Acoustic Uprising - Documentary Movie
Dec 29, 2017 22:45:49 GMT
Phil Taylor, Welshruss, and 1 more like this
Post by Cams on Dec 29, 2017 22:45:49 GMT
I'd heard about Acoustic Uprising in passing, but it came back to my attention when filmmaker Drew Roller was interviewed for the Fretboard Journal podcast.
I've never really got on with modern fingerstyle, or fingerstyle as it seems simply to be called now, but as that's somewhat confusing, I'll stick with modern fingerstyle. I'd heard lots of people talk of Michael Hedges with reverence and do own a copy of Ariel Boundaries, but I've always found it a bit wishy washy and not really my cup of tea. I've seen a few modern fingerstyle players at RMMGA gatherings over the years and, again, they left me cold. I think it's because of the lack of melody, or at least an easily discernible one.
So, I went into Acoustic Uprising with a negative bias and I wanted at least to neutralise that bias and go into it with an open mind. I watched the movie twice over the holidays, first time the studio release and second time the extended version. It's been quite a though-provoking movie for me. Not all players play with no melody, and I found the philosophy quite fascinating. There was a quote that this is the evolution of acoustic steel-string guitar, and that actually makes some sense to me. It might even have been Stuart Ryan that said it - I don't quite remember. I've been a fan of Stuart's since I met him at RMMGA back around 2005. That boy knows melody!
I saw Martin Taylor years ago doing a layered party piece, laying down bass line, then rhythm, melody and harmony, then putting them all together. I've seen Tommy Emmanuel do the same. It was quite intriguing to watch, but it seems more like a party piece when all is said and done. There was another quote about Michael Hedges that we are lucky that he chose to play guitar, meaning that he's a musician first and a guitar player just happens to be his instrument of choice. I liked that too.
As I move into 2018 with both my bands' having imploded, I'll be playing a lot more solo and I'm wondering whether some of the techniques of percussive playing and bass lines and layers would enhance my performances. I know now that melody can still be king and that I am free to express myself as I see fit. It might even free me up to express myself rather than simply repeat what I've learned from tab. I've been feeling quite frustrated with my lack of creativity recently and seeing myself as a pub singer, of covers of songs that nobody else knows. It doesn't bring me much pleasure to be honest. Jon Gomm described technique as 'whatever happens between getting an idea out of my head into yours'. I kind of like that too. I've already started using a loop pedal to enhance my solo gigs and that works pretty well. Percussive beats are part of that, but looped rather than played at the same time.
I'm going to research this some more and am considering signing up for Mike Dawes' JamPlay tutorial. He has melody and groove and the course isn't that expensive. On sale until the 31st so I have a couple more days to research it.
I recommend the video to anyone with even a passing interest in acoustic guitar, even if you don't think that 'all that modern tapping malarkey' is your thing.
I've never really got on with modern fingerstyle, or fingerstyle as it seems simply to be called now, but as that's somewhat confusing, I'll stick with modern fingerstyle. I'd heard lots of people talk of Michael Hedges with reverence and do own a copy of Ariel Boundaries, but I've always found it a bit wishy washy and not really my cup of tea. I've seen a few modern fingerstyle players at RMMGA gatherings over the years and, again, they left me cold. I think it's because of the lack of melody, or at least an easily discernible one.
So, I went into Acoustic Uprising with a negative bias and I wanted at least to neutralise that bias and go into it with an open mind. I watched the movie twice over the holidays, first time the studio release and second time the extended version. It's been quite a though-provoking movie for me. Not all players play with no melody, and I found the philosophy quite fascinating. There was a quote that this is the evolution of acoustic steel-string guitar, and that actually makes some sense to me. It might even have been Stuart Ryan that said it - I don't quite remember. I've been a fan of Stuart's since I met him at RMMGA back around 2005. That boy knows melody!
I saw Martin Taylor years ago doing a layered party piece, laying down bass line, then rhythm, melody and harmony, then putting them all together. I've seen Tommy Emmanuel do the same. It was quite intriguing to watch, but it seems more like a party piece when all is said and done. There was another quote about Michael Hedges that we are lucky that he chose to play guitar, meaning that he's a musician first and a guitar player just happens to be his instrument of choice. I liked that too.
As I move into 2018 with both my bands' having imploded, I'll be playing a lot more solo and I'm wondering whether some of the techniques of percussive playing and bass lines and layers would enhance my performances. I know now that melody can still be king and that I am free to express myself as I see fit. It might even free me up to express myself rather than simply repeat what I've learned from tab. I've been feeling quite frustrated with my lack of creativity recently and seeing myself as a pub singer, of covers of songs that nobody else knows. It doesn't bring me much pleasure to be honest. Jon Gomm described technique as 'whatever happens between getting an idea out of my head into yours'. I kind of like that too. I've already started using a loop pedal to enhance my solo gigs and that works pretty well. Percussive beats are part of that, but looped rather than played at the same time.
I'm going to research this some more and am considering signing up for Mike Dawes' JamPlay tutorial. He has melody and groove and the course isn't that expensive. On sale until the 31st so I have a couple more days to research it.
I recommend the video to anyone with even a passing interest in acoustic guitar, even if you don't think that 'all that modern tapping malarkey' is your thing.
Jo whoever he is.
