common keys (C, G, A, etc.) in "harder" and less-commonly used keys. Classical performers are known to use them to enable modern instruments to match the pitch of historical instruments such as the Renaissance music lute .

How does a truss rod work on a guitar?

The truss rod is a thin, strong metal rod that runs along the inside of the neck. It is used to correct changes to the neck's curvature caused by aging of the neck timbers, changes in humidity, or to compensate for changes in the tension of strings. The tension of the rod and neck assembly is adjusted by a hex nut or an allen-key bolt on the rod, usually located either at the headstock, sometimes under a cover, or just inside the body of the guitar underneath the fretboard and accessible through the sound hole. Some truss rods can only be accessed by removing the neck. The truss rod counteracts the immense amount of tension the strings place on the neck, bringing the neck back to a straighter position. Turning the truss rod clockwise tightens it, counteracting the tension of the strings and straightening the neck or creating a backward bow. Turning the truss rod counter-clockwise loosens it, allowing string tension to act on the neck and creating a forward bow.

What is a Renaissance guitar?

Renaissance and Baroque guitars are the ancestors of the modern classical and flamenco guitar. They are substantially smaller, more delicate in construction, and generate less volume. The strings are paired in courses as in a modern 12-string guitar, but they only have four or five courses of strings rather than six single strings normally used now. They were more often used as rhythm instruments in ensembles than as solo instruments, and can often be seen in that role in early music performances. ( Gaspar Sanz 's Instrucción de Música sobre la Guitarra Española of 1674 contains his whole output for the solo guitar.) Renaissance and Baroque guitars are easily distinguished, because the Renaissance guitar is very plain and the Baroque guitar is very ornate, with ivory or wood inlays all over the neck and body, and a paper-cutout inverted "wedding cake" inside the hole.

What is a classical guitar?

Classical guitars, also known as "Spanish" guitars, are typically strung with nylon strings, plucked with the fingers, played in a seated position and are used to play a diversity of musical styles including classical music.

How does acoustic guitar sound?

The majority of the instrument's sound is heard through the vibration of the guitar top as the energy of the vibrating strings is transferred to it. The body of an acoustic guitar has a sound hole through which sound projects. The sound hole is usually a round hole in the top of the guitar under the strings.

How to play a major guitar chord?

2. Place your second (middle) finger on the 2nd fret of the G string. 3. Place your third (ring) finger on the 2nd fret of the B string. 4. Strum the top 5 strings, skipping the low E string. The A Major guitar chord is one of the trickiest chords for beginners to learn.

What are the building blocks of guitar?

Guitar chords are one of the essential building blocks when learning to play guitar. Chor ds are extremely helpful in building dexterity, rhythm, strumming and are just plain fun to play. In this lesson you I will teach you which 6 main guitar chords beginners should learn first.

How to play the G chord on a guitar?

1. Place your ring (third) finger on the third fret of the high E string. 2. Place your middle (second) finger on the third fret of the low E string. 3. Place your index (first) finger on the second fret of the A string. 4. Strum all 6 strings. The G chord is one of my favorite chords and a great one for working on your guitar strumming.

How many fingers does an E minor chord take?

The E minor chord is the first chord I teach most of my students because of its simplicity. It only takes 2 fingers and you don't have to worry about skipping or missing any strings. If you've messed around with power chords at all yet, you may notice the top 3 strings of this chord are an E5 power chord.

What is a guitar chord?

A guitar chord is a series of notes played together to create one unified tone. By choosing specific intervals from the root note a "chord" is created, which replicates the pitch of the tonic (root note). Chord Diagram Courtesy of JamPlay.com. For example, a C chord is built from the notes C, E and G. However when played in unison, you hear C.

How to play E minor chord?

How to Play the E Minor Chord Step by Step: 1. Place your middle (second) finger on the second fret of the A string. 2. Place your ring (third) finger on the second fret of the D string. 3. Strum all 6 strings. The E minor chord is the first chord I teach most of my students because of its simplicity.

How many parts can a 5 course guitar play?

This is a rather recondite treatise which sets out to prove that the 5-course guitar can play music in three, four and five parts and realize a bass line according to the . rules of harmony in the same way as the theorbo, harpsichord and organ, rather than just strumming simple dances.

Why are the six-four chords less intrusive?

The six-four chords are also less intrusive with a re-entrant tuning, because the notes of the chord are in close position. The introduction of overwound strings in the late 17th century went some way to solving the problem of unsatisfactory bass strings, although these were not without problems.

What does the first line of a fret line mean?

The first line could imply that the point of departure is the treble string of a course tuned in octaves. The fact that the fourth course stopped at 5th fret is equated with the third seems to imply a low octave string on the fourth course.

What is the lowest note on a guitar?

The earliest music for the 5-course guitar was entirely strummed and the basic sequence of 5-part chords includes several which will have the 5th of the chord as the lowest note; which ones depends on the method of stringing selected.

How to tune 4 guitars in concert?

To tune four guitars in concert, first tune the third course of the small guitar with the fifth course of the medium size one, and with the fourth course of the largest so that they make a unison. Then playing the third course of the other medium sized guitar with the second course of the largest will make the same.

What is the information in a guitar book?

Information in most guitar books is in the form of advice to beginners on how to tune the instrument, or to check that it is in tune. This does not usually indicate that the writer of the book thought that one particular method of stringing rather than another was to be preferred.

How many guitar books did Pesori make?

Pesori produced at least five guitar books, possibly more. Each has a lengthy typeset preface which includes no useful musical information. The music is a mixture of pieces, some entirely in alfabeto and some in Italian tablature, some of it notated in an unitelligible way. None of it is of any instrinsic merit.