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Lead Belly

7 years agoGreat Guitarists12 string guitar, blues, folk

Lead Belly (official name, Huddie William Ledbetter) was born on January 20, 1889 in Louisiana. He passed away at age 60 in New York City.

He spent several stints in prison for violent crimes – and was pardoned twice (at least partly owing to his musical abilities).

Lead Belly was a master of the 12 string guitar and influenced many later players including Pete Seeger. He mostly played with thumb and finger picks and his guitar prowess coupled with his powerful singing voice made him a major force in folk and blues music. He also influenced a large number of Jazz, country and rock artists including Frank Sinatra, Johnny Cash, Tom Petty, Keith Richards and Nirvana.

Lead Belly [ public domain ]

Guitar Slim

7 years ago 7 years agoGreat Guitaristsblues

Guitar Slim was the stage name for Eddie Jones – a Mississippi born New Orleans blues guitarist. He was active in the 1950s and was influenced by T-Bone Walker and Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown.

Guitar Slim was an innovative performer with a wild stage act and distorted guitar tone. He influenced many later guitarists including Jimi Hendrix and Buddy Guy.

The song “The Things I Used To Do” was his one big hit (produced by Ray Charles and covered by many artists including Stevie Ray Vaughan).

Dead at the age of 32, Guitar Slim is one of many guitarists to die at an early age.

Guitar Slim [Fair Use: Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Guitar_Slim.jpg ]

Nerves

8 years ago 3 years agoPlaying Livenerves

Eddie Van Halen got stage fright. So did David Bowie. Just about every performer gets nervous to some degree before or during their performance. I sometimes got so nervous when I first started performing live solo gigs that my hands would shake and I couldn’t play properly.

This fear is natural and overcoming it is one of the keys to growing as a musician.

Here are some strategies I’ve learned over the years which have really helped me in reducing the negative effects of stage fright.

Strategy 1: Know Your Stuff

Practice your repertoire until you know it at a deep level. If you can literally play the piece in your head – away from the guitar – then you are on the right path.

Strategy 2: Connect With Your Audience

It often helps to smile and engage with some friendly faces in the crowd.

Strategy 3: Go Into The Music

Really listen to the music as you play – and go right into the sound. You may feel yourself just being rather than doing (like a silent “witness”) and the chattering mind is silenced. This needs courage and practice – but no effort. If you “try” then the active mind gets involved and you get taken out of “the zone”.

The Scream – Edvard Munch [public domain]

Nylon Strings

8 years ago 8 years agoGearSavarez, strings, Willie Nelson

My strings of choice for the nylon stringed guitar are the French made Savarez. Their website is here. I have used them since my first classical and flamenco lessons at age 10. They have magnificent tone, stay very well in tune and last for ages.

In the image is Willie Nelson’s nylon stringed Martin N-20. (The hole near the bridge has developed over the years as Willie plays with a flat pick instead of his fingers – thus wearing away the wood. Steel stringed guitars usually have a scratch plate (pickguard) to stop this happening). According to La Bella, Willie used the La Bella 830 Folksinger strings with black nylon trebles and alloy basses.

I also use Augustine strings which are superb for fingerstyle guitar. These strings were produced with the support of Andres Segovia. Their website is here.

Willie Nelson’s Guitar [creative commons – author: Paul Familetti]

Guitarist little girl. (Dorothy Takacs) - Budapest, Hungary, Author Taak

Too old, or young, to learn guitar?

8 years ago 7 years agoLearningjazz

Grammy Award winner and Judas Priest lead guitarist Glenn Tipton didn’t start learning to play guitar until he was 19. Legendary Jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery was 20 when he took up the six string guitar. Pat Martino, another jazz great (whom I saw perform in NYC a few years ago) had a stroke at age 36 and lost his memory of the guitar – he succeeded in relearning to play to a virtuoso level. Bluesman T-Model Ford started on a guitar given to him by his fifth wife.

There are thousands of professional guitarists who started “late” – in their 20’s, 30’s, 40’s and beyond., And many thousands more who started at all ages who are getting tremendous enjoyment from playing music for themselves and with family and friends.

The point is – it’s never too late to start playing the guitar. It’s entirely up to you: the instant you decide so you will be a guitarist – you will make music the very first time you pick up a guitar. The journey will begin. There will be many paths to take and many challenges to meet along the way.

I recommend you take some private lessons from a professional teacher – particularly at critical stages in your development such as when you are first starting out, when you are moving from beginner to immediate level and when you are making the challenging breakthrough to advanced playing.

For parents – if your child is keen and has the necessary physical development then they can start as young as five or six.

[Image: By Takkk (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html, via Wikimedia Commons]