In the 1930s, Mexican-American guitarist and singer Lydia Mendoza popularized the instrument. The 12-string guitar has since occupied roles in certain varieties of folk, rock, jazz, and popular music. The 12-string guitar did not become a major part of blues and folk music till the 1920s and the 1930s, when their "larger than life" sound made them ideal as solo accompaniment for vocalists, especially Lead Belly and Blind Willie McTell. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, 12-strings were regarded as "novelty" instruments. At the end of the 19th century, the archtop mandolin was one of the first instruments with courses of doubled strings designed in the United States. Pictures such as the 1901 Mexican Typical Orchestra at the Pan-American Exposition show a guitar with 12 strings. The most likely ancestors using courses of doubled strings are some Mexican instruments of Spanish ancestry such as the bandolón, the guitarra séptima, the guitarra quinta huapanguera, and the bajo sexto. The origin of the modern 12-string guitar is not clear, but it arose in the closing years of the 19th Century. Pete Seeger described the distinctive sound of the 12-string guitar as "the clanging of bells." Origin and history The interference between the out-of-phase vibrations produces a phenomenon known as a beat that results in a periodic rise and fall of intensity that is, in music, often considered pleasing to the ear. The result to the ear is a sound that seems to "shimmer", which some describe as resembling strings that are slightly detuned. The double ranks of strings of the 12-string guitar produce a shimmering effect, because even the strings tuned in unison can never vibrate with precise simultaneity-that is, they vibrate out of phase. However, the acoustic type is more common. Twelve-string guitars are made in both acoustic and electric forms. The fretting scale is generally shorter to reduce the overall string tension.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |