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Dynamics - Another Essential Element

 
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alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 4:45 am    Post subject: Dynamics - Another Essential Element Reply with quote

To continue on the theme of Beyond Technique, I'd like to bring up the subject of dynamics. This is another oft-overlooked aspect of Guthrie's playing and music. IMO, I think this aspect has more to do with why Guthrie stands out from the crowd as any other factor of his playing. I always thought Satch did a pretty good job in varying the dynamics in an age of pushing the gain knob to 11 on the amp and just letting loose. But Guthrie takes this approach of being keen to dynamics to a new level.

Most of it is in his pick attack and his touch. He also uses his fingers a lot, which, I believe, gives you more tonal colors and touch sensitivity than varying the attack with a pick. It's another aspect of the freedom that Guthrie has on the instrument. It's even more arsenal for him to play with. His left-hand hammering can be as loud and forceful as someone alternate picking every note, but character of a hammer-on is still very different from a softly-picked note. He also varies his picking from really hard to barely brushing across the strings and then mixing that up with plucking with the flesh of his fingertips. Throw all of these things in the mix and get creative with the attack, touch, sustain, and decay, and the possibilities are endless. And Guthrie uses this aspect like very few other rock guitar players I've seen.

The master of this, IMO, is Jeff Beck. No one does it quite like him but Guthrie can get quite close in the way he manipulates his right-hand attack (either pick or fingers), his left-hand touch, and other tools like the volume pot on the guitar or the volume pedal. People tend to focus on the technical aspects of Guthrie's playing a lot and his obvious virtuoso influences like Yngwie, MacAlpine, Vai, Becker, EJ, Lane, Buckethead, G Howe, Bumblefoot, etc., but he has absorbed the likes of Jeff Beck and Jimi just as much, if not more. That's why even people burnt out on shred and virtuosic guitar playing find Guthrie so appealing and refreshing. It's not a monotone compressed kind of sound going widdly over and over again.

Work on this, guys. You don't have to have Guthrie's speed to be a good player. Jeff Beck, Jimi, Clapton, Ford, Henderson, Landau and many others are great examples of this. This is what keeps people's interest besides just slowing down, varying the tempo, changing textures, etc. Wide-ranging dynamics is as essential and does wonders in keeping the listeners' interest through the songs and the entire evening. The same goes for just the playing aspect of it. Vary your dynamics and you'll have people's attention. I know it's a big reason why Guthrie can hold his audience's interest for two hours of pretty intense guitar playing.
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Adagio_777



Joined: 09 Mar 2005
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 9:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nice post, you certainly have alot to say about GG.
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shredrulez
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 10:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

we gg fans all feel the same things about gg as ed does. he just articulates it in words like no one else can. thanks, ed. you allow gg to focus on the music and the playing instead of wasting his time on the forums like so many wannabes out there.
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Alun



Joined: 19 Sep 2004
Posts: 125
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PostPosted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 2:50 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Well posted Senor Yoon Very Happy

One of the most impressive things for me is the way that he manages to control his dynamics even when puling off the impossible stuff.I guess it comes back to the same thing about being influenced by music and not just by the instrument.

Alun
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James W



Joined: 22 Oct 2004
Posts: 191

PostPosted: Sat Mar 19, 2005 6:39 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I suppose this is one of the many reasons I started classical guitar.

The solo setting with just your two hands and a guitar have taught me to listen to the tone, dynamics, attack etc. than I would have other wise.

It all goes under the heading 'phrasing' which I guess is the other side of the coin to shredding/playing fast. A lot of it requires experimentation, a good ear and lots of emotion.


... Love James XXX
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alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
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Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 5:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Adagio_777 wrote:
Nice post, you certainly have alot to say about GG.


Yes, I do, don't I? Wink

He's just so multi-facted in his approach that there always seems to be something else to dissect in his playing and his music that is not technique or theory-oriented. And I think these aspects are probably of more interest to a lot of players because it's something that we can all apply to our own playing in our own ways without having to lament or worry about building up speed and chops.
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alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
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Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 5:33 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Alun wrote:
Well posted Senor Yoon Very Happy

One of the most impressive things for me is the way that he manages to control his dynamics even when puling off the impossible stuff.I guess it comes back to the same thing about being influenced by music and not just by the instrument.

Alun


Yes, a good point. We've all read about the fairly limited dynamic range of the electric guitar compared to other instruments. Something like the saxophone has 4 times the dynamic range of an electric guitar. A drum kit has something like 20 times the range. Electric guitarists, in general, are just blind and deaf when it comes to manipulating dynamic range: it's either clean or dirty with some different effects like chorus and delay and that's it. The idea of varying their attack and touch to get different colors is often not even considered. And their guitar volume pot may as well be an on/off switch.
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alexkhan



Joined: 10 Sep 2004
Posts: 2783
Location: Chino, CA

PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 5:37 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

James W wrote:
I suppose this is one of the many reasons I started classical guitar.

The solo setting with just your two hands and a guitar have taught me to listen to the tone, dynamics, attack etc. than I would have other wise.

It all goes under the heading 'phrasing' which I guess is the other side of the coin to shredding/playing fast. A lot of it requires experimentation, a good ear and lots of emotion.


... Love James XXX


The nylon-string acoustic certainly has a much wider dynamic range than an electric solid-body connected to an amp. I think I mentioned this on another thread when you asked why an acoustic virtuoso sounds more musical than your typical electric virtuoso. There is a lot more to consider internally in your mind about your attack, touch, sensitivity, phrasing, etc. than you'd have with an electric. Electric players are often too distracted by what pedal combinations they need to switch on and off and creating an effect instead of a musical statement coming out of their heads and their hearts.
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