Talk:Portuguese guitar

The statement that "[t]he origin of the Portuguese guitar is a subject of debate" is utter nonsense
The statement that "[t]he origin of the Portuguese guitar is a subject of debate" is utter nonsense. As the Portuguese language site, and a few others, correctly states, the Portuguese guitar is "um dos desenvolvimentos diretos do cistre europeu renascentista" (http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitarra_portuguesa), i.e. it developed from the Renaissance European cistre, "a stringed instrument of the guitar family dating from the Renaissance" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cittern). For further historic details also the entry "Cistre" @ http://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cistre.

Preston tuners
"It is one of the few musical instruments to use Preston tuners." I have no idea what these are, and the article doesn't explain. From the picture, it seems this statement may refer to the machine heads which look different from those generally used on instruments in the guitar family: the article would benefit from clarification and elaboration ~dom Kaos~ (talk) 15:11, 18 September 2011 (UT


 * "Watch-key" or "Preston" tuners, named after their supposed inventor a luthier named John Preston (d. 1798), are used on instruments besides the Portuguese guitar, and so a lengthy description within this article isn't in line with good encyclopedia writing. A link to a separate article on "watch-key tuners", "Preston tuners", or maybe just chordophone-tuning devices in general with sub-sections on these machines, would be more appropriate.  However I don't know myself how to start a new Wikipedia article, don't care to be bothered finding out how to start a new article, and don't care to write a full article on these tuners for Wikipedia in any case.  So a complete description will have to wait until such time as somebody cares to do all this work.  One of the many defects in the Wikipedia experiment, I'm afraid.  :^) unsigned User:108.76.235.73 January 2012


 * Preston tuners now has its own article (not by me).--Design (talk) 03:11, 1 December 2013 (UTC)


 * "Watch-key" tuners are not the same as Preston tuners, thought they are similar. With the watch-key design you actually need a special square-drive wrench -- shaped like a clock-winding key -- to operate the tuners.  Preston tuners have a knurled cylindrical knob at the end, and don't require a key.  Portuguese guitars generally use Preston tuners; watch-key tuners are found on things like the waldzither.
 * 74.95.43.249 (talk) 00:20, 21 January 2017 (UTC)

Removed incorrect section about Steve Howe
"Rock musician Steve Howe made use of the Portuguese guitar (commonly miscredited as a 'vachalia') as well, as seen in songs like 'Your Move' (Yes), 'Wonderous Stories' (Yes), and 'The Hunter' (GTR)."

You can clearly see in photos and video online, that though he does call it a "Portuguese guitar", his instrument is actually the laúd, a totally distinct instrument. MatthewVanitas (talk) 22:03, 22 June 2015 (UTC)

Tortoiseshell
Under the "Technique" subsection we find:


 * these fingerpicks are usually made of plastic or tortoiseshell

It is highly unlikely that the picks are "usually" made of tortoiseshell, as the shell used for that purpose came from an endangered species, the use of which was internationally banned nearly a half-century ago.

Shell may well have been a traditional material for the picks, but it is doubtful that it is a usual contemporary material. Either a reference is needed, or the wording should be changed. 74.95.43.249 (talk) 19:53, 21 April 2016 (UTC)

statements in the History section...
I'm currently translating this to Hebrew.... Could not find any reference for some of the statements like: "In 1582, Friar Phillipe de Caverell visited Lisbon and described its customs; he mentions the Portuguese people’s love for the cittern and other musical instruments..." and "By 1786 those made by Simpson, an English luthier, became highly popular, and it was noted that he could also provide reliable nickel-silver strings." Looks like it was mostly taken from http://www.cittern.theaterofmusic.com/misc/portugal.html, but there aren't any reference to the facts on that either. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Avma55 (talk • contribs) 07:34, 20 February 2021 (UTC)

First concerto for Portuguese guitar and orchestra
[Message text copied here from User talk:2001:818:E6DA:D300:AC4D:3C67:571:C146:]

Dear colleague, Thank you for your first contribution to Wikipedia yesterday, when you applied this edit to the article on the Portuguese guitar. However, there are two points to make about your contribution:

”The first concerto for Portuguese guitar and orchestra was composed by Fernando Lapa and premiered by Paulo Soares in 2003 at the Gil Vicente theatre in Coimbra with the Coimbra Orchestra.” Therefore, please provide the text and reference details of a printed source (a book or newspaper article, for example) and we can use that if it is available. Otherwise, the content you added will most likely be removed. Please feel free to reply below, and I will help you complete your contribution with a citation. Thank you for your cooperation. With kind regards; Patrick. ツ Pdebee.(talk)(become old-fashioned!) 10:25, 28 September 2021 (UTC)
 * 1) You removed existing and useful content that was corroborated by a source, which is generally inappropriate (see Deleting...). I have reinstated the content you had overridden but located it after the content you added, to have both appear in chronological order.
 * 2) You did not provide a citation from a source to corroborate the content you added (see Citing sources); I have therefore tagged your text with the citation needed template. If you could provide a reliable source, then I will help you add it in the right way. I ran an online search for the content you added but found no evidence that: