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Thread: The sound of a tenor guitar vs a six string

  1. #1

    Default The sound of a tenor guitar vs a six string

    The tenor is the first guitar I was introduced to, because of a friend, but I bought and learned a bit on six string guitars as follow up. They never really took hold of me, and I am selling them to focus on the tenor.

    Six string is beautiful, but something about the tenor kept drawing me back to it. At first I felt as if maybe it was because I wasn't coordinated enough to play the six string, but I think there is more to it.

    Justin Johnson is one of the great living players of six string blues guitar, yet he posts a lot of videos on four string cigar box guitars and really seems to enjoy them. To my knowledge he has only one video on a true tenor guitar, an archtop Harmony, and his comment is that it has a "dry, lonesome, pure sound" with ghostly harmonics. Maybe that is what tenor players like about this instrument, the simplicity and purity.

    Here is his video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGSeWI2Jo-U

    I would be curious what you all think about the allure of a tenor guitar vs a six string, and how you chose the four over the six.

    echo

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  3. #2
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    Default Re: The sound of a tenor guitar vs a six string

    Wow, that's some awesome tone!

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    Registered User fox's Avatar
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    Default Re: The sound of a tenor guitar vs a six string

    That guy has some awesome recoding equipment, the average Harmony Monterey does not sound like that without a bit of help!

    Six string V tenor guitar tuned in 5ths are two very different sounds I dont see many compassions myself.

    I play both, I primarily use my tenors for single note melody and my six strings for strumming.

    Of course there is lots of cross over and you can strum a tenor and pick a six string but when I look at my tenor I think lead melody and my six string I think strumming and singing.

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  6. #4

    Default Re: The sound of a tenor guitar vs a six string

    I use tenor guitar quite a bit for vocal accompaniment, and there I tend to play arpeggiated chords (maybe as simple rolls) rather than strumming.

    For this application there is quite a difference from the 6 string guitar. The 6 string tends to be played largely as strummed chords, usually on the lowest 4 frets. This provides a solid floor with closely spaced notes, over which the vocal melody ranges.

    By contrast, the tenor requires more movement around the neck, and the wider intervals between the strings means the accompaniment tends to weave through the vocal melody rather than underpinning it.

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    Registered User Freddyfingers's Avatar
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    Default Re: The sound of a tenor guitar vs a six string

    I am drawn to tenors as well, originally because it was a different sound to add in with guitars to break things up. Even though i have had a few for about 10 years, it’s one of my weakest instruments playing wise. Mostly due to the 6 string thinking. I can do more on the mandolin, but struggle on the tenor. It’s a mental block of sorts. The past few weeks i have been looking for places to get some lessons on it so i can go beyond the few closed chord shapes i know, and scales. With all thats on the internet i have yet to find decent lessons. Would love to learn what some call old time jazz/rags or even some simple chord progressions that work off of the melody, but have no where to start. If someone here knows of a decent online resource including private skype let me know. Im also in the process of restoring a 1925 bacon and day short scale tenor banjo, and would love to be able to make that sound like it was designed to.
    Its not a backwards guitar.

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