Lyr Req: Songs for nylon string guitar

Subject: Lyr Req: Songs for nylon string guitar
From: Alley
Date: 11 Feb 05 - 11:09 AM

Just purchased my first nylon string guitar, and would like some songs that I could finger pick. Have been playing steel string for about two years. Any suggestions? Chords for the songs would be great, too.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Songs for nylon string guitar
From: GUEST,Fieldvole
Date: 11 Feb 05 - 01:25 PM

Hi Alley,
A lot of Leonard Cohen's songs were done on a nylon string,especially
his earlier work.

If you happen to like him, (he IS an aquired taste), then you could
get the chords by googling for them.

I happen to like him which is why I suggested this, but I'm sure
someone else will be along soon with something better.

Enjoy your new guitar.

Best wishes

Fieldvole

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Songs for nylon string guitar
From: George Papavgeris
Date: 11 Feb 05 - 01:44 PM

"Blackbird" (McCartney) is a nice one to practice on nylon strings to get the feel of the guitar.

"Romance D'Amour" is a Spanish tune (despite French title) that lends itself to nylon strings (as indeed does most Spanish music).

Most of Martin Carthy's guitar arrangements sound good on nylon. He must have published a songbook - get it.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Songs for nylon string guitar
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 11 Feb 05 - 02:32 PM

I think just about anything sounds as good on nylon as on steel, just a bit different.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Songs for nylon string guitar
From: PoppaGator
Date: 11 Feb 05 - 02:41 PM

Willie Nelson plays a nylon-string guitar (a famously-beaten-up one), and gets an unusual sound by playing with a flatpick (rather than the usual bare hands/nails).

If you've been playing for a couple of years, why not play the same stuff you've been playing, to see how much different it might sound?

Have you perhaps not tried fingerpicking before (i.e., not on your steel-string), and want to start now? There are plenty of instructional materials available (books, tapes, videos,) for beginning fingerpickers; maybe you should try to learn a few numbers like "Freight Train," "Fishin' Blues," "My Creole Belle," etc.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Songs for nylon string guitar
From: Don Firth
Date: 11 Feb 05 - 03:10 PM

I'm afraid I don't quite grasp the question.

I started out with a cheap steel-string guitar in the early Fifties, got a nice Martin 00-18 about a year later, played that for about a year, then decided I wanted to learn some classic guitar technique. I traded the 00-18 in on a Martin 00-28-G and I've been playing nylon-string guitars ever since. I've had several classics over the years, including a couple of top-of-the-line guitars hand-made by Spanish luthiers. Starting in the late Fifties, I used these guitars on television, and concerts, hootenannies, folk festivals, and more nights singing in coffeehouses and clubs than I can count.

Although I play several classic pieces and a smidgen of flamenco, I have used my nylon-string guitars primarily for accompanying folk songs and ballads. I'm pretty much a "generalist." My repertoire runs from Scottish border ballads, to Elizabethan songs, to sea chanteys, to cowboy songs, to Appalachian songs and ballads, to you name it. I also do some passable alternating bass stuff (like Freight Train and Railroad Bill—Chet Atkins, Merle Travis, sort of), and although I'm not real good at it, that's my fault, not the fault of the nylon strings.

One thing about classic guitars that most people are not aware of (and some players of steel-string guitars don't like to hear) is that, assuming both types of guitars are unplugged, classic guitars are inherently louder and have more carrying power than steel string guitars (before someone tells me that I'm full of it, let me mention that this is measurable on a decibel meter).

I don't see any reason why you couldn't accompany any song you want on either nylon strings or steel strings. There is, of course, a difference in the tone quality, but whether one type of string is preferable to another for a given song is pretty much a matter of taste, probably influenced more by familiarity than anything else. Most people are used to hearing steel strings playing the alternating bass styles, and nylon strings accompanying, say, Elizabethan lute songs. But I've never had anybody look at me funny for playing Freight Train on a nylon-string guitar.

Chet Atkins could play pretty darned good classic guitar (I saw him on the Glen Campbell show some decades back doing a fine job of playing Tarrèga's Requerdos de la Alhambra on a José Ramirez classic), and Charlie Bird played jazz on a classic. And in addition to his 12-string, Gordon Bok accompanies himself with a classic guitar (I've swiped a lot of great songs off Gordon Bok's records).

Congratulations on the new instrument. And enjoy! (What kind is it, by the way?)

Don Firth

(By the way El Greko, I've always seen it as Romance de Amor [Spanish title]. I have the sheet music, arranged by Vincente Gomez, and it can be found in a number of classic guitar collections. I think Frederick Noad has it in one of his classic guitar manuals. Beautiful piece, fairly easy to learn.)

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Songs for nylon string guitar
From: GUEST,Alley
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 09:14 AM

Thanks for the suggestions. I will look these songs up and try them out. By the way, I bought a Taylor NS72CE classic Elect/Acou cutaway. Please don't tell me that I made a bad purchase -- I'll feel terrible. Alley

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Songs for nylon string guitar
From: jimmyt
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 12:44 PM

We were in a store just yesterday buying a sound system and 2 of our guitar guys that play old Martins just LOVED the sound and action of the Taylor cutaway nylon. Both said they may be getting one in the future! I think you made a good choice, but what do I know, I play upright! anything where the strings are within an inch of the fingerboard in third position seems to have great action to me. grin

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Songs for nylon string guitar
From: LuteMonkey
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 02:28 PM

Get yourself some modern edition Elizabethan lute music. "Jane Pickering's Lutebook" maybe available in some libraries, good to photocopy. The pieces are in a easy-to-learn tabliture, as was the tradition. They sound great on nylons. Be sure to tune the 3rd string to f# so the tab works out on the guitar. Let me know what you think...

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Songs for nylon string guitar
From: Don Firth
Date: 12 Feb 05 - 04:25 PM

Alley, I looked up the NS72CE on a couple of websites. Looks good. With Indian rosewood back and sides, a western red cedar soundboard and an ebony fingerboard, you can't do much better than that for choice guitar woods. I've never owned a Taylor, nor have I seen and heard a nylon-string Taylor live and in person, but I've seen a lot of the steel-string models and played a few of them. They're consistently well made, sound excellent, and are nice to play. Obviously top quality instruments. I've heard one of the Taylor nylon-string models on a CD I have (one of the "Wood and Steel" series CDs—all Taylor guitars), and it sounds fine.

I, personally, would not be too enthusiastic about the 1 7/8" fingerboard, but then I've been playing classics with a full 2" fingerboard for fifty years. However, I know that a lot of people who don't play strictly classic like the slightly narrower fingerboard.

Sounds to me like you have yourself a darned nice instrument!

Here are some reviews of that model at Harmony Central.   Them as which has 'em seem to like 'em a lot.

Again, congratulations!

Don Firth

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Songs for nylon string guitar
From: GUEST,Alley
Date: 13 Feb 05 - 11:16 AM

I want to let you know that I found a wonderful website for classical music. There are many songs from easy to difficult. I printed out one that has always been one of my favorites: "Liebestraum" by Frans Liszt. This is my little contribution for all your good advice. Many thanks. Alley

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Songs for nylon string guitar
From: Alley
Date: 13 Feb 05 - 11:36 AM

Sorry about that --I was so excited about finding my favorite song that I forgot to give you the website. Here it is: www.dirk.meineke.free.fr/classical.html

Alley

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Songs for nylon string guitar
From: Grab
Date: 14 Feb 05 - 08:50 AM

Jake Thackray used a nylon-strung exclusively - check out some of his stuff. There's plenty of them in the Digitrad.

Or you could work on classical stuff as well.

Graham.

Subject: RE: Lyr Req: Songs for nylon string guitar
From: GUEST
Date: 14 Feb 05 - 09:09 AM

Alley's page is actually:

http://dirk.meineke.free.fr/

If you put the www. in there it doesn't work