It's not just what you play.........

reiver
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Sat Sep 26, 2009 5:34 am

......it's how you play it.

I found this interesting - hope you will too. I do stress that this is only my opinion and you may disagree.

The two videos below are fundamentally the same. They are the same arrangements of a great song played by two different - though both incredibly talented - musicians. What I find interesting is how much better I think the second version by Mike Chapdelaine sounds. They are playing the same notes - but he somehow manages to get far greater feeling through his fingers and makes listening a far more fulfilling experience. How does he manage this. Maturity - maybe, though that is a bit condescending to the younger players. Audience awareness - maybe. What else? Surely this is the intangible that we are all striving to reach - regardless of our playing level. Make it interesting.

By the way, for those interested in such things, ie all of you, I believe that Mike Chapdelaine is playing a Kevin Ryan Nightingale.





Anyway - agree or not, enjoy some great guitartistry (i just made that word up)

reiver


AndyT
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Sat Sep 26, 2009 6:28 am

You have posted the teacher and his student! The young boy has been taking lessons from Mike for a couple of years now. Mike plays with emotion and experience. Sungha is still playing note perfect. He has not learned that sometimes dropping a note or two makes it that much better.


Chasplaya
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Sat Sep 26, 2009 6:50 am

My understanding is his mentor and main musical influence is a guitar fingerstyle teacher called Ulli Bogershausen, who I think is german. Sungha plays in Chapdelaines style but without the emotion. ON his site he doesn't even mention Mike Chapdelaine, but mentions Ulli and three others , Trace Bundy, Walter Lupi, Thomas Leeb.


AndyT
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Sat Sep 26, 2009 7:05 am

The FAQ on his website says he had about 50 hours of lessons in classical guitar but other than that, he is self taught. I wish I was as good on only 50 hours of lessons.


Lavallee
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Sat Sep 26, 2009 7:25 am

I have been working on that song for a while. The slapping that Chapdelaine is doing is a difficult technique. Having your hand in home position to play the strings and very often changing your hand shape to hit the string with your thumb like a whip is a difficult technique.


reiver
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Sat Sep 26, 2009 7:54 am

Lavallee wrote:
I have been working on that song for a while. The slapping that Chapdelaine is doing is a difficult technique. Having your hand in home position to play the strings and very often changing your hand shape to hit the string with your thumb like a whip is a difficult technique.

I think that the ability to add a percussive dimension to playing the acoustic guitar is very important. When used correctly it can certainly add a great deal to the range of sounds available to us. It may be a string instrument, but we are also allowed to hit it.


Chasplaya
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Sat Sep 26, 2009 8:02 am

reiver wrote:
Lavallee wrote:
I have been working on that song for a while. The slapping that Chapdelaine is doing is a difficult technique. Having your hand in home position to play the strings and very often changing your hand shape to hit the string with your thumb like a whip is a difficult technique.

I think that the ability to add a percussive dimension to playing the acoustic guitar is very important. When used correctly it can certainly add a great deal to the range of sounds available to us. It may be a string instrument, but we are also allowed to hit it.
For slapping and percusion you need to check out Rodrigo y Gabriela



Lavallee
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Sat Sep 26, 2009 8:09 am

I totally agree as you can modify the rhythm and sound of many songs and giving it a more personnal touch.

It would be really nice if Neil could give a session on this subject.I really liked the lesson on moondance which was not thumb slapping but was showing another rhythm dimension

Marc


Lavallee
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Sat Sep 26, 2009 8:24 am

Chas , thanks for posting this. They are absolutely fantastic. Karma for you.
Gabriela strumming style is amazing. She seems to hit the strings with her open hand in this ligthning speed strumming.

Marc


rcsnydley
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Sat Sep 26, 2009 9:42 am

I think that at a young age regardless of your level of guitar playing you do not yet have a level of emotional maturity. I would venture to say that if you heard him play this same song in say 10 years he would play it with more emotion, hopefully anyway.

Ric


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