GT: What is it about guitar instrumentals that appeals to you?
DG: They celebrate the instrument and allow it to be the primary force in the piece. Many of my first guitar heroes - Steve Vai, Greg Howe, Jason Becker - were all focusing on guitar instrumentals, so it was natural to explore that as my first creative direction. As I have matured as a composer, I’ve become more interested not just in venerating the guitar, but in integrating it, and contrasting it with other instruments. What I’m working on now is expanding and redefining the role of the guitar in my own composition.
GT: What can an instrumental provide a listener that a vocal song can’t?
DG: The lyrics can provide a clear guide through the structure of a piece, making it comprehensible. What I like about instrumental music is the purity of it - expressing through sound rather than language. That renders it more universal. There is greater room for interpretation and imagination for composer and listener.
GT: Any tendencies you embrace or avoid - rhythms, harmony, playing approach, etc?
DG: Harmony is my great passion and primary focus for creating interesting environments and moods. Guitar instrumentals often lean heavily into rhythm or melody, with harmony being less deeply explored. I take a lot of inspiration from 20th century composers like Stravinsky, Poulenc, Lyadov and Gliere, as well as baroque, like Corelli and Bach. Counterpoint is another area of obsession for me. While much less frequently used now, multiple melodic lines intertwining is as charming today as it was in the baroque period. I avoid the use of riffs. I think it’s a device that has been more than adequately represented.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 2023 من Guitar Techniques.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة August 2023 من Guitar Techniques.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
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