Parlor guitar
Encyclopedia
Parlor or parlour guitar usually refers to a type of smaller-bodied guitar
smaller than that of a concert guitar.
The popularity of these guitars peaked between the late 19th century until the 1950s. Many blues
and folk
musicians have used smaller-bodied guitars, which were often more affordable, mass production models.
Parlor guitar has also come to denote a style of American guitar music from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Noted composers include William Foden, Winslow Hayden, William Bateman, Justin Holland, Wilhelm Bischoff and the American Blues great, Robert Johnson. The music for the guitar includes a variety of dance forms (waltz
, schottische
, polka
), instrumental arrangements of popular songs, guitar arrangements of then popular classical music, operatic arrangements and music from European guitar composers (Sor
, Giuliani
, Carcassi
, Coste and Mertz
). The Scruggs style
and its banjo roll
s are based upon and contemporary with parlor-style guitar.
The parlour guitar is also currently enjoying a renaissance amongst fingerpicking guitar players across the USA and Western Europe. There are a number of modern luthiers making parlour guitars in a wide variety of tonewoods. Their defining characteristics are a brightness of tone and an often surprising volume for such small guitars. Although they might be underpowered compared to larger guitars, modern amplification has made sound volume a non-issue.
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
smaller than that of a concert guitar.
The popularity of these guitars peaked between the late 19th century until the 1950s. Many blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
musicians have used smaller-bodied guitars, which were often more affordable, mass production models.
Parlor guitar has also come to denote a style of American guitar music from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Noted composers include William Foden, Winslow Hayden, William Bateman, Justin Holland, Wilhelm Bischoff and the American Blues great, Robert Johnson. The music for the guitar includes a variety of dance forms (waltz
Waltz
The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
, schottische
Schottische
The schottische is a partnered country dance, that apparently originated in Bohemia. It was popular in Victorian era ballrooms as a part of the Bohemian folk-dance craze and left its traces in folk music of countries such as Argentina , Finland , France, Italy, Norway , Portugal and Brazil , Spain ...
, polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
), instrumental arrangements of popular songs, guitar arrangements of then popular classical music, operatic arrangements and music from European guitar composers (Sor
Fernando Sor
Josep Ferran Sorts i Muntades was a Spanish classical guitarist and composer. While he is best known for his guitar compositions, he also composed music for a wide range of genres, including opera, orchestra, string quartet, piano, voice and ballet...
, Giuliani
Mauro Giuliani
Mauro Giuseppe Sergio Pantaleo Giuliani was an Italian guitarist, cellist and composer, and is considered by many to be one of the leading guitar virtuosi of the early 19th century.- Biography :...
, Carcassi
Matteo Carcassi
Matteo Carcassi was a famous Italian guitarist and composer.Carcassi began with the piano, but learned guitar when still a child. He quickly gained a reputation as a virtuoso concert guitarist....
, Coste and Mertz
Johann Kaspar Mertz
Johann Kaspar Mertz was a Hungarian guitarist and composer.NOTE: THE ORIGINAL CREATOR OF THIS PAGE PLAGIARIZED THEIR MATERIAL. It has been copied and pasted from the Mel Bay website: http://www.melbay.com/authors.asp?author=749 I tried to report this problem to wikipedia, but they do not make it...
). The Scruggs style
Scruggs style
Scruggs style is the most common style of playing the banjo in bluegrass music. It is a fingerpicking method, also known as three-finger style. It is named after Earl Scruggs, whose innovative approach and technical mastery of the instrument has influenced generations of bluegrass banjoists ever...
and its banjo roll
Banjo roll
In bluegrass music, a banjo roll or roll is a repeated pattern of eighth notes, an accompaniment pattern played by the banjo that by subdividing the beat 'keeps time'...
s are based upon and contemporary with parlor-style guitar.
The parlour guitar is also currently enjoying a renaissance amongst fingerpicking guitar players across the USA and Western Europe. There are a number of modern luthiers making parlour guitars in a wide variety of tonewoods. Their defining characteristics are a brightness of tone and an often surprising volume for such small guitars. Although they might be underpowered compared to larger guitars, modern amplification has made sound volume a non-issue.