The Country Music Hall of Fame: String Instrument Grand Central

The heydays of the parlor guitar

Last week I spent a whole day at the Nashville Country Music Hall of Fame and frankly I was blown away by the genre cross-overs I saw on display in the various exhibits. Of course as a blues rocker I was quite aware that Southern rockers such as Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers had history in Nashville. I was even aware that Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, as well as their predecessors The Byrds and their successors the Eagles had strong ties with Tennessee’s Music City, but to learn that it is widely accepted in Nashville that Bob Dylan put the Music City on the map, was new to me. Apparently Dylan had heard about the quality of musicians that were available around Nashville in the early 1960s, when he decided to record some albums in the city and chose producer Bob Johnston, who passed in 2015 at age 83, to work with. Once done, he started heralding the musicianship and many of his contemporaries followed suit in selecting Nashville for their production and recording needs.

The Nashville Lifestyle Attraction

Another thing I learned at the Hall of Fame, was that in the mid sixties, after his Hydra years in the Greek islands, my all time favorite poet/songwriter/singer Leonard Cohen spent some time in Leiper’s Fork, the countryside just to the south of Nashville, that today is home to celebrities like Kid Rock, Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, the Judds and even Aerosmith guitarist Brad Whitman reportedly has a place there. Cohen wrote and recorded the albums Songs from a Room and Songs of Love and Hate here after Judy Collins turned his composition Suzanne into a worldwide hit.

Parlor Guitars on Display

And last but not least I learned that quite a few guitars on display at the Hall of Fame were actually considered Parlor guitars, which makes sense, considering that many blues and folk musicians used smaller-bodied guitars, which were not only more affordable, mass production models, they were also much easier to lug around. The popularity of these guitars peaked from the late 19th century until the 1950s when the Parlor guitar also came to denote a style of Americana roots guitar music from those “un-plugged” years. It’s not only eye-opening to see that old masters played Sears & Roebuck parlor guitars, it’s also refreshing and inspiring to witness that even today, young singer/songwriters come in droves to this town to hone their skills and hope for a chance to stand in the spotlights.

A 21st Century Renaissance for the Parlor Guitar

With the availability of electrical amplification systems, the parlor guitar is enjoying a renaissance among players “who like their midrangery tone, historic vibe, and easy portability”. Modern luthiers are now making parlor guitars in a wide variety of tonewoods and are also a bit more liberal when it comes to sizes.

While purists wage debates as to the specific size and elongated shape of parlor guitars, most will agree that it should be small and comfortable enough to play on your couch or your front porch. Today however, the term parlor guitar covers a wide spectrum of guitar styles, from traditional western designs to eclectic one-of-a-kind boutique builds.
The word “parlor” (French parlour) refers to old reception or commerce rooms, and since these compact guitars were regularly played in these small to mid-sized venues, they were labeled after them – hence: parlor guitars. Incidentally, the bigger “concert” guitar also got its name from the venue where it was usually played in.

Trying to Define the Size

Since there was, and still is, no legitimate standard for parlor guitar building, luthiers have always varied the size of their creations within certain limits. Many consider having a lower bout that is smaller than 13.5″, or smaller than the “0” shape, to be the historically correct size for parlor guitars. However modern day production parlor guitars don’t necessarily follow this size limitation and are much more varied, with some guitar manufacturers labeling even bigger “00” size guitars as parlor, including those with a lower bout of 14″.

Alternatively, an easier way of identifying parlor guitars is by looking at the body shape. If the guitar is smaller than Concert size and has an “elongated” body, then it is a legitimate parlor guitar. This longer body was the result of guitar builders trying to increase the volume of small guitars. The luthiers that were building parlor guitars in the old days found that by subtly elongating the body, they could increase the volume without expressly increasing the size of the instrument. But now that we have microphones and pickup/preamp systems, some of today’s guitar manufacturers no longer deem the elongated shape necessary.

Looking for a Midrange Tone

Because of their smaller bodies, parlor guitars tend to have tones that emphasize the midrange. This voicing makes the guitar viable for old school blues, slide and folk music, and this distinct tone has helped its current resurgence in today’s market. The sound of the different parlor guitars vary subtly depending on size and type of wood used, but they should all have that midrangey tone due to the smaller body.

How about a parlor guitar for children

Obviously children have different needs when it comes to the size and shape of their first acoustic guitar, so here are four reasons why a parlor sized guitar is the best option:
1. smaller hands need smaller necks
2. shorter arms need shorter fretboard length
3. not yet fully developed fingers like lower string tension
4. Although we have the highest hopes when we give musical instruments to children, it doesn’t always work out. Sometimes they don’t look after them as well as they should and sometimes they just lose interest after a short while – it’s best to start with a lower-cost option.

At Jerry Lee’s Music Store we offer Parlor guitars in the under $500 range from Kala Manufacturing company and the over $1,000 range from quality American guitar maker Breedlove. https://jerryleesmusicstore.com/?s=parlor+guitars&post_type=product

Oh and here is a question for you: if a parlor guitar was played in parlors, and a concert guitar was played in concert halls, was a dreadnought guitar primarily played on battleships?

 

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