Tommy Emmanuel once said, “If you like my playing, you should hear Richard Smith…” As far as accolades go, that one’s not easily beaten. Here at Guitarist, we first became aware of Richard’s extraordinary talent face-to-face back in the 1990s when he paid us a visit at our offices and brightened up the afternoon with a jaw-dropping private performance – and in those days, he was still in his 20s. British born but now resident in Nashville, Richard is acknowledged as one of the very finest acoustic guitar players around, touring constantly and only stopping off occasionally to deliver one of his insightful clinics.
Going back to his roots, then, Richard started to play at a very young age. “I was five,” he nods. “My dad had the Play In A Day book, Bert Weedon, so that’s how he was learning and he showed me the chords to Down South Blues, which was on The Atkins-Travis Traveling Show record. He’d figured that out and that’s what got me started. I asked my dad, ‘Can you show me that?’ And that was all there is to it. You only have to do it once and you’re addicted,” he laughs.
What followed on from your early adventuring with classic blues? Did you have any formal training on the guitar?
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Esta historia es de la edición September 2020 de Guitar Techniques.
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THE MOODY BLUES
This month Stuart Ryan delves into the picking style of this British prog legend whose acoustic guitar has powered many a Moody Blues song.
WAYNE KRANTZ
This issue Nick Mellor provides an insight into this brilliant jazz stylist, focusing on his approach to improvising over static chords.
OPEN G TUNING
Open tunings are great fun and can help create exciting new ideas. Simon Barnard shows how to incorporate open G tuning into your playing.
RODRIGO GOUVEIA
Last month we featured Mateus Asato, and mentioned the importance of the neo-soul style in his playing. Here we turn to his fellow Brazilian, the master of neo-soul fusion.
MARK KNOPFLER
Our topic this month is a master craftsman as both guitar player and songwriter. His style is unique and his influence spreads far and wide.
U2
Martin Cooper checks out the chiming pedal delay tones of this stadium-filling band from Dublin, Ireland, and guitarist The Edge.
LUTHER ALLISON
It’s blues with a touch of soul this month, as David Gerrish explores the dynamic, expressive style of an often overlooked Chicago bluesman.
JOHANN KASPAR MERTZ Capriccio
This month Declan Zapala explores the music of Austria at the turn of the Romantic period with a fiery caprice to level up your fingers and unlock your inner virtuoso.
THE CROSSROADS Michael Landau
John Wheatcroft explores the playing of a session ace _ and blazing blues-rock maestro who graces the top-flight m band of singer-songwriting legend, James Taylor.
VIDEO MASTERCLASS Troy Redfern
This month GT welcomes this slide guitar virtuoso. If you've been wanting to take your slide playing to the next level then this is one's for you. With Jon Bishop.
