tuck andres and the unbearable importance of picking angle

[ecj]

I think Metheny's approach works equally well in terms of feel, virtuosity, presence, etc. The reason I prefer Benson's more these days is how it incorporates the older language more comprehensively. Metheny's is a very "modern" sound.

[Groyniad]

Thoughts/observations on Sean's picking technique?

yes!

after less than a minute its obvious - he is employing basically the benson technique - you can tell without looking at it actually - the way he phrases that tune

don't be put off by the fact that it seems at e.g. 2:15 ish that the tip of his thumb is going past or over the pad of his index finger

look at the bend in the thumb - that tips you off that the bones are all locked up and the muscles engaged in the relevant way

this really pushes my buttons - one of my main goals is getting these parker heads down so they feel really good on guitar.

great clip!

[Groyniad]

I think Metheny's approach works equally well in terms of feel, virtuosity, presence, etc. The reason I prefer Benson's more these days is how it incorporates the older language more comprehensively. Metheny's is a very "modern" sound.

what i find, even with e.g. 'question and answer' - is that the one with dave holland and roy haynes?? - that his tone is flat or flattened-out by the over use of the amplifier/effects. i think the relevant notion might be 'timbre'. trumpets and of course singers have endless shades of it at their command - and vibes players have almost none (but boy can they play lots of notes - so they're not too unhappy).
i like my variations in timbre (i think that's what i like at least - i'm fumbling here).

i simply don't understand the appeal of this 'modern' sound - if that's what metheny is an example of. i went to a scofield gig once and simply could not stand it - i really tried - but i was wincing after the first quarter of the first tune and it just got worse and worse. and the ultimate problem is that he seemed to me to be making basically the same (unpleasant) sound all the time - a sort of growly humming. or maybe there were two sounds - this humming and a sustained whining or howling.

i much much prefer jim hall's sound on the sides with Paul Desmond and Bill Evans to his more recent sound (which is still wonderful of course) - but i'm just trying to give an idea of what i'm on about.

well - to my ear anyway - benson has it in glorious spades and metheny doesn't have it at all. if timbre is a significant musical phenomenon, it certainly is not directly connected to which notes are being played and in what order. so i'm not criticizing metheny's note choices (though i don't like them either) - just the over amplified and tonally flat sound.

i think benson wants to retain a very stringy silvery brightness in his sound - which along with his excellent picking technique that engages the woody body of the guitar - produces a really wide palette of timbres/tonal colours for him to exploit. you might think that he exploits these colours in a slightly unsophisticated or old-fashioned way - he's no jim hall for example - but i think that would be harsh. like nat king cole or louis armstrong his first instinct is to communicate - and i think he does that with shocking immediacy (i.e. very effectively). that's not unsophisticated.

[destinytot]

Avalon begins @7m14s:

[Groyniad]

Avalon begins @7m14s:

oh my goodness - shiiiiiiiiitt

thank you so much for offering this - what a treat!

i knew he could do anything he wanted to - that's as perfect a chorus of swing guitar as i have ever heard.

is that just me?

have you got 'seven come eleven' - the next take???

[MarkRhodes]

I've given up all other approaches to using the pick. Sometimes you just have to make choices.

I agree. I think that goes for more than picking. Like organizing the fretboard; there's more than one way to do it, and I think most people who can fly around the neck have one main way to do it.

[ecj]

oh my goodness - shiiiiiiiiitt

thank you so much for offering this - what a treat!

i knew he could do anything he wanted to - that's as perfect a chorus of swing guitar as i have ever heard.

is that just me?

have you got 'seven come eleven' - the next take???

I agree that it's hard to imagine Metheny in this context, but Benson nails it without sacrificing any of his modern techniques.

That being said, I still think Pat might be the greatest living musician in terms of his overall accomplishments.

Edited to add: if you haven't heard the Seven Come Eleven take from this concert, try to track it down.

[Groyniad]

i just found it on youtube - oh my

i'm speechless

charlie christian never sounded quite so good (did he?)

this music feels so great - it has euphoria built into it - the climax is just thrilling

what a find!

[Groyniad]

supernaturally relaxed

catch how chilled out he is as the whole thing winds down (3:30 ish)