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Limitations of the guitar.

O

OinkBoink

Senior member
This probably applies to other instruments too. Maybe I'm being a bit ignorant here and I'm not some musical maestro.

I mean, there are some groups/patterns of notes that you just can't play, both because of the way the instrument is designed and because of the fact that we have only five digits (and we can do very little with the thumb on our fretting hand). Of course, you can use different tunings, use a capo etc. but still there are still bound to be some limitations.

Am I wrong somewhere ?
 
Not sure what you're getting at. Everything is limited, but guitar might not be as limited as you think. no one says you have to play it conventionally. You have 10 fingers you can use, and strings can be added.
 
lxskllr said:
Everything is limited, but guitar might not be as limited as you think. no one says you have to play it conventionally. You have 10 fingers you can use, and strings can be added.
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Yes, of course. That's what I was saying. You can use different tunings, use a capo or add strings as you said etc. to make it more versatile.
 
OinkBoink said:
Yes, of course. That's what I was saying. You can use different tunings, use a capo or add strings as you said etc. to make it more versatile.
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As I said, I don't know what you're after exactly. Probably the least limited instrument would be a synthesizer, but that's kind of cheating. Everything analog will have various limits.
 
OinkBoink said:
Yes, of course. That's what I was saying. You can use different tunings, use a capo or add strings as you said etc. to make it more versatile.
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All of them are limited, but I'd guess a guitar is more versatile than most. Decent dynamic range, can play (at least) 6 notes at once. Compared to say, a trombone it's way less limited.
 
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OinkBoink said:
This probably applies to other instruments too. Maybe I'm being a bit ignorant here and I'm not some musical maestro.

I mean, there are some groups/patterns of notes that you just can't play, both because of the way the instrument is designed and because of the fact that we have only five digits (and we can do very little with the thumb on our fretting hand). Of course, you can use different tunings, use a capo etc. but still there are still bound to be some limitations.

Am I wrong somewhere ?
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Well the notes repeat themselves. Like once you go so far down the neck towards the body, the same notes repeat on the next string at the top. Can't remember how many, been a few years since I played.

So if you want to play the second note on the string closest to you, and a note 10 down, you just use the 3rd note on the second string. Or something like that. Can't remember when they repeat.
 
I think, in general, the piano is the least "limited" instrument in this regard, or maybe the harp. Any instrument where you have a few octaves of notes laid out in order from low to high would be less "limited" than one where the ranges are stacked the way they are on a guitar fretboard. I've heard people say that guitar is one of the most difficult instruments to play physically. It's the only instrument I play so I can't compare, but I always assumed there were many that would be easier.
 
Markbnj said:
I think, in general, the piano is the least "limited" instrument in this regard, or maybe the harp. Any instrument where you have a few octaves of notes laid out in order from low to high would be less "limited" than one where the ranges are stacked the way they are on a guitar fretboard. I've heard people say that guitar is one of the most difficult instruments to play physically. It's the only instrument I play so I can't compare, but I always assumed there were many that would be easier.
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In my opinion the difficulty in playing guitar is connecting the notes and/or chords for a smooth, legato sound. That's hard to do with just a few strings, especially since you have to pluck them and can't sustain a note when you have to use that string for another.

In that regard even a well played classical guitar can't compete with a piano. The potential for good phrasing is just so much higher on a piano.

As far as physical difficulty, I think the piano also has a potential for more difficulty. Your instrument is 4' wide and your hands have to fall at the right place. On a guitar one hand is still and is guided by the neck, and you only have a few strings that are close together.
 
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KillerCharlie said:
In my opinion the difficulty in playing guitar is connecting the notes and/or chords for a smooth, legato sound. That's hard to do with just a few strings, especially since you have to pluck them and can't sustain a note when you have to use that string for another.

In that regard even an extremely well played classical guitar can't compete with a piano. The potential for good phrasing is just so much more on a piano.
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And I assume there are advantages in the other direction as well. You have a lot more economy of motion with the guitar, and an expert player can probably group notes that a piano player would find more challenging just because of the physical distance.

And the guitar is easier to carry.
 
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