Portuguese Guitar

Subject: Potugese Guitar
From: GUEST,Les/ Manchester uk
Date: 26 Jan 02 - 04:00 AM

I know they are not really guitars. The are like big flat mandolins, the have lots of strings and Andy Irvine played one in Planxty.

What I want to know is, can I string, tune and play one like a mandolin/mandola?

If possible is this (a) a good idea or (b) cultural vandalalism, a very bad idea and (c) it will cause my fingers to drop off?

Advice please as we loot and pillage Portugal at Easter.

Subject: RE: Potugese Guitar
From: Jerry Rasmussen
Date: 26 Jan 02 - 04:13 AM

I'm probably one of the few people who ever played one. I picked it up for next to nothing at a music store I frequented. They didn't know what to do with it, so I bought it. I tuned it like a mandola, and loved the sound of it. I have an old Lyon and Healy mandola that fits my baritone range better than a mandolin, and I used it for accompaniment. I finally gave it away to someone who had done a great favor for my young sons. I appreciated the favor more than the Portugese guitar, and never regretted giving it to the person who did it. Was I culturally disrespectful? I don't think so. I never made any pretense of playing music native to the instrument. My fingers didn't fall off, either. My attitude is if you can play it and it sounds good, play it.

This being Mudcat, everyone will probably post a message saying that they played two.:-)
Jerry

Subject: RE: Potugese Guitar
From: wildlone
Date: 26 Jan 02 - 12:28 PM

Found on google Click here
for any one interested in the instrument.
dave

Subject: RE: Portuguese Guitar
From: GUEST,Les/ Manchester uk
Date: 27 Jan 02 - 04:20 AM

Thank you Jerry and wildone. Most useful advice. Anyother views or information?

Subject: RE: Portuguese Guitar
From: mooman
Date: 27 Jan 02 - 08:03 AM

Dear Les,

I owned a beautiful vintage one for several years.

The problem with tuning a la mandolin is that the resulting scales will be too broad (six courses of strings) to be feasible.

I have tried three different alternative which you may like to experiment with. All have worked. One is a guitar type tuning in "dropped standard" tuning, e.g everything tuned down a tone (e.g. top strings to D) to decrease overall string tension to something the instrument can stand. Better still is something similar to an open guitar tuning, e.g. DADGAD or Sawmill tuning, adjusting the string gauges a little. The third option is an "Irish" boukouki or cittern type tuning based on the DADA type. This gives a wonderful resonance on the Portuguese Guitar and can sound lovely playing in "Irish" style.

I hope these ideas are of some use. It's a beautiful instrument and I regret trading mine for something else I didn;t end up using much many years ago!

Very best regards,

mooman

Subject: RE: Portuguese Guitar
From: Mudlark
Date: 28 Jan 02 - 12:22 AM

Oh, I do love the variety of musical information instantly available here!

Subject: RE: Portuguese Guitar
From: GUEST,guest-ollaimh
Date: 28 Jan 02 - 09:22 PM

i had a beautifull one that went up in a fire--a real heartbreaker that.

i tuned it either traditional portugese tuning--which i forget (this was twelve years ago) or in a open c, which suited several ballards i loved to use it to accompany.

there are easily obtained instruction books from portugal which have english, i found one in vancouver which is not exactly a hot bed of portugese culture.

they are citterns and although the irish didn't traditionally play citterns the scots did. they are very cloase to the late baroque "english guitar" played by the scots.they were played up to about 1870, with a modern revival from stefan sobel and rave richardson, the first one they built and played was based on a portugese guitar.

my lovely old one had brazillian rosewood back and sides and a lovely spruce carved top, at least 100years old, but that's life.

musical instruments make great firewood, i couldn't even find a spot of grease where it ahd been hanging, those resins burn quick, and such pretty colors, although i don't recomend it

Subject: RE: Portuguese Guitar
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 29 Jan 02 - 03:45 AM

Bill Cadddick has been playng one for as long as I can remember. He uses an open tuning and plays with a slide; it's not standard, but it sounds great.

Steve

Subject: RE: Portuguese Guitar
From: one-roger
Date: 29 Jan 02 - 06:55 AM

The Portugese Guitar is traditionally used to accompany Fado a very melonchaly style of music it's all about saudade which doesn't really translate into English. Best place to hear it is in one of the " Fado Restaurants " in Coimbra the university city in central Portugal. If you can overcome the language problem and it's not hard as a lot of the players are students making money on the side, you'll find most of them are only too pleased to explain the difference between the two instruments and their respective tuning. Only problem Coimbra is a long way from the Algarve the traditional English Tourist spot, oh and meals in those restaurants are not cheap. Still if you hired a car would make an interesting 2 / 3 day excursion. Coimbra and it's environs are lovely and Fado is interesting for about 30 minutes and they may intersperse it with some Portugese folk.