The Gleeman's Instrument

Alenya Al'Roran

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Aduiavas Ida

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Something tells me that Rand won't be able to carry that inside his robes on his way to Caemlyn :look:

When I first heard "guitar" I was upset, but that wasn't as bad as I thought...
 

Jocasta Braithe

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I have to admit that I can't imagine him playing a guitar.
A Court Bard with a guitar?!
But I've decided to give it the benefit of the doubt.
 

Lenore Carvoe

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What about the harp and flute from the books? It's quite obviously no modern concert harp, there are many examples throughout history for smaller and transportable harps. :desk Also a mandolin or lute would have been far more fitting for a former court bard than a guitar if you needed to differ so badly.
 

Alenya Al'Roran

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So, from the Q&A Rafe did after the video dropped, they wanted to make sure they gave Thom a proper introduction in the story. When they were going through audition tapes, Alex Willaume's tape stood out because of the way he was proposing to play Thom, which they loved. However, book Thom's instruments just didn't work for him and the guitar is now suited to his body frame and voice, so they switched it.
 

Jocasta Braithe

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Yeah, it sounds like a lot of thought went into the decision which is why I'm trying to suspend my book-lover's grump instinct. :giggle
 

Elania al'Manir

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Alenya Al'Roran

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How do I/Is it possible to just see Rafe's answers and the questions that spawned them? I don't know if it's possible with Twitter and I'm just not proficient on the platform, or if that's not how it works.

I sent them all to @Aleita Taviah so she can put them in a blog post.
 

Tobias Carawin

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My predictions on the guitar...

This looks very similar to a renaissance guitar. Assuming this is the case...

1. It will be around 21 inches in length. (Smaller than most people probably expect)

2. It will have six strings (early renaissance guitars had 4)

3. It will be tuned E, A, D, G, B, E simply because it will be familiar for the actor. (This is not standard tuning for a renaissance guitar)

4. It will be much more ornate than the twitter post image. (many guitars of this period had ornate sound hole designs. this would be fitting for a court bard)

5. It will have nickel-plated steel strings. (I would prefer sheep gut or Nylon to be period accurate but the steel will be louder)
 

Alenya Al'Roran

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Why would they bother with the nickel plated strings when they can record the music in a studio? They also didn't say the actor would be playing the guitar, just that it looked better in his hands.

@Elania al'Manir the blog post is up!
 

Lenore Carvoe

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If the actor even does not play, letting him have a guitar is even more, well, idiotic. Probably they'd better casted musicians instead of actors, especially harpists.

Correct strings: Because one sees the difference.
 

Alenya Al'Roran

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Teaching someone where to put their fingers and how to fake playing an instrument is easy. Teaching someone to play one is much harder. They felt, based on the audition, he was the right person for the part. Looking at pictures, that guy would look stupid with a small harp.
 

Tobias Carawin

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Why would they bother with the nickel plated strings when they can record the music in a studio? They also didn't say the actor would be playing the guitar, just that it looked better in his hands.

@Elania al'Manir the blog post is up!

The actor can play the guitar and that was part of the reason they liked the idea of the change according to a YouTuber (will have to check which one to confirm later). Also, I have the feeling that they will record the live sound as opposed to recording in the studio because it is simpler and makes everything more authentic. Remember that this is just my predictions and I could be completely wrong on all of em :p
 

Alenya Al'Roran

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Rafe said on Wednesday the guitar looked better in his hands, but didn't say anything about him being able to play, though I'm sure that's available somewhere on the internet. I'm mostly ignoring the rumors and taking what I can get from Rafe and Sarah.
 
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