Tag Archives: guitarra

2021 Competition

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Once again the European Guitar Foundation brings us the IV INTERNATIONAL GUITAR MAKING COMPETITION ANTONIO MARIN MONTERO EGF.

One more year of guitars, guitars, and guitars starting Sunday October 17. I am still hoping that they will make the submissions anonymous starting next year and that the prizes be substituted for simple paper certificates or the like. I think this might encourage the more experienced makers to participate and raise the level of the competition. It will continue to be very interesting for the young and novel makers. This year the participants include 8 from Spain, 2 from Italy, 2 from Germany and 1 each from Japan, Argentina, Holland, the United States and France.

I won’t be able to attend the public auditions this year but I am eager to find out who is deemed to be making the best guitars. I have seen the work of three or four of the participants in the past. Good luck to all!

Efficiency

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I have seen all sorts of setups to glue a scarf joint but none as good as the traditional method. All you need is two squared edges, one clamp and some scrap blocks of the right size. Obviously preparation of the joint is crucial and your stock should be of even thickness, even if the head and neck are not the same thickness as you see in the photo. The hide glue’s fast grab and the parallel clamping surfaces mean that the wood has no reason to move. DON’T try this with any other glue! But then why would you want to use any other glue on a guitar?

Official Training Programme for Stringed Instrument Maintenance and Repair.

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The Regional government is finally using Granada’s position as the official centre for Artisan Training to do something related to the guitar. Granada has been the most important city for guitars and guitar-makers ever since the decline of Madrid. The training programme will be a job-training iniciative which means that selection of the students will be based on things like age and unemployment status instead of an actual interest in music or handcraft. Furthermore the training will be limited to repair and maintenance but expanded to include all stringed instruments. However, it is still a reason to celebrate as it could be a start down the road to official recognition of Granada as a centre for this wonderful craft. I will be very interested to see who the instructors will be.

La Junta de Andalucía por fin ha puesto en marcha algo relacionado con la guitarra a través del Centro de Referencia Nacional por la Artesanía con sede en Granada. Desde las muertes de los grandes discípulos de Manuel Ramírez, Granada ha sido el centro más importante de la guitarra y de los guitarreros pero con escaso reconocimiento de las autoridades. Empieza un programa de formación para reparación y mantenimiento de instrumentos de cuerda. Es una pena que se trate de la formación ocupacional y la selección de alumnos se basará en criterios como la edad y la falta de empleo en lugar de interés en la música y la artesanía pero hay que aplaudir la iniciativa igualmente. Algún día las administraciones reconocerán a Granada como el centro internacional de la guitarra que es.  Más información aquí.

Bordón Minero for Álvaro Pérez!

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Cante de las Minas

This flamenco festival is one of the most important in Spain, especially the competition. I just want to congratulate guitarist Álvaro Pérez of Granada for his first prize.

 

Best views at the Granada Guitar Festival

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I think this is the first time that this venue has been used for the guitar festival and I hope it is not the last. La Chumbera is a small auditorium in the Sacromonte part of Granada with a huge window behind the stage giving views of the city, the Alhambra and the multi-hued sky as night falls. The choice of who should play there must have been easy to make. Margarita Escarpa always treats us to something new and challenging. My wife has accompanied me to many guitar concerts and often finds the programmes very unoriginal and dislikes hearing the same pieces from one concert to the next. Last night we were thrilled to hear Gismonti, Dyens, Schwartz, and Piazzolla among others. Once again I would like to celebrate the way Margarita brings the music closer to the audience through her passion and the exquisite way she wraps each piece with a combination of its history and her own relationship to it.