Mass_Driver comments on Cheat codes - Less Wrong

36 Post author: sketerpot 01 December 2010 09:19PM

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Comment author: Benquo 21 June 2011 02:12:07AM 7 points [-]

It seems as if the guitar benefits from these qualities:

  • Sufficient tonal depth to sustain a melody (i.e. not a drum)
  • Sufficient harmonic depth to be a solo instrument
  • Since it's a "plucking" instrument (rather than blowing or bowing) it's less sensitive to the quality of the musician's touch - an amateur can play a single note almost as well as a professional

Am I missing some crucial element? It looks like these attributes are not all present in the drum, trumpet, clarinet, viola, &c., but are all present in the piano, harpsichord, harp, &c. Maybe piano, harp, and harpsichord are all more difficult to learn than the guitar?

Comment author: Mass_Driver 21 June 2011 02:44:38PM 3 points [-]

That's a good analysis, and the harp and electronic keyboard are both easy instruments to learn. I would add that the guitar also allows for:

  • nearly mindless strumming that will still produce many interesting variations on popular chords

To get, e..g, different kinds of E Major sounds on a piano, you have to remember the finger shape for E Major and move it the correct number of spaces up and down the keys. To get that on a guitar, you just move one hand rapidly back and forth, hitting different strings at random. Maybe you occasionally release a finger on your nondominant hand.

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