space@mit-mc (02/17/85)
From: Dale.Amon@CMU-RI-FAS As a guitarist of some few years experience, I'd be more than happy to volunteer for the experiment. However, let me point out a few problems that will have to be solved. Fingering will require an extremely flexible suit with very thin and strong material at the finger tips. Us guitarists can stick pins into our finger tips because of the thick callus that we build up over many years of sliding our fingers at HIGH speed over wires that are thinner than that on a cheese slicer. This could be quite hard on space gloves, as they don't grow thicker with use. Thinness is necessary because the string of an electric guitar are set quite close together. Beginners have trouble depressing a single string with a single finger, even WITHOUT gloves. The requirement for flexibility goes far beyond what is done now. Proper technique requires moving the left arm to the proper position, and placing fingertips squarely down upon 6 individual strings, commonly with a bar across two or more strings where a single finger is flexed OPPOSITE the normal flexure direction. The arm motion is used because the arm is stronger and can cause more rapid movement on the neck of the guitar. Similarly with the right arm for strumming, although when picking individual notes a great deal of the motion may come from the wrist, with the little finger resting on the pickguard (if you are a rock flat picker). If you are a finger picker, then you have the same basic problems as with the left hand, unless you use metal or plastic finger picks over the gauntleted fingers. The upshot is that you have to be able to move arms, elbows, wrists and every finger joint VERY rapidly. It may not be entirely necessary, but I find the feedback of the FEEL of the string is important for proper vibrato, slides, bends, attack/release, harmonics, etc. This would tend to call for a very thin material. Harmonics in particular, because you have to touch the string just right, just long enought and without much depression to get the harmonic ring. Although I hadn't thought of it for years, I get the harmonic right every time because I remember what the string FEELS like when I've touched it just right. And of course the music must be fed back into your helmet so you can get the emotional feel of what you are doing. I suspect an electric piano might be easier at the moment, at least until we have a really TOUGH skin tight suit. There may be some adaptation difficulties for the guitarist in zero G. Motions are not easily changed because you do not play notes from the higher brain functions. You feel a 'musical direction' and let reflex take you the rest of the way. If you have ever listened closely to John McGloughlin, you will understand the impossibility of this being concious on a note by note basis. The lack of gravity might have effects that make the reflex work not quite as intended. I can certainly imagine one problem being the ability to move the guitar around and yet not have the impacts and motions cause it to go spinning off, or in general act like a greased pig. It could well take a few months of practice to add the necessary reflex-programs to your lower brainstem to get performance quality music out of your fingertips. As I said before, I'd be most happy to study the phenomena. This part could be done even before a proper space suit was ready, with an ordinary guitar. I suppose we could ask the Russians about this, as they were the first to play guitar in space. (I wonder if congress will buy a music gap?) A former well merged and slightly crazed rocker, Dale Amon
cj@ee.UUCP (02/19/85)
[:::]
I suppose we could overcome the problem of strings being
too close together by using a bass guitar. The problem
of strings as thin as cheese slicer wires is also avoided,
but there is still a need for rather tough gloves, but still
thin enough to get the feel (round wounds *EAT* beginners
fingers). Mobility would also be a problem, unless you were
one of those who plays C&W (GAD! 3 notes for HOURS), although
since a lot of them use flat wound strings (dull and thumpy)
so the need for extra tough gloves might be a little less :-).
Anyway, I suppose that I could be persuaded to do the testing,
if you twist my arm a little, I'd even play a little C&W (it's
against my religion to play less than 5 notes for more than
5 minutes).
Just another deranged rocker,
$cj
...!{ihnp4,decvax,ucbvax,harpo,masscomp,(just about anywhere)}!pur-ee!cj
P.S. I suppose we could try my synth...nah :-)stevel@haddock.UUCP (02/22/85)
How about using a steel guitar. No need for little finger tips.
Oh course you would have to use the slide all the time, but
I like a REAL guitar.
Steve Ludlum, decvax!yale-co!ima!stevel, {amd|ihnp4!cbosgd}!ima!stevel
Interactive Systems, 7th floor, 441 Stuart st, Boston, MA 02116; 617-247-1155peterb@pbear.UUCP (02/22/85)
Well I like the analysis, and I have to admit that when I originally posted a response suggesting the depth of sustain on an electric guitar, I had no idea that it would create so much traffic! I think that the electric piano would be far easier but would create problems of its own. As a player of keyboards, I would have to also conclude that the material of the suit has to have a lot of 'give' in the fingers arms of the suit. Also the stretch in the arms has to be appriciable to play both sub bass and extreme high end at the same time. gravity would make the action almost laughable (how many electic grands do you know have a spring rebound on the hammer and damper???) Here on earth gravity suffices, but in space there is none so the actions have to be rebuilt to correct this. You would have to bolt the piano down and also the player else in the middle of "funural for a friend" when the octave hits in the low end combined with the hammer chords in the high end will send piano and player in oppisite directions. The suit would have to have a lot of give in order for the player to have any speed in doing runs (aka ELP take a pebble, or Trilogy) A lot of this can be corrected with time and patience and until then ...the sound will be different... (Just imagine getting a band together and playing in the cargo bay (obviously have to record it and sell it in order to make up for the expense)... What songs would you play???) I'd volenteer to play keyboards, now all we need is a bass and drums Peter Barada ima!pbear!peterb PS Reality is an escape for those who can not handle drugs...
space@mit-mc (02/22/85)
From: <dual!qantel!hplabs!ames!al> As a fellow guitarist working in the space program, I feel that playing while EVA (space walk) is a little rediculous. Stay inside the shuttle (or space station or whatever) and pick your brains out --- should be fun. I wonder what acoustics are like in zero G. I've heard that they're a little different.