On Nov 6, 2006, at 11:29 AM, Eugene C. Braig IV wrote:

> ...Martin fans tend to trivialize or quaint-ify
> the shop's early guitars with the "parlor" moniker.

I don't understand the stigma attached to the word "parlor."  Can  
someone enlighten me please?  Romantic guitars were mostly played in  
the home by amateurs;  at least amateurs constituted the vast bulk of  
the sheet music market.  The parlor is where they would have played!   
What's the problem with considering 19th-century guitars parlor  
instruments?  Isn't that what they were?

I've never heard any complaints about references to the lute as a  
"household instrument."  Is there some kind of snobbish element at  
work here, that can't stand the thought of anything dignified being  
associated with the "parlor?"  Is it just a word-game being played  
here, or is there something else about that word "parlor" that I'm  
missing?

David R
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.rastallmusic.com




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