Conference napalm::guitar

    
    I read in the liner notes of a Wes Montgomery recording
    that he had a guitar with only 4 strings until he was about 
    20 years old.  The liner notes suggest that the thing
    was tuned like the top 4 strings of a guitar. 
    
    Mick Goodrick's book is mentioned elsewhere in this conference.  
    With relation to this topic, he starts out his method
    by teaching to play up and down the individual strings, then using
    two, then three.  The first part he calls "The Art of The
    Unitar".   
    
    Its easy to fall into "box" or "position" playing, 
    and the Goodrick approach might counter balance that tendency. 
    
    Dave 

    I reacll breaking my high E string on a Strat once just before a guitar 
    solo which I transposed in real time for the remaining 5 strings, but
    near the end of the solo, I broke the B also. I did the rest of the
    song with only 4. As luck would have it, it was a borrowed guitar & my
    spare strings were all at home, so I had to then do the entire last set
    with only 4 strings. I think I was the only one that noticed. I have
    since switched to thin picks !
    
    Paul

    Bob Marley recorded "Songs of Freedom" on an acoustic with no D string.
    I cant imagine why.  Unless he was too hi to notice :*)
    
    

    
    
       The guy from the B-52s, Rick sumptin', (who's passed on) use to 
       play his guitar with four strings.  I have not a clue what the 
       tuning was. 
    
       Rick. 
    

DAD would be like a three-course bouzouki tuning.  I've diddled with said 
bouzouki and it was lots of fun.  It does force you to work out single-string 
ideas if you want to do more than just chord.

For some reason, I've found myself playing with single-string and two-string
ideas lately.  It's opening up an area of technique that I've neglected for
a long time.  Jeez, if I keep learning like this I might be a competent
player just in time to die of old age.

Bob

    I believe that Keith Richards plays with only 5 strings.
    
    Perhaps we should all add to our replies the names of players we can
    recall who play on less or more than 6 (discounting 12 string players).
    
    How about Mississippi Big Joe Williams ....played a nine string I
    think.
    
    andy
    
    

    yup Keith doesn't have a bottom E,he once described his playing like
    5 strings,2 fingers and an arsehole.
    
    
                                                ian

>he once described his playing like
>5 strings,2 fingers and an arsehole.

    Ya gotta love the guy!

re: Keith R:

I heard it as 3 chords, 2 fingers and an arsehole.

Wish I could play as well.

Jim

    RE: "ya gotta love the guy"......not
    
    RE: "wish I could play as well"....you probably can
    
    
    Steve

    re: Steve
    
    How about, "Wish I had the money he spends on drugs"?
    
    Dave

    RE: .10
    
    Thats what I say about Clapton...  Right Buck ??
    
    jc (with a Bud-induced attitude...)

    
        >>Thats what I say about Clapton...  Right Buck ??
    
    
    Coop, when did you start bashing EC?  I'm shocked.........!
    
    8^)

    Wel...  he *really* was...Right up until I read about him and 
    Mick Jagger bumpin' uglies...
    :-)
    
    

    RE: -1
    
    Dam!  I had just forgotten about the BooFoo story!
    
    8^O

    BooFoo ?
    

    RE: -1
    
    I sentchya mail......
    
    |*}

	
	    Funny that this topic came up now !! I just picked up an
 	old tenor guitar a couple of weeks ago. My understanding is
 	that the tenor guitar was invented for tenor banjo players 
	that wanted to cross over to guitar. It is supposed to be 
	tuned exactly like a tenor banjo, but many people tune them 
	differantly. One book I read recommends tuning the 4 strings
	to the top 4 strings of a guitar but at the 5th fret, which
	would give you G,C,E,A (low-high). I found this would require
	a little too much tension with the string guages I've got on
	mine so I ended up tuning to E,A,C#,F#. This gives me an A
	chord in the open position (where G usually is) and it still
	has a nice chiming tone to it. 

	    Tenor guitar has a shorter scale than standard guitar and
	the neck is obviously not as wide.    Having only 4 strings 
	introduces is a bit of a challenge. If you view it as a 
	limitation, than it will in fact limit what you can do. If you
	think of it as a completely differant instrument than guitar
	(playing a differant role in an ensemble), than it can be a 
	lot more interesting. Tenor guitars are mainly intended to be 
    	a rhythm instrument and chords do sound great on them, but rules 
    	were meant to be broken and they can be used for lead playing as
        well.
	
	   My tenor guitar is made by Harmony. I bought it at a flea
	market for pennies. I'm amazed at how well made this guitar 
	is made. I thought Harmony made junk, but this is a highly
	playable instrument with good tone. Akira Tsumura has several
	tenor guitars in his collection. His are mostly Gibsons, Martins,
	and other well known brands. I saw a beautiful National tri-plate
	tenor guitar at the Boston Guitar show with an engraved/plated
	body that was awesome. I'd love it, but $1200 is a little steep
	for me.

    	   A cheap way of trying your hand at tenor guitar is to remove
    	the bottom 2 strings from your guitar and capo at the 5th fret.
    
	   I also own a 5-string banjo and a Dobro. The top four strings
    	are tuned the same on both. Playing an instrument with an alternate 
        tuning does not come naturally. It forces you to think !!

    	    Mark