Stuart Ryan examines four approaches to the acoustic guitar, from singer-songwriter fingerstyle, to open-tuned Celtic and modal 70s rock, plus plectrum strummed and single-note bluegrass.
With so much emphasis on electric guitar playing in popular music history, it’s tempting to view the acoustic as the rhythmic tool to add foundation to the track, staying out of the way while the soloist goes for glory. However, the acoustic guitar is a hugely versatile instrument that has shaped music history for much longer than its electric brothers.
Go back to the 1930s and before and you’ll hear acoustic guitars driving bluegrass, jazz, and blues. Jump to the ’60s and ’70s and you’ll hear pop royalty The Beatles and rock gods such as Jimmy Page or Pete Townshend making acoustic guitars the core of their sound. There is so much you can study from acoustic guitar styles so in this special feature we’re going to examine it from four different angles: the ‘modal’ sound of ’70s rock and blues; the singer-songwriter approach of artists like James Taylor and Paul Simon; the classic American bluegrass sound; and finally the evocative tones of solo DADGAD guitar drawing on the Celtic music traditions of Ireland, Scotland and beyond.
One of the main things to consider when using acoustic guitars is which technique you are going to employ – pick, pick and fingers or all-out fingerpicking? All of this, of course, depends on context but part of the fun of acoustic guitar playing is getting out of your comfort zone, ditching the pick and embracing the fingerpicking approach that can make the instrument a multi-voiced tool of rolling arpeggios and piano-like textures.
Denne historien er fra September 2019-utgaven av Guitar Techniques.
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Denne historien er fra September 2019-utgaven av Guitar Techniques.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
PAT METHENY
Nick Mellor offers an insight into the jazz great's 16th-note lines, and his approach to improvising over static Minor and Dominant 7th chords.
MARTIN MILLER
Another fabulous JTC guitarist demonstrates his impressive techniques for us, focusing on an approach called Rythmically Dependent Alternate Picking.
THE KINKS' RAY DAVIES
This month Stuart Ryan takes a virtual trip into to North London to get to grips with the acoustic style of the original Muswell Hillbilly.
STEVE LUKATHER
This month Andy G Jones looks at the fluent soloing style of the LA guitarist who co-founded Toto in 1977 then ruled the 80s session scene.
JEFF HANNEMAN
This month Charlie Griffiths Shows No Mercy as he lays down the gauntlett with five shred licks from Slayer's undisputed master of attitude.
10CC
This month Martin Cooper checks out Eric Stewart and Lol Crème, whose distinctive styles helped give this UK band its unique sound.
T-BONE WALKER
From the heart of Texas to the cool West Coast, join David Gerrish on the journey of this hugely influential electric blues guitar innovator.
FERDINANDO CARULLI Andantino In G (Opus 241)
This month Declan Zapala goes back to basics to explore core classical technique with this emotive miniature by the pioneer of classical guitar playing.
THE CROSSROADS Steely Dan's Mu Chord
This month John Wheatcroft shows us how Donald Fagen and Walter Becker dressed their harmony to the 'nines, as he explores their trademark chord voicings.
GET YOUR MOJO WORKING! 60 Years Of Blues Licks
From the Kings to Jimi and Eric, Blackmore, Stevie Ray, Gary Moore, John Mayer, JoBo and beyond, Jon Bishop introduces six decades of blues guitar innovation.