Golpe

[Shroomy726]

I am kind of new to the golpe, but i am slooooowly mastering it. I was wondering how hard do you hit the golpeador? I try to do it pretty hard so that it can be heard, but i don't want to damage the wood. Any opinions?

[compagnito]

Probably best not to hit it so hard that the wood splits, unless it's a Ramirez 1A - those &***( **&&& *&^^& got it coming.

[Jubilee Valence]

:oops: Ya got me on that one! My ol' jap blanca has 3 broken fan braces & missing the lateral just under the soundhole...which contributed to the warped top & peeling bridge etc...HOWEVER-the ol' "golpes" are still hangin' in there..?! :roll: ..It sounds "awesome" bangin' around the bod, but maybe look inside & remember where your "structural" goodies are at & save the monster bangs (for that special audience) towards the edges if at all...Shroomy --post that fandango! 8) --Jube

[Shroomy726]

Do you think that it causes any damage to the structure of the guitar? Matve the golpeador keeps it from scrachting or getting a hole, but there is still a lot of pressure being applied.

BTW, Jube, I am working on posting it, hang in there! It's nice to know I have some fans ;-)

[Jubilee Valence]

:? yeah--its only for more "reserved"(experienced) players,cuz I have personal knowledge of a "bangin"maniac who unknowingly bashed the top so much, the "structure" thingees got all busted up... :lol: Shroomy-Ya got the Yam right? Get a case yet?? --Oh yeah-where they typically apply the golpes' is THE danger zone for hard strikes!! Try(if NeCeSsArY)at the edges...Golpes are ok to protect finish from NaiLs..(think ya better hurry w/ download ):shock: ---- ONLY kiddin'..let us know about equipment used to make music ,cuz a bunch of us like to try stuff... okthen.. :roll:

[C. Vega]

Proper golpes are performed with skill and control, not brute force.
There's more to it than just banging on the guitar.

[keith]

when doing a golpe, do remember what you are using to strike the guitar--flesh and NAIL. hitting too hard, especially with the nail can be a little hard on the nail. i personally strive to get as much flesh hitting.

that said, you want the golpe to be firm--slightly firmer than a strike of a key on the keyboard of your computer. golpe's rarely need to be heard across the room and most are very subtle--especially when using it for keeping compas. when you use the golpe as a percussive ornament, then you will want a little more loudness--no banging though, please.

if you watch the learning videos (martin or whoever) you will see how they do golpe's on very expensive and very light/fragile guitars and you can go from there.

as i recall you have a yamaha which most likely can take some banging. if you progress to a very expensive flamenco, your thunderous golpes that your yamaha could take will not be well received.

if you really want to see some vicious "golpes" check out the john mclaughlin, larry coryell, paco de lucia "meeting of the spirits". in the title tune, mclaughlin really lays into his oviation which makes me cringe just thinking of trying that on paco's conde.

[Shroomy726]

Well, hit the golpe with only my nail. I was actually letting my ring finger's nail grow longer so that i could do it better. I think it sounds pretty good, but is it wrong?

[keith]

shroomy: if you can do your arpeggios and tremelo with one nail that is disproportionally longer, and you can prevent breakage to said nail, then give it a whirl. however, if your technique is good and your taps are just below the 'e' string, you should not have to grow your 'a' nail longer. as with most things, technique goes a long way.