Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 8:31 pm Post subject: Guthrie is a real motivation to me
Hi
I've been playing for 15 years, i lived the golden era of guitar in the 80s, had my shares of shrapnel records, etc. At a point i got tired of this kind of playing and i moved towards jazz / fusion, like many cats i suppose. I discovered Guthrie on the alchemist CD and on Cornford's website, it's weird even though i'm not into pyrotechnics anymore, i really liked his approach, nothing original but still his own thing. What i really dug was his insane timing, versatility and control, breathtaking !
I got many of his GT articles and it helped me a lot to focus on precise things, these are great learning material, he got me back into seriously practicing. Each time i hear Guthrie, i wanna grab my guitar and work until i master a concept, lick, etc. He's a real motivation to me, i'm not talking about playing his stuff note for note, i don't even care for that but really seeing a player this young so amazingly good is a joy for me. Call me an idiot if ya want but it's true. There are so many educational resources everywhere that it's hard to focus and not get tempted.
Id like to start a discussion on how he's a motivation to you players. Did he get you back to practicing ?
Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2005 3:27 am Post subject:
Guthrie has been an inspiration and a motivation to me beyond guitars and music. He inspires me to be the best that I can be in all walks of life, in all types of disciplines, and in being a humble down-to-earth human being. I wish I could play more and, hopefully, I will get to do that soon once my career move settles down and my two little kids grow up a bit to free me up. I'll never be able to play like him, but he has inspired me to find what I'm good at and to bring out whatever character I have in my playing. I think that's the most important lesson. We all have our own character, personality, certain traits and talents that no one else has. It's about bringing those things out through better technique, better understanding of theory, better appreciation of the styles being studied, better feel, etc. _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
I can honestly say, I'm better than Guthrie... at riding a bike
Yes he's pretty good at blowing away the cobwebs of apathy, cynicism and all that _________________ Fabulous powers were revealed to me the day I held my magic Suhr(d) aloft and said "by the power of great scale!"
That's funny -- I don't how many times I say that same line to myself.
I discovered Guthrie through a really circuitous route. Over in the JemSite forums, somebody posted an mp3 clip of themselves playing some funk blues. I listened and thought "Man, what great note choice. Very tasty. Sort of Robben Fordish, but with more aggression..." The thread went on with lots of people making positive comments, and then somebody posted "Good to know that someone else has Guthrie Govan's Creative Guitar!" Wondering what he meant by that cryptic remark, and also wondering who the heck Guthrie Govan was, I started hunting around on the net. I soon found the Tone Merchant clips, and then GG's "chromatic licks" lesson on Lick Library (or was it Truefire -- I've forgotten). Immediately hooked, I ordered the books. And there amongst the examples on the CD was the funk blues clip that appeared on JemSite (though executed somewhat better by GG ).
Then I started working on that chromatic lesson. Nothing insanely technical there, but SO tasty. It immediately forced me into new territory and adjusted my ear to hear more passing tones and outside phrasing. I highly recommend that lesson to anyone that's interested in Guthrie's style. I think of it as quintessential GG. It is absolutely greasy in the way it winds around the diatonic chord tones.
Since then, I've tried to work on everything in GG's Guitar Techniques columns, plus other things from the books, a few older GT columns (like "Man in the Mirror"), and other bits and pieces recommended by Guthrie. I'm really trying to pay attention to precision -- there are no blurred or ambiguous notes in a Guthrie solo (unless he wanted them that way). Does it show in my playing? Maybe not if anyone else is listening. But I can tell that I'm on the cusp of some breakthroughs and that's very reassuring. Maybe B4 I die...
He keeps me playing guitar and piano actually. I like to take certain ideas from guitar players and place them into playing the piano like guitar players have done with piano playing in the past. And since I am not much of a guitar player, it keeps me working on ideas in my head and such.
I discovered Guthrie through the Racer X forum, if I remember correctly. Someone posted a link to Tone merchants and I was just amazed at how many styles of music he could play on guitar and how fluid his techniques were. He wasn't flashy to be flashy. He had a purpose to what he was playing, how he was playing it, and which tones he played.
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