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Funny coincidence, I was going to ask about this, and then stumbled first upon a thread about playing classical guitar with a pick...
So...
On my way back from a rehearsal I heard a piece on my go-to radio station (TSF Jazz) that seemed to include 1 or 2 guitars playing a rather different role from what I'm used to in jazz, and almost certainly played in finger style. Sounded pretty much acoustic, too. French (or modern?) radio DJs have an annoying habit of not given title, composer, artist etc. info before and after each piece so I have no idea what this was.
Either way, is there a style in which this is (somewhat) common, and what type of guitar is usually used there? There be YouTube videos, hopefully?
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11-29-2021 04:48 PM
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Do you mean in the style of Joe Pass? Or Ted Greene? Or Charlie Byrd? Or....
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THE first name that comes to mind when we're talking about "jazz" guitar played fingerstyle is Joe Pass. He abandoned his pick around the time he recorded his first "Virtuoso" album in the mid 70's. Even before him it was Lenny Breau who played only fingerstyle. Ted Greene, Ralph Towner, Romero Lubambo, Gene Bertoncini, Earl Klugh, Paul Meyers, Pat Metheny, Mick Goodrick, Steve Herberman, ... and I'm missing most for sure. Which guitar ??? ANY guitar !!!! Just go for it and don't give up. No rules .....
Last edited by gitman; 12-15-2021 at 06:20 AM.
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Originally Posted by Michael Neverisky
That's the thing, I have no idea!
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But rather not the typical archtop/jazz guitar? I've been on an "archtop fingerstyle" quest on YouTube and haven't had much luck with that (but I'll admit that I skipped all hits where the thumbnail clearly showed a plugged guitar, I was after acoustic/unplugged examples). Originally Posted by gitman
I'll go have a listen, thanks. Any suggestions what to start with that doesn't only sound highly academic or if it was composed to illustrate an advanced course on music theory?
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Martin Taylor plays fingerstyle. Not strictly acoustic, but I think he tends to blend the acoustic and electric sound to some extent.
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Originally Posted by RJVB
Eric Skye plays fingerstyle jazz on a Santa Cruz acoustic guitar.
Which, again, asserts that jazz is a language and it's not about the instrument or how you produce sound with an instrument.
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Lots of blues of the kind I dig too, but I've yet to find an example of him playing an archtop.
BTW, his Santa Cruz looks very similar to Peanut, Doug Macleod's Waterloo parlor guitar. Since he never fails to lift my spirits Ima gonna plug a Dubb here
BTW, I asked Doug what he thought of playing his kind of blues on an acoustic archtop. His reaction: don't know anybody who does but should sound great (if well set up).
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Randy Napoleon plays an archtop fingerstyle, more or less, depending on what you mean by 'fingerstyle". He plays mostly with two fingers, sometimes with thumb. Of course there was Wes, who played with just thumb, also on an archtop. Merle Travis was one of the original fingerstyle players, and used an archtop. Chet Atkins. Andy Brown often plays fingerstyle, on a Tal, but he also uses a pick, depending on the tune and his mood, I suppose. There are others, I just can't think of them right now.
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I’ve had luck in the past with contacting the station, providing the approximate time when I was listening and getting the playlist. Hasn’t failed yet.
AKA
Originally Posted by RJVB
Funny coincidence, I was going to ask about this, and then stumbled first upon a thread about playing classical guitar with a pick...
So...
On my way back from a rehearsal I heard a piece on my go-to radio station (TSF Jazz) that seemed to include 1 or 2 guitars playing a rather different role from what I'm used to in jazz, and almost certainly played in finger style. Sounded pretty much acoustic, too. French (or modern?) radio DJs have an annoying habit of not given title, composer, artist etc. info before and after each piece so I have no idea what this was.
Either way, is there a style in which this is (somewhat) common, and what type of guitar is usually used there? There be YouTube videos, hopefully?
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Baden Powell
Laurindo Almeida
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Lots of great mentions.
But There is one huge name missing, a monster of a guitarist - Yamandu Costa - who pretty much can pick up and play and improvise in any musical language spontaneously including jazz and classical. He plays classical, brazilian choro, jazz etc and lives in all the worlds at the top. Astonishing player with mind boggling technique
Here is improvising on Barrios' La Catedral which isn't an easy classical piece to play when worked out meticulously
And with some top gypsy jazz guitarists ( like Stochelo Rosenberg )
He has a great series on YT tracing the history of the guitar and it's fascinating as well and a lot of his own classical compositions ( latin style )
Also,
Nelson Veras ( also Brazlian with a much more modern style )
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I'd say this is essential what the player does in fingerstyle rather than his guitar or general absence of pick...
Wes played without a pick and Joe Pass played without a pick..
Sco occasionally can play a whole tune without a pick... (he just grabs it in his fist)
Russel Malone often plays solo guitar arrangements without a pick... using usually only a thumb ans index and middlle fingers
Pat Metheny often plays acoustics without a pick...
Gene Bertoncini plays fingerstyle on acoustic in a classical manner...
John Pizzarelli... Ted Greene did that...
Sylvain Luc plays a lot with fingerstyle in a very versatile and modern manner using different guitars
And they all sound very differently and right hand techniques and applications of it are very different
On the other hand many players who play very fluent hybrid technique that often you cannot quickly even identify that they use a pick... like for example John Stowel
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I've never seen anyone else manage what John does so effortlessly. Without glue, magnets or magic... the pick adheres to his index finger. Originally Posted by Jonah
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In a sense you're right of course. But in this case I did ask my question out of curiosity what kind of musci people play fingerstyle on archtop guitars, in particular acoustically (unplugged). I think the idea behind that was also to find more examples of recordings to get an idea of what that can sound like. Originally Posted by Jonah
In that light a collection of videos showing (once more ^^) what can be done with largely classical technique on a classical guitar doesn't really satisfy my curiosity anymore than, say, this video that was one of those that incited me to start to learn to play guitar a few years back...
(Music starts at 00:55 or so, and yes, this is not fingerstyle)
(from with more of the great, late Kenny Malone)
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One name I always think of is Sylvan Luc
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Slightly surprised no one has mentioned Ralph Towner either
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For me he is very interesting musician.. one of those who have modern vibe but still have solid integrity of personality... something many younger players do not have Originally Posted by Christian Miller
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George Van Eps. Early recordings with a pick, most of his career fingerstyle with the 7 string guitar or- as he called it- lap piano.
Tuck Andress. We often neglect him in the forum, but mindboggling technique.
The past two days I have been fascinated by classical guitarist Gunter Herbig's recording of Gurdjieff's/de Hartmann's music on a Gretsch electric archtop. Fingerstyle by default, I suspect.
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Originally Posted by Christian Miller
One of my favs, but he was mentioned earlier by someone ( 3rd post without a video )
The live version of Nardis on the CD is one of my favorite recordings ever....
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more..
Jeff Beck
Stanley Jordan
and this guy
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John Abercrombie
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Thank you for the reference. We need more of these adventurers. I listened to his Villa-Lobos Preludes last night and they sound like they were written for electric guitar. Amazing sound and tone culture. (To M and all the others: Classical playing is as much about attitude as Rock’n’Roll, it‘s just a different attitude.) Originally Posted by Cunamara
Will check out the Gurdieff later today. From what I‘ve heard so far, he may be using a pick at times, or he has a predilection for arpeggiated chords.
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And don't they know about attitudes O:-) Originally Posted by docsteve
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Wow! He’s amazing. Makes me feel like giving up Originally Posted by wolflen
LOL
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