aa FIRST CLASS, QUALITY SOUND. That's why FISHMAN products are standard equipment on acoustic guitars made by such leading manufacturers as C.F. Martir Guild, neo Ros Available at quality music stores wo Ua rug FIVE GREEN STREET. we 1A 01801 USSLearning To Play Blues Guitar taught by Happy Traum ‘Tape 1-60 min, Tape 2-80 min $49.95 each* ‘These two video lessons are the easest snd most accessible way to get started in finger Style acoustic blues! Tape 1 - Right and left-hand techniques; pls progressions, tumarounds talking basses, Bes rf, and Several complete songs. Tape 2 Biues in the key Of A. as played bythe great bus matters. More advanced chord positions, basa runs, turnarounds, Heke snd solos. Songs: Ber And Dupree, ey To The Highon, Bloat Red River, and others *Special offer: Two-video set, only §79.95 plus postage. Acoustic Guitar Musicianship taught by Russ Barenberg 90 minstes, $499 Lear to develop your sense of yt, "touch," tone production, Solo composition and all-around fandamentals of musicianship. for acoustic guitar. No mat ‘what your present level or style youl play with more surance, better control, and stronger technique: Inclades several exer: Cises and origgal instrumentals. ‘VIDEO += LESSONS ON HOMESPUN TAPES Homespun Tapes it's lke hao dng privdte Reg oith one of ‘the bot musicians th the country, and you can repeal the lesson as ‘mang times as you lke ~The Big Book of Home Learning Jerry Douglas’ Dobro Techniques taught by Jerry Doulas An Intimate Lesson | 90 minutes, $1993 with Tony Rice ‘One ofthe premier Dobro pay oe Tee 8 Scr » the secrets to his great playing. ee aS ‘You'll learn a variety of rolls, fre isthe fabulous Tony Rice | xo acer a, esata eee a aaiers erie) tain atic brought up close so you can | Sich’ ax Cincinnatt Ray. Banks Of clearly see what he's doing and | yc ris and Bebe ve hhow he's doing it Tony demon- | ™* tie and Fireball Mat strates a variety of techniques through six songs and instrus mental taken from his most recent albums Learning To Flatpick taught by Happy Traum 60 minutes, $4895 A beginners guide to the joys of county and Buegress atpching You see how to hold the pick, play scales, bass ins, hammer: fins, and melodies to some of ‘Ameria’s favorite songs HOMESPUN TAPES coxsecna, woonsvock, wv 13400 axons 246-5202 12-String Guitar ‘Techniques taught by Happy Traum 90 minutes, $49.95 ‘This 90-minute video lesson {caches exeling new songs, techniques and styles. Learn to fain mastery over the instrument By making ose of is strength powerful walking basses, dy- amie chythms, fall chords and ‘ingerpicking ideas. The Power of Delta Blues Guitar taught by Rory Block 2 60-min. videos, $49.95 each” (One of America’s great blues artists covers regular and open tunings treble melodies, bss ris, slides, string bending and variety of amazing acoustic biues styles. Taped ~ Mississippi Blues: Thestyles of Charlie Patton, Robert Johnson, Mattie Delaney. ‘Tape 2~ Traditional and Con- temporary Blues: The ssles of Booker White, Robert Johnson, Charlie Spann, Rory Block “Special offer: Two-video set, only $7995 plus postage Dealer Inquiries ina | Welcome Box 6944G. ‘Woodstock, NY 12498 1-800-33-TAPES. FAX@ 914-246-5282 one re Ren 7a ie om __t orrasmgconme reat ereceus |S ae a FREE eng ards tenGreat premiere issue! No glossy full. page ads. Intelligent analysis, No “guitar hero” mentality. A guitar magazine for the thinking man, very refreshing in the "90s when I feared your effort would be just another outlet for the manufactur- fers to display their overpriced wares amidst the incidental worship article With good work like yours, you should expect legions of subscribers for a long time. Good luck. sim Miller Bemidji, Minnesota [first of all want to congratulate you on your premiere issue. The waiting, as with all good things, proved to be well worth it. Your staff and writers exhibit a mar ture level of professionalisin that this reader/musician finds refreshing as well as informative. The articles, product re- ports, Interviews, and reviews were ev- THE SIGN OFA NEW DECADE. om Fort ar cto sna $150 eta oF many ce R tr Ponge een PB 07 hn RN BEE 00 "Spay maa LETTERS erything your charter Invitation said they would be and more, ‘This area of northwestern Montana is very popular with a number of fingerstyle musicians. Its the home of the great Christopher Parkening and ‘was to be the future home of the late Emily Remler. The Windham Hill group performed regularly here, as have countless other great musicians. We are quite involved with the type of music your magazine promotes. Thank you so much for sharing your talents, and needless to say I plan on promoting your magazine, Allan Weir Kalispell, Montana In the invitation to try your magazine, you mentioned a magazine dedicated to Individuals who appreciate all aspects of acoustic guitar music. Yet after read Ing your column in the premiere issue called Jump Street, in particular the ar ticle entitled “MTV Unplugs,” it seems clear that this magazine has a very nar- row vision. To quote the article, those “Spandex ‘lad, Flying V-slinging perm kings who have puckered their lips on that cable channel for years,” who “don't really know how to make a wooden box come ve," represent some musicians whom Vadmire. also admire musicians like Michael Hedges and Leo Kottke. ‘Though these men would not be seen on MTV dressed in Spandex, it doesn’t make them any greater musicians than Mark Kendall (Great White) or Ted Nug- ent/Tommy Shaw (Damn Yankees), whose recent “Unplugged” appearances Thoroughly enjoyed. Iwill not argue with anyone about this musician's ability versus this other's, because I find it to be totally asinine! | appreciate all musicians for ‘what they do and how well they deliver it, Remember that prejudice is judging Solos APPASSIONATO. 7.50 Erland von Koch (Peer Southern 61711570) Hedi dteut. LECOIN DEL'ENFANCE 8.75 Francis Kleynjans (Lemoine 66401438) Basy-dium. 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FREE CATALOG of Columbia Music publica tions available from Dept. 2AG at the address Prices subject to change,Cre Oe Nese TT Eva Nees DEPARTMENTS LETTERS CONTRIBUTORS 40° JUMP STREET. Musicians (and editors) wrestle with stereotyping, a songwriter battles with Led Zeppelin, and missiles turn into three-string gultars. ACOUSTIC GUITAR LETTER A cispatch from San Antonio on the local music boom, the Dbajo sexto, and Mexican food at 3 am. By Steve James MASTER LASS. shoron stn answers questions on fingernails, playing ety, directing the stroke, and finding a niche inthe clasieal work SONG CRAFT “re Publishing Connection: A little business savvy can open the door to an important market for your songs. By Paul Zollo SOLD A Musical mixture: Hot on the heels of the Skaals and Bilbarns. Music by ‘Stephen Funk Pearson, introduced by the composer. CONNECTIONS Ampuiication on the Concert tage: Classical guitarist find varied et tear ee ee Deere WOOD CHOPS swinging with Sally Goodin: Jazzy accompaniment for contest fiddling, ‘Texas style. By Jim Wood GREAT ACOUSTICS. The Pikasso Guitar. By Linda Manzer FEATURES DEMON IN DISGUISE Guitar sideman for Bob Dylan and Rick Derringer in the °60s. ceclectic bandleader in the 70s, violin collector inthe ‘ls... David Bromberg keeps us guessing in the ‘90s, An interview with the man who says his favorite folk singer is Mick Jagger, includes music to “Watch Baby Fall” By Jefrey Pepper Rodgers SNAP CRACKLE, AND BUZZ Guitars have a way of obeying Murphy’s Law at the most inopportune moments—a sudden string buzz in the studio, a loose fret backstage before an important gig. Commonsense instrument care and regular maintenance ‘can prevent many guitar casualties. By Paul Neri AFRICAN VOICES Beyond the electric Afropop flooding these shores lies a rich, varied tradition of African acoustic guitar music that's just beginning to reach our record bins. A look at new recordings from Mall, Guinea, Kenya, and Madagascar. By Derk Richardson SONG OF THE STEELSTRING mic the barrage of fast scale runs and hot licks, Russ Barenberg creates instrumental guitar musie with an accent on melody, warm tone, and lyricism. A close-up look at his compositional style, with transcriptions of ‘Open Arms" and “Our Time.” By John MeGannsomeone by their appearance and not their person, Count me out of the future of your magazine. 'd rather stick with Guitar Player, Guitar World, and Guitar for the Practicing Musician, who will put Eddie Van Halen in the same issue as John Hiatt Steven Leavitt OpenMinded Player Salem, Ohio See “Round Notes in a Square Hole,” in ‘Jump Street, page 11, for a reply from the ‘editor Now this is what the doctor ordered! Please enter my subscription for a year's worth of Acoustic Guitar, and try not to go overboard on the hype and hoopla... like the large, clean format fof the magazine, and the size, font, re- production quality, and nonglossy paper are pleasing and balanced to the eye. And it fits nicely on my music stand. Your premiere Issue Is promis- ing, the writing s good, and I'm excited Regarding your premiere issue: Jack- son Bralder (Goodbye to Highway 61") has impressive credentials (or atleast a tenacity for living in New York), but felt his article was somewhat pointless. SANTA CRUZ GUITAR CO. peered poriree ae PROFESSIONAL ACOUSTIC GUITARS Samer ae Bae oel id el ets PO ee Set ec ea tad CMM Pern irr) ‘There are good reasons why women folk singers are being innovative—why didn’t he go into some of them? Why is he quick to eriticize Pierce Pettis (who is highly regarded down here, and not as a southern “testifier"), and yet slather all over Shawn Colvin and Jane Siberry? Is he exhibiting a sexist and New York-ist slant? Need we be sub- jected to further of this provincialism? Save it for Fast Folk, Jack. Or at least be fair and encouraging. Stephen M. Hodges Tallahassee, Florida I'd like to take this opportunity to say thank you for starting this new publica ion and for giving me a chance to sub- seribe to it. When the magazine Frets was cancelled last year, | was very dis: appointed. However, your new maga- zine is just what | have been looking and ‘waiting for. Thanks for giving acoustic guitarists our own magazine in a world where heavy metal licks are unfortu- nately king. Perhaps real music can ‘once again become popular. But either ‘way, my Martin D-35 and 1 will surely enjoy this opportunity Scott A. Blair Versailles, Kentucky mdotins Fine Handmade G Andersen ANDERSEN | _ Stringed Instruments 503 N, eth Seattle, WA 98103 206 © 632-5986 Write or ell for price list Alright! I'm ecstatic about your new magazine. A couple suggestions if may: Could you include a who's-playing- Tnever can find out where my acoustic idols are playing Also, help! I've got tendonitis. Any ‘acoustic peers with a miracle answer? Kyle Patten Des Moines, lowa CORRECTIONS Bill Morrissey's Philo/Rounder record ing Standing Eight (Goodbye to High way 61," July/August 1990) is available fon CD as well as LP and cassette, The complete score of Bryan Johanson's Simple Suite for Guitar (Solo, July/Av gust 1990) is available from Theodore Presser, Presser Place, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010. The Bruce Cockburn songbooks Gong Craft, July/August 1990) cost 821.95 each (includes shipping to US. postage is extra within Canada) from O.RC. Publications, PO Box 4061 Station E, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada KIS 463. . Model 18 Archtop GuitarYOU’RE LOOKING AT THE CLEANING POWER OF A LEADING PAPER TOWEL. ‘The techniques known as “clear cutting” By cutting down all the trees in one fell swoop, « bottom line minded capuain of industry has saved a few dollars, ‘The only down side is that without the tees, the soil will wash away; which means thatthe whole area will be deforested for a few hundred years \Weat Mother Jones thought you might like to know which com panies care more about maximizing their profits than protecting the environment ‘That's why wel give you 2 free 300 page guide to socially respon sible companies with a subscription to Mother “Shopping For A Beer World” rates the polices and practices of hundreds of companies. You'llsee where they stand on crucial socal issues; from the environment to South Altics, ‘And, for lading edge politcal insight, there's no better guide than ‘Mother Jones. We've earned our reputation for powerful investigative reporting by publishing exposés months, or sometimes even years, before they appear in The Now York Times or on Sixty Minutes MAL TO MOTTE ERS MOTHER JONES sng.CONTRIBUTORS ‘Sharon Isbin is head and principle fac. ulty member of the Juilliard School's first guitar department, founded in Sep- tember 1989. Her recent recording JS. Bach, Complete Lute Suites (Virgin Clas- sics) has received outstanding critical acclaim worldwide and was selected by Gramophone Magazine as a Critic’s Choice Recording of the Year in 1989, ‘Stove James is a guitarist, performer, ‘and luthter. His cassette Tivo Track Mind is available from Pork Chop Musie, PO Box 12895, San Antonio, TX 78212. He also appears on the anthologies Live ‘Set/On Air (KUTFM, Austin, Texas) and Kernille '87 (Kerrville Festival Founda- tion), and he writes for Juke Blues and Living Blues Magazine. Laura Koplewitz Is a composer and music journalist currently pursuing a Ph.D. in music composition at the City University of New York. Linda Manzer lives in Toronto, On: tario, Canada, and has been building acoustic gultars since 1974 John MeGann is 4 freelance musician, teacher, and author based in Boston. His recordings include John McGann Plays Bach, Debussy, and Rodrigo, origi- nal transcriptions for guitar, mandola, land mandocello. A winner of national ‘mandolin and guitar flatpicking con- tests, he is currently preparing a jazz recording project with Matt Glaser. Paul Neri is a luthler based in Guilford, Connecticut. He contributes articles to the Connecticut Classical Guitar Society and is currently writing a manual about guitar maintenance for the musician. Also a guitarist and composer, he per- forms solo and with the duo Las Guitarras, ‘Stephen Funk Pearson's recording Hudson River Debut is available trom Kyra Records, 104 Magazine St., Cam- bridge, MA 02139, He also has a series, of instructional tapes for beginning gu- tarists, Not Just Classical Guitar, from Homespun Tapes in Woodstock, New York. Derk Richardson is a freelance music reviewer and a regular contributor to the San Franeisco Bay Guardian and the Fast Bay Express. He is also the author (of 22 Days in Thailand (Joh Mulr Publi: cations, Santa Fe, 1990). Joffrey Pepper Rodgers is editor of Acoustic Guitar. He writes for a variety ‘of publications on books and music, and is a guitarist, songwriter, and stu dent of Indian classical music. Jim Wood lives in Fairview, Tennes- See, and works as a performer, studio musician, and instructor of fiddle and guitar in Nashville. Paul Zollo edits SongTalk, the quar- terly publication of the National Acad- ey of Songwriters in Los Angeles. He is. a freelance music journalist, a writer of ‘more than 500 songs, and leads the rock band the Ghosters, which performs in and around Los Angeles. Photographs: Cover, page 28, © Mare PoKempner; pages 5 (top), 42, by Gary Moon; pages 5 (center), 38, 41, © Jack Vartoogian; pages 5 (bottom), 50, by Brian Pickel; page 10 by Cecilia Van Hollen: page 14 by Jill Krementz; page 21 by Christian Steiner, page 23 © Waring Abbott; page 26 by Clarence Stark; page 38 by Leela Sayendra; pages 35-37 by David Viens Mlustrations: Page 10 by Timm Sin: ‘lair, page 12 by Dugald Stermer, page 18 by Jaclyne Scardova: page 34 by Eileen ODonnell ACOUSTIC i Publisher David A. Lustorman ator Jettrey Pepper Rodgers ‘Advertsing Susan M. Malone ‘Ast Direction ‘Flam Sinclair ‘Subsenptions Dannie Mehocich Prodction Cynthia Marshall Bookkeeping inl Davenhaver Art Boards Ken Pokeny [Assitance Matt Selinger Printing The Ovid Boll Prose Mail PO Box 767 ‘San Ancolmo, CA 94060 Shipping 412 Rod Hil Ave. #18 ‘San Anselmo, Ch 94960 Telephone (415) 485-6066 ‘ACOUSTIC GUAR SS Oe punt ‘mony ty The ag Later Corparaton #12 ec Avene 15S Aine CASE) ‘stot ma a od ts poste pedi Sidon ed steal ang eon ‘Sharon bin “Stlng' rm Sr Mc 1888 ‘larson Petco wed pom ‘Sch Hay Far © 198 Sweeter mai, ‘ted y pet “ure an per ‘em acing Hans ae ey em {oa Ato ects cenit 80 Tne ‘Sg eter Corporation, al A ase,IF YOU PLAY ONE OF THESE . IF YOURS I. BOWED STRINGED INSTRUMENT, YOU OUGHT to be reading STRINGS. No matter what kind of music you play, you'll learn from and enjoy every issue STRINGS is for violinists and fiddlers. Jazz bassists and orchestra section players. Celiss, violist, and everyone who loves to make music with the bow. In any one issue, you may find Tennessee fiddling tran- scriptions... health tips for string players... a history of the viola d'amore ... brand new duer for bass and cello... an interview with composer Lou Harrison and lots more. “One can’s imagine a better-written, more authoritative ‘magazine than this forthe steinged instrument enthus- st," is how Library Journal once put it ‘STRINGS also helps you follow the instrument and bow marker, with regular, detailed reports on the auctions in England and che US. Discover what STRINGS has for you by subscribing for a year at the money-saving rate of just $28.00 for six big STRINGS | ‘NIGEL KENNEDY AND "THE ANIMAL? YOU SHOULD HAVE SIX OF THESE! bi-monthly issues. If you're ever dissatisfied, your full pay- ‘ment will be refunded, with no questions asked. ‘You'll enjoy STRINGS. You'll profic by it, too. Why not subseribe today? 1 Yes! I want a year of STRINGS for just $28.00. Enter my subscription today. Name adress Ey aay ae ed ee Add $7.50 for Canada, $15.00 for other foreign or- ders. Pay in US funds on US bank, or local funds on local bank. {_ ] Payment enclosed, {Bill me latex. Send to STRINGS, Box 767, San Anselmo, CA 94960 ee eee a oe 2sume dnna408 WeicoMe 70 TH SECOND HUE oF Acoustic Guitar. Back in the late'50s a songwriter named Anne Bredon walked Into the Berkeley, California, studios ‘of public radio maverick KPEA to play atune on alive performance show, “The Midnight Special” A song called “Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You" impressed one fellow participant, Janet Smith, enough ‘that she adapted Bredon's banjo arrangement to guitar and added It to her repertoiré. So begins, innocently enough, the long strange journey of one litle folk song. The melody of “Babe. I'm Gonna Leave You" begins on a striking high note, Smith says maybe that was what caught the ear of a young Joan Baez a few years later, when she heard Smith sing tin an informal ater- hours college gathering. Soon Baer’ volce carried the strains of “Babe, 'm Gonna Leave You"; eventually the song wound up in fone of her songbooks, credited properly to Anne Bredon, as well fs on record on Joan Bae in Con cert where twas described only as a “white blues” ‘Across the Atlantic, that same high note must have hooked a young guitarist named Michael Hodges plays “Gimme Shelter” ‘at the Strawberry Musle Festival THE SONG REMAINS THE SAME... | 5. BABE TM GONNA LEAVE ¥ Anne Bredon; Ryerson Musid figures; he ‘adopted Baez®s version, slowed It down, and dramatically Led Zeppelindzed it for the band’s 1969 debut album, Unbeknownst to Smith or Anne Bredon, “Babe, Fm Gonma Leave You" was now BABE, I'M GONNA LEAVE YOU identified as “Traditional, ar- ranged by Jimmy Page”: in a mate ter of time that credit metamorphosed into “Words and music by Jimmy Page” ‘No one realized that the song, meanwhile, had two confiting “When they booked me, they said they wanted to expand into some new age music. So here’s @ new age song by the Rolling Stones.” copyrights. So while Bredon col lected royalties from Baez's re cording, Page's publisher, Supertype Music, eashed in on Zeppelin’ platinum album. In 1981 Smith was stl unaware of the tune's twisting journey when she sang it in her living room and was flored by the comment fof her son: "Mom, I didn't know you played any Led Zeppelin songs.” Since that moment Smith and Brecon have joined together to set the record and the royalties straight on “Babe, I'm Gonna Leave You.” The basic facts of what happened with the song {are indisputable. but the stick Ing point is, as usual, what that means in dollars and cents for ‘Anne Bredon, Smith says the past royalties from Led Zeppelin’s album are out of reach because of the statute of limitations, But Smith is now putting together an Anne Bredon songbook called The Gate a the End of the Word, and i's taken plenty of legal wrangling to save her and Bredon from facing the ultimate irony: having to pay Jimmy Page's publishers in forder to print Bredon’s own aeROUND NOTES IN A SQUARE HOLE tansy dnma408 Sout wove sco 1 wremorwep creating new musica fslons, my "perm kings" description Imandolinst David Gramanin his Went Barenberg—asoin this (adhaveappearedon MV Un eee sie rite tea a eee plas) deserve the ebbing lotrsot mosican began wth A note from Sleven Leavitt." Twoudoot, however use ay some biuntory questions abut (ee tatters, pase) rexponding clothing or gee criteria for de the orgs of Dawg, thenamehe to “MTV Unplugs” In the pre- ciding whom we cover In the nes for his onoman genre mir ue rere te again ef sagan any acourSe liar see scovstiemusieWasithberating the wrerfmusican quanday.in_ tus fa game wrote MTV tovind a new nome for your thatariciihadalitleknat the Unplgs thinking | wes ayng tos aed xp ola ety targa MTV. wth etercrypen Lent read HIT LIST Tagurec would jst becom rockers “ying V-snging perm ting tat Iwas buying into venient,” Grisman said, “because kings,” as I wrote—and Leavitt them. The distinction between NEW RECORDINGS WE TOOK FOR A SPIN Deople were stating to ask, found tis tobe evidence cf" thowe two vews i afine one, andcan' seemto put away ‘What is this music?’ [figured if1 very narrow vision” of music. that's for sure. Martin Simpson, Leaves of hada ter for they wou Clothier do ot make the msi. "At Acouic Guta we'l be life Tadtonal alas trom the ‘ask me anymore, but now 'm clan, he sald: “Remember that doing our best to use the com ‘doomed to answer this question prejudice s judging someone by _muncative strengths ofthe mage about where the name came their appearance and not their azine format without pinning the from... not that important person.” muse we describe in false oF lim- tometocallitanything,butfolks True enough. Within heavy iting categories—a tough task, like journalists always have to metal as within folk, there are but one worth attempting. put it in some compartment” good musicians and bad musi- Rather than spending too much ‘Touché, clans, regardless of their garb. time arguing about whether to As amusilan, [knew too well Yet MTV was an attractive satite call something Celtic, country ‘what he meant, but as ajournal- target for a magazine for acous- blues, or classical (or unplugged Ist I was still butting against a tie musicians, who are often rock), we'll try to tell a simpler very real wall: How can I write marginalized or ignored by the story: Here's some great music concretely and usefully about rockoriented media, and I went made with an acoustie guitar. Something as fluld as music, for it. And Td probably do st You might want to check't out which communicates in ways again because it was fun, and be- —letrey Pepper Rodgers British Isles, arranged simply allen to words, without compart- eause many musicians who fit and lyrically for guitar and ‘mentalizing or trivializing it? played sith alfecting warmth Musle ike Grisman's evades de- (Ghanachle, 37 E. Clinton St scription more than seme. PEE ATER THE COLD WAR? Neon 80TH) ‘even the most “pure” oF “trad tonal” music overflows catego- strings. A collection of sensitively les and pigeomholes; the best performed classical and folk gut musicians ofall eamps don't play {ar Instrumentals—Cuban, lish, genres, they Just play. They ex- Japanese, Shaker, (We'll pass Dress and enjoy the sounds, and ‘only on the few slightly sacehs- the writers come along to trans- ‘ine pop tunes, la *Vincent.”) late the experience into another (Muriel Anderson, PO Box 168, language: the written word, Elmhurst, 60126) ‘As David Bromberg attests ln [Northern Lights, Take You 20 this Issue, the labeling of muse the Shy. Spinted blvegrass, tradi profoundly affects a musician's tonal and progressive, high- career. When a booking lighted by Taylor Armerding’s ‘agent/elub owner/talent scout silvery voice and Bill Henry's ‘aks, “What is this music?" tis a fluid guitar work ving Fish, distinct disadvantage not to 1304 W. Schubert, Chicago, IL have a concise answer. The 60614) music business (as opposed to Bulfalo Guitar Quartet. New the musicians’ community) Music for Four Guitars, Bluesy wants to have it both ways: It bends, angular harmonies, buzz- ‘wants innovative music that's ing Asian sonorties—an exciting easy to describe in familiar and challenging collection. The terms. Thats a conundrum that guitars blend seamlessly, like has definite career ramifications fone 24string instrument. (New for artists with widevanging in- S.vorga to ploughaharee, gure to butter World Records, 701 Seventh lerests, lke Brombets, oF 1h0Se Ghrew-eringe? Mlustration by David Suter ‘ve. New York, NY 10038) ‘mission toetter from San Antonio Dear Acoustic Guitarists, Its been raining on the Balcones Faull, The country between Austin and San Antonio, which has lately resembled a set from Viva Zapata, looks almost Celt. All this Verdure suggests an acoustle soundtrack and, sure enough, the year It rained may flso be remembered as the year ofthe box. The electric Texan has been an Important figure in the American musical cosmology since Eddie Durham wired his Kalamazoo; but If you think all we'e doing down here i frying Showman stacks, you missed the bus, bubba, Just gas up and look around, QWateh fat low water crossings.) Tn Austin you don’t have to look far. If all the nightclubs in town were lad out end to end they'd... wel, never mind what they'd do. You get the kdea. Mayor Cooke ‘opines that the Capitol City should welcome musical talent as if were software technology, and i looks lke he's getting his wish, Nowhere Is ths min-boom more apparent than on the acoustic scene. This fs home to a variety of artists, from the [Andearinfluenced Toa} Amart to the uproarious Austin Lounge Lizards, who come ‘on like Tom Lehrer might have f he'd worn boots, drunk beer, and played bluegrass. High standards of guitarismo are set by the mult-instrumentaiss like Champ Hood ‘and Danny Barnes, who represent the tip of an Austin guitar iceberg in their blend of country, jazz, and blues. As usual, hardly anybody seems to be making any real ‘money on all this activity, but when the local luthier increases production, 1's got to be an indicator af some kind. Bill Collings sits in the parking lot behind his order ‘ming workshop in South Austin, comparing notes with a jazz Myou think guitarist rom Birmingham, Alabama, They're making the world . 2 better place by deciding how big an thole can be before it Us detracts from the appearance of an instrument. The subject is is ‘one of Collings’ pristine, fullwoiced blonde archtops. Conver- Se ee sation turns to the guitar's extraordinary amplitude. Not too here is frying much meat in the middle, Bill advises the aspiring face gradiae tor... and don’t thin it out to nothing a the edges hum Showman ‘Talk turns back to Hhole size, Discussions lke this one have been known to stop time, so it's back inside for a look at the stacks, you shop and another contab with one of Bills assistants about the missed the thickness sander, why Englemann spruce Is good, and, of course, the perennial “to dovetail or not to dovetail” question, bus, bubba. Atter a'while, it’s time to kick the old vehicle to life and head ‘south to watch the sunset over Twin Sisters on Route 165 between Dripping Springs and Blanco. From this vantage point, the view includes a large area of Hill Country. Decidedly rural but easily accessible from Austin or San Antonio, the hills are a longtime favorite stomping ground for musicians and songwriters. Barbe- cue joints and ice houses display Polaroids of the proprietor with Willie. t seems that, every hamlet has a resident tunesmith: Hal Ketcham in New Braunfels, Peter Rowan, In Blanco, Robert Earl Keen in Bandera... . They come out at night to places lke the Luckenbach Store, the front bar at Gruene Hall, and the beer garden at the Leon Springs Cafe. The spirit of Jimmle Rodgers, who spent his last years in Kerrville, is Invoked at these hots, stilla poignant mix of country, earny, and cowboy. Back in San Antonio, a trip to the south side includes a stop at Alberto Macias’ workshop on Division Avenue. In a two-story green building, set back {rom the street amidst a riot of vegetation, Alberto is carrying on the work of his father, the legend- ary Martin Macias. In contrast to Collings’ modern facility, this time-cluttered luthi- ery has the dark, woody look and smell of tradition, As Alberto pauses to talk, his helper uses a handsaw to size the ample neck billet for a new bajo sexto. ‘The bajo is a remnant of the once-extensive bandurria family and superficially resembles a 12string guitar. IU’s tuned an octave lower, though, and completely in fourths (@E aA dD GG CC FF). The bracing, bridge, and heel block are modified toabsorb the tension of the massive strings, Macias bajos are prized for their durability as well as ornate good looks and sound. An early Martin “Macias instrument is the nortefto equiv- alent of a prewar Martin, The bajo is still the favored backup for the diatonic button accordion. In the fefano conjunto it supplies throaty bari tone runs and propulsive backbeat chords. Alberto, however, when in the proper mood, will solo on Mexican tunes he learned from his father that predate the introduction of the squeeze box to norteno musie. When asked why the bajo sexto has not taken its place in other forms of acoustle musle, Alberto remarks simply, “It’s too hare.” It's 3am. in the Alamo City and noth Ing but baked cabrito and cemita de rues will do, Mi Tierra, an all-night eat ery downtown near the farmers market, ccomes in handy at times like these. AS hot coffee arrives, Chépe Solis strolls by. He's just gotten off work, still wear- Ing his ornate rosewood requinto gultar ‘and counting a roll of tip money with an inward smile. Raibthin and aquiline in a dark concho suit with a back-swept ‘mane of black and silver hair, he’s the very picture of a professional mariachi Chépe's instrument, the requinto, is the lead voice of the familiar Mexican guitar tio, Not to be confused with the vihuela de golpe, jarana, or cuatro, which are principally rhythm instru- ‘ments, the requinto Is tuned a fourth above the standard guitar (ADGCEA) and produces staccato treble runs and bright chord fills to complement har- mony vocals. Yes, he's been traveling, explains Chépe, punctuating his conversation with rippling fingerpicked virtuosity. Sure Australia's nice. Like Texas, No, he doesn't mind the hours, but he's not as young as he used to be, Still playing? Good. Keep it up, CChépe Solis wanders off with a riff ‘and a~Buenas noches,” leaving us with a hhead full of guitar at 3 a.m. in a Mexican restaurant 150 miles from the third world. Good a place as any to say so Jong. More when it happens. Play on. Yours truly, ey ee Steve James ‘Amplified violin has never sounded richer, clearer and fuller: Bravo BTS." —Michael Urbaniak Barbera ‘Transducer Systems 6725 13th Avenue Brookiyn, New York 11219 (718) 256-0665 Finely crafted transducer bridges fr violin widh an independent pickup fr each string "Definitely a breakthrough for acoustic/electric string players." —Noel Pointer Vas Gs stings 218 ie rae Rae Ce, Michigan © A015» OSA, Accum Seng: Brig Bros = White Brora « Phar Bros * Vinge rome Sik Stee " 6 i2arring oer Guiarse: erry Lynn Kline * Poster IMlstratin John Van Hamersvedquestion Should a left-handed person play guitar lefchanded? 1spin I don't believe there is only one correct way to play if you are left- handed, I have seen some left-handed people play righthanded with no trou- ble, and some who had played right- handed for an extended time switch to leftchanded because they found it eas- ler, Before ordering a specially built gu tar in which the inside bracingis altered to accommodate the reversed string ‘order, experiment with playing right- handed, To speed up this decision-making process, you could practice for an equal amount of time each day the same exer~ ‘elses and pleces right-handed on your regular guitar, and then left-handed on a second guitar whose strings have been reversed. Within a relatively short pe- riod of time, it should become clear ‘which position is more comfortable for Jon Is it possible to play without using fingernails? isan Classical guitarists can play without using nails, but they should be aware that in doing so they are sacrific- ing certain possibilities of tone color and projection—all of which affect in- terpretation and musical presentation. ‘The nall, when used alone or with the flesh of the fingertip, adds clarity to ar- ticulation and aids in projection, from the softest to the loudest passages. For example, a planissimo passage played conly with the flesh will sound fuzzy and indistinet, yet the same dynamic shaped with the nail projects beautl- fully, even in a large hall ‘The nail is also useful in achieving a variety of timbral colors. By varying the angle of the attack, the amount of flesh used with the nail, and the position of the attack relative to the bridge and fi gerboard, for ex: ample, a player ean achieve an Wear gloves crenestral spec- while doing um of souncs, from metallic to carpentry, hauntingly sweet x ‘Without nails, the ROaEne range is far more dishes, or —_ limited Players who gardening. question using hails because And don’t theirs are hooked or brittle and eae, breakable should fights! first determine if their problem is correctable, el- ther by nutri- tional changes or by applying a hard- ener to the upper third of the nall. Extra care to prevent nail damage might also solve the problem: Wear gloves while doing carpentry, washing dishes, lifting heavy items, gardening, painting, or using harsh solvents; open doors and dlal the telephone with your left hand, ‘And don't pick any fights! Shape nails, with a good file and use a fine grade of sandpaper (preferably the silicone- coated variety) daily to keep edges smooth, I none of the above works, another ‘option is to wear false nails or carefully shaped ping-pong-ball cuttings affixed with Krazy Glue. | once had a student who even used his wife's toenails! For players without professional aspira: tions, however, gluing on nails may not be worth the bother or the health risk that could result from regular use. In such cases, simply enjoy nailless play- ing without being concerned about the demands of concertizing. Alter all, ‘many famous 19th-century players, per- forming on gut strings in small halls, used only flesh, ‘question Should the stroke go into the hhand or should it go upwards? 1sein In a rest stroke, the finger moves ‘witha slight downward pressure onto. the string itis striking and then contin- tues in the direction of the string behind it. After “resting” momentarily on that string, the finger returns to its forward position for the next attack. Rest stroke With the thumb is similar, except that when itis combined with the return, the entire gesture creates a circular motion, Free stroke, however, is quite different. To avoid touching the string behind, fone should move the finger upward at an angle toward the palm or wrist. Ifthe finger moves upward in a vertical or perpendicular motion, the string will ounce vertically onto the frets and produce an ugly snapping sound, auesrion How can a classical guitar ‘stone among so many—find a niche ‘and make @ living by performing and teaching?tsein There are never any guarantees, But if you want to teach, you should get a masters or doctorate degree in music from a reputable university or conser- vatory. It might be useful to become proficient in other areas of music as ‘well—such as theory, history, ear train- ing, jazz or folk styles—since job de scriptions often Involve skills in addition to teaching classical guitar. And it is essential to have excellent training before the graduate level, Ideally a player should be For the Cetera ee aspiring See eer eee rcs EeRrmnets, ‘of music from the the most Renaissance to See important Rontaeaieie ; ing performer, question [0 the most impor- ask is, What tant question to asks, What ean can contribute to the falta world that wl be ferent that willbe *aivable, and compelling? To different, answer this re ulres searching valuable, and one’s innermost compelling? Cover ana create saaearales traordinary that hat neee been done before. t may mean bringing un Usual repertlre to the fore by unear thing and editing lost or forgotten compositions, or by making innovative, effective transcriptions and arrange. ments, Working with outstanding com posers to create new works also has great potential, The collaboration could expand the musical vision and technical Tesources of the gultar, inrease the instrument’ exposure, and further en hance its credibility, expecially when prestigious composers are involved. Otter ideas to pursue might include performing in unusual ensembles, ere ing new fusion approaches, and deve oping technical innovations. Above all the player should aspire to musicality Of the highest order, technical control tnd fluency, and a strong, personal and Bistnctie yoloe contribute ‘SEND questions Te Master Class, c/o Acoustic Guitar PO Box 767, San An- selmo, CA 94960, . —. Guitar Strings Played By Top Artist: N usa S77 Peer A Complete Course for Acoustic Guitar The Harris Guitar Method by Peter Smith 3 volumes and accompanying cassettes Endorsed by Norbert Kraft, winner of the Segovia International Competition. “For the beginning student, I don’t believe there is a better approach in print.” Available at better music stores everywhere REE FREE! The Frederick Harris Music Company © AZ Publications of Quality and Distinction since 1904THE PUBLISHING CONNECTION A little business savvy can open the door to an important market for your songs What is a music publisher? A music publisher Is a person in the business of finding songs and attempt- ing to get those songs recorded, ‘The songwriter is the creator of the song. He has every right to serve as his ‘own publisher; there is no obligation to have a song published by an outside publisher, and it requires no license to become a publisher. ‘The publisher owns and controls the ‘copyright of the song. If your song is published by a publisher other than yourself, you as the songwriter relin- uish control over the use of a copy- right, This means the publisher will decide who the ssongis pitched to ‘and how it can be used. A masic What purpose publisher does a music pub- Zi lisher serve for a has the job Songwriter? of DTS Unlike a pub findinga —,_lisher of litera ture who can suitable publish a book or magazine himselt Product but ang distribute also of that product, a music publisher finding some bas the ob of not 3 only finding a use for it that suitavie product, E but also of plae- will generate ing that product: income. finding some use for it that will generate income. Therefore, the ‘muste publisher's main service for the songwriter is the placing of her song (on fa record, in a movie, ete.). Once a song Is recorded and distributed, then there Js a market for the sheet music, al though this market is nowhere as large ‘By Paul Zollo as It used to be back In the days of crowding around the old piano and singing standards of the day. Publishers also serve as administra- tors for a songwriter. Besides placing the song, they can do the paperwork, the administration Involved with the collection of royalties for the song, as well as serve as the representative for the songwriter for any potential uses of the song, What kind of demo package should I put together for a publisher? Ws advisable to put together the most professional package you can, keeping jn mind how other demo packages will compete with yours for a publisher's attention. It doesn't take that much to appear professional: 1) Never include more than three ‘songs on a cassette tape. 2) Make sure that the names of the songs are clearly written or typed on the front of the tape itselt, 3) Make sure that your copyright ‘symbol with your name and the current year appear on the front of the tape. (It ‘song was actually written seven years ‘ago, there's no need to write that year ‘on the tape. Always use the current ‘year. You don’t want to give the Impres- ‘sion to a publisher that you are giving him an old song that has been sitting ‘around for years and that nobody has hhad any interest in. You want to give the Impression of coming in with new, fresh material.) On the back of the tape write your name (and your collaborators" ‘names, if any) and your telephone num- ber. I the tape is separated from the lyric sheet—which is likely—a pub- lisher will be able to track it easily to you. 4) Enclose a single, typed lyric sheet for each song, Lyries should be double- spaced, and choruses should always be indented. Publishers don't always (i ever) listen all the way to the end of most songs. But if the chorus is in- dented and clearly marked, you'll have fa better chance of having the song heard at least through to the chorus. And if they like the chorus they might listen further, 5) Use capital letters and lowercase letters when typing your lyrics. Some writers feel that It looks more Impres- sive to use all capitals, but actually IT LOOKS KIND OF DUMB WHEN EVERY SINGLE WORD OF A SONG IS WRITTEN IN CAPITAL LETTERS. Stick to normal type. 6) Write a very short cover letter, Introducing yourself as the writer, lst- ing the songs and giving some casting Ideas, Don’t take up the publisher's time by writing long stories about the song, why they are important, the inspi- ration behind them, ete. Your song has {otto speak for itself. 7) If you have any stationery with a letterhead, use it. Again, you want to appear as professional as possible, and a letterhead with your name or the name of your “company” (it your name ls Smith you can call your company Smithsongs, for example) will make it appear that songwriting for you is a business, not a hobby. Publishers want to work with professionals, not hobby- ists, 8) Enclose a selF-addressed, stamped envelope big enough and with sufficient, postage for a publisher to mail back your tape. Don’t expect to get it back if you don’t earry out this step, 9) Its not necessary to use a tape ccase, and they can make mailing bulky. Most publishers prefer that you wrap the lyric sheet around the tape and se ccure it with a rubber band, IFT only pat three songs on my demo, should I save my best song for last? No. Put your best song first. Publishers ‘often don't listen to entire tapes. If they aren't entranced, interested, or hooked in somewhat by that very first song they hear, chances are that your tape ‘might be quickly discarded. You have to figure out not only which song is best,The complete and definitive classical guitar method. 12 years in the writing by master guitarist Celedonio Romero. 180 pages $18.50 list. Published and distibuted ty Juan Orozco Corporation POBox 469, Woodmere, NY 11598 but also which is most commercial and accessible. Once you get a publisher on your side, then you ean risk being more challenging. But you have to do what you can to get his attention in the first place. [x mailing in a demo the best way to go ‘about it? Wouldn't it be better to go into a publisher’ office in person? Ik depends on the nature of the pub: lisher. Some would prefer if you send a tape first as a means of introduction, and this is probably a good idea, But, by all means, a personal appointment with ‘ publisher in which you can meet face- to-face can be much more effective than sending a tape in the mail. Its also a good deal scarier, as it will usually lead to quicker rejections and the overall hu- miliation of sitting across from a pub- lisher, having him put your heart's work Into a tape machine, listen to a minute of it, and say something along the lines of “I don't hear it” or “It's nice but It’s hot what I need right now. Bring me a hit This kind of experience can break a songwriter’s spirit. If you want to suc- ceed in this field, you have to be able to sit through that kind of treatment and be ready to start again tomorrow. Be- cause tomorrow might be the day when ‘publisher says, "Yeah! I want this one!” Once I get through to a publisher, then what happens? A.couple of things can happen. Here are some possibilities: 1) The publisher wants to hold your song. He doesn’t offer you a contract he simply agrees to hold the song for a certain period of time so that he can test it out. During that time, he will try to place the song, and if he has success, then he will sign a contract with you in which you agree that he will serve as the exclusive publisher of the song for a period of time, during which you cannot pitch the song elsewhere. 2) The publisher will sign an excli= sive onesong contract with you imme- diately, rather than hold the song first. ‘This means that you can't take the song elsewhere. 3) The publisher will sign a nonex- Clusive one-song contract, meaning that he has the rights to try and place the song elsewhere during this period. excenrren rnom Beginning Song. turtter’s Answer Book, © 1990 by Paul Zollo. Used by permission of Writer's . Add pickups for amplification. And a Passac EC-100 for warm, clear, natural sound. {ne eda Png EC-10 preamp | sec the sound they wane om clesto | fsrumenrs: Because pickups respond othe ‘bration: of he soundboard and mie the al Imporntairreonance ofthe soundhole "The Pac EC 100 lectonicall recreates | there ow tones ards dhem tothe sianal | poimpto Be ample So you see he warm, fatal gund ofan acoustical advantages ofa “Wie or calf inherent Perec Cor oraion, 159 Ames Are Mipias,CA98035, Phpne 408/946-5 STEFAN GROSSMAN'S GUITAR WORKSHOP pee ee ee mon Fasoht oy Lary Get eat arbiters Se ea mb Gary, Daw is ut in hs a one nourA MUSICAL MIXTURE Hot on the heels of the Skaals and Bilbarns FEEL A LITTLE BIT LIKE A FOREIGN correspondent as I'm writing this arti- cle in Paris and submitting it from Lon- don. It's actually quite appropriate, however, as I wrote some of Six Mixtures while traveling through Europe and first tried out the ideas in concert here. In fact I originally named the pleces in Spanish as Quatro Mezclas, then In French as Cing Mélanges, before they ‘expanded to reach their English title ‘Six Mixtures follows on the heels of INTRODUCING © an outstanding collection of graded solo guitar repertoire and studies #8 albums — for the beginner (Album 1) to the advanced performer (Album 8) © essential repertoire by Dowland, Sor, Giuliani, and Tarrega 20th century compositions by major ‘composers including Walton and Castelnuovo-Tedesco new transcriptions and pieces written specifically for the collection compiled and edited by a team of tinguished performers and teachers including international touring and recording artist Norbert Kraft “Am indispensable resource for teachers, “Some of the best guitar reprtire students, and players ofall levels.” superbly eited and presented.” ‘Aaron Shearer, ‘Nicholas Goluses, North Carolina School of the Arts Manhattan School of Music ‘The Guitar Series is available at most better music stores. (RQ®™ The Frederick Harris Music Company | WA Publications of Quality and Distinction since 1904 two other groups of pleces: Four Skaals and Five Bilbarns, (Don't work too hard to decipher those names; I made them up, just as I made up the music.) The original idea of Six Mixtures was to cre- ate contemporary concert pleces that would also be accessible to students, Though I can't bear the concept of “studies,” the technical demands re- quited by each individual piece are inci- dentally appropriate to guitar study and thus provide an extra benefit. Six Mix tures is dedicated to my friend Neil An- phon Funk Pearson derson, a teacher and a talented musi- lan, Tuse the name mixtures for this group because the pieces vary in style, Tength, and difficulty. Each part has a title that is instructive Gi indicating the tempo) and evocative (in begging a mu- sical interpretation): Strolling, Turning, Running, Rocking, Rolling, and Hurry- Ing. I'm happy to have people perform fewer than all six, and/or change the order, but 1 would prefer they use the ‘umbrella ttle Six Mixtures even if only four movements are listed beneath. 1 enjoy the slight mental confusion that incongruity produces. It is similar to By Stephen Funk PearsonStrolling, from Six Mixtures Music by Stephen Funk Pearson 4 ‘ Publications. Used by permission.TA TA ett and D'Addario PTT Ce SL sy ee Pee eee Paneer rrr an Maga Pe rt Cleans ao Seen eee een Soe tee teu ee) Ca CU eee having an audience wonder in advance what a Skaal might be. Strolling starts out simply; even abe- sinner can attempt the first 12 bars. As the title implies, the steady eighth-note melodic motion sets out at a walking pace, (The mood and abilities of the performer will determine whether itis a brisk pace or not.) A simple bass ak companiment then joins the melody. The footing gets a litle tricky as the bass becomes syncopated and some dissonance is introduced. As with any stroll, say through the woods to the river, the landscape changes, you pass through varied places, and eventually you return, feeling good, to your start: ing point. That's how you should feel when reaching the end. If the final or: namented melody proves too tricky, {eel free to write your own ornaments (orto play the melody In its original sim ple form over the bass as written. ‘The last mixture, Hurrying, consists ‘of an unusual metric division based on the denomination of ten beats, with a syncopated accompaniment accenting the second and eighth beats; when played fast, the effect is never to feel completely balanced—indeed, as one ‘would be while hurrying. CYou can tell T'm in England now, as indeed and quite creep into usage and seem terribly nor~ mal) Part of the reason I'm in Europe is because European audiences have been quicker to accept American music— ‘and thus my music—than were Ameri an audiences. On this trip I've bee hearing some of my new compositions. in concerts in France and England, most notably two performances at London's Wigmore Hal: Paul Gregory (guitar) and Andrew Sherwood (violin) performing Mountain Moor, and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet performing Elasomorph, ‘There is a history here of appreciation for American music—in France, for in stanee, Jazz is almost a religion, For some reason, people don't look for new things in their own backyard. They fig tre if is in their backyard, it can't be very interesting. Almost everyone, It seems, has to leave their hometown to find either their voice or their audience. the comptere scone of Six Mixtures is available from Guitar Solo Publica- tions, 1411 Clement St., San Francisco, CA 94118. teach and perform Strolling and Rolling from Six Mixtures in my cas sette series Not Just Classical Guitar from Homespun Tapes, Box 694, Wood. stock, NY 12498, 7AMPLIFICATION ON THE CONCERT STAGE Classical guitarists find varied ways fo turn up—and help audiences tune in AMPLIFICATION: FOR MANY CLASSICAL fultarists, this very word conjures up Images of a musical chamber of terrors, In place of the beautiful shape of the unadorned classical guitar, there sits monstrosity of an instrument, from which protrude dark, thick electrical wires that snake across the floor to a wall outlet someplace near the stage. Still, there are times when confront- Ing these nightmares is simply a neces- sity, Performers know that in many concert situations, the guitar's natural sound does not project adequately for all listeners to hear comfortably, with- out straining. In these cases there are ways to am- piify the classical guitar success: fully without dis- torting its sound. Carlos Bar. Amplification can highlight the nuances osacLima, a clas oe sical guitarist performer's who also. per artistry and American and - Latin American playing music, has dealt technique. with amplifica: tion systems nce as he did televised shows {n Brazil in his early teens. “The amplifi- cation was horrendous then,” he says “The situation has evolved quite a bit, especially in the last ten or 15 years, 50 that there are excellent amplification systems available for the classical gul- tarist.” "You can't just deal with the issue of volume when you amplify the classical guitar,” Barbosa-Lima says. “You have to address the issue of sound quality, which means the overall sound you achieve by the placement of the amplifi- cation equipment, including the micro- ‘By Laura Koplewite ‘minutos in which to communicate tothe ‘Sound enginoer before going on stat STaaia just three things: Use a medium range, avoid britleness, and avold bumpy’ base.” phone and speakers, your playing tech- rnique, and your interaction with the other performers, ‘The Idea of amplification, in my opinion, is just to give the guitar a ‘sound presence’ for the audience; not in the sense of the electric guitarist, who might make the guitar very loud but rather to provide these two ele- ments to the classical guitar perfor- mance: a) to give a more relaxed presence to the player, so that he can hhave a more expanded dynamic range, ‘and b) to bring out the subtleties of the performer's playing.” One positive eftect of amplifying the guitar he says, s that “you can give the audience a stronger association be tween the live sound of the classical guitar and the gultar in recordings. Sometimes people come to hear the Classical guitar performed in concert, and they are disappointed because there is no amplification and they can't hear the instrument, or because there is bad amplification, and the guitarist sounds like he is playing at a mezzo- forte level only.” Amplification, he says, ‘can create intimacy and dramatically Improve the concert experience for the audience, *You have to be very careful that what you are hearing when you amplify the classical gultar sounds very natu- ral,” notes Barbosa-Lima. “I don’t per- sonally like having monitors blowing the sound out at me; however, it de- pends upon the situation, Once you are comfortable with the amplified sound fof the instrument from your own per- spective as the performer, you need to adjust your ear to be able to hear the Sound as it will be heard by the audi- tence. It is easy to fall into a situation in which you are hearing one sound on stage, but the sound that goes out to the audience is completely different. Barbosa-Lima does not carry his ‘own amplification equipment with him fon tour; the concert halls provide it How does he communicate with sound engineers about his amplification pret ferences? “Once,” he says, “Ihad literally ‘two minutes in which to communicate to the sound engineer before I went on stage for a concert, and the available ‘equipment was not of the best quality In those two minutes, | said just three things to the sound engineer: tse a me- dium range, avold brittleness, and avoid a ‘bumpy’ bass. And the amplif: cation in this concert turned out very ‘well” Normally, he suggests, its best to arrive a day early at sites in which am- plification will be used, to allow for last- ‘minute equipment checks and changes. Echo and reverb may aid in the pro- Jection of the instrument when ampli- fled, says Barbosa-Lima. And careful microphone placement is crucial. "You always want to avold picking up only the higher ranges or only the sounds of the lower notes,” Barbosa-Lima says He places the microphone slightly to the right of and below the guitar's soundhole, and a few inches away fromthe instrument, With this placement the microphone does not directly inter- fere with his performance technique. Sometimes amplification requires a rearrangement of the stage, particularly in concerts of the guitar with an orches- tra, In which the guitarist usually sits between the first violinist and the con- ductor in the stagecenter space cre- ated by the orchestra's semi-circle Although amplification and on-stage monitoring helps the guitarist to hear himself, there is often a need for even further distance from the sounds of the orchestral instruments, “Ihave used a raised podium similar to that of the conductor's podium, but a litte bit lower, when performing with an orchestra,” says Barbosa-Lima. “That way, I can see the conductor without craning my neck up, and he can see me more easily. But you have to be low ‘enough that the conductor Is not going to tap the top of your head! The plat form is very useful, because it also al lows me to be somewhat above the direct sound of the first violins. In this circumstance, if | have a speaker on stage, or a monitor, | will place this be tween myself and the conductor, so that the conductor can also hear my playing very clearly.” The choice of whether to amplify o rot depends very much on the setting, Barbosa-Lima says that the guitar should certainly be amplified when accom nying an orches- tra or another large ensemble, and that even in performance with small en- Audiences appreciate the similarity between sembles—Iike his ified Live 08 with pianist amplified live sonny Scott the sound in pula a good recordings, i atin In contrast to other classical guitarists, BarbosaLima also feels that there are moments when itis appropriate to amplify the guitar in solo concert situation, “This can make ‘an enormous difference, especially in halls which hold 700 or 800 seats or FEELS DS IIS ION more,” he notes. “Again, if you can cre- ‘ate an amplified situation for the instru- ment which allows the listener to associate the in-concert sound of the classical guitar with the sound of the instrument in recordings, audiences ap- preciate the similarity.” ‘Audience size Is another variable. A hall that can hold 500 people but only has 100 people on the night of the per. formance will sound different and re quite a different level of amplification than if it were packed to the brim. The hall’s sound may be more dry and echoey with a small audience, more ‘muffled when filled. When rehearsing in an empty hall, you will need less amp fication than you will on the night of the performance. Ambient sound—people whispering or coughing, or chairs squeaking, for example—can increase your amplification requirements during performance. It's better, when you have a choice, to opt for a more powerful amplification system at a lower volume level, rather than a less powerful system at a higher volume level, The more powerful sys- tem will allow you room to increase the volume level during performance, if necessary. 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You may wish to request as part of your performance contract, that a separate amplification system be provided for the guitar. Often, better re- sults are achleved by feeding the guitar's sound into an independent sound system used exclusively for the guitar. For example, a solo guitarist playing with an orchestra might want to use a hhandselected microphone, fed into a mixing system and a pair of speakers placed on eightfoot poles behind the orchestra, facing the audience. This is. one technique used by guitarist Sharon Isbin, who notes that “this amplification system allows instrumentalists to hear the guitar's sound and coordinate their playing with the soloist. Also, by the ‘time the speaker sound reaches the au- lence, the listener hears a natural mix fof the orchestral instruments and the solo instrument.” Since 1640, consistently supe: Beer David Starobin, a guitarist who fre quently commissions and performs contemporary music for both solo gui tar and guitar with other instruments, prefers a different system: an on-stage amplifier placed near the instrume: “This allows for a unidirectional sound source and gives a much more nati gultaristie sound for both the listener and the performer,” Starobin says, “compared to feeding the instrument's sound Into two speakers perched up high and away from the player.” If the guitar’s sound is amplified through the hall's system, a sound eng neer in the back of the hall can control the mix throughout the concert. Some players would rather let the engineer Judge the proper levels than worry about them during a performance robin and other guitarists, however, prefer to have immediate, on-stage com tol over the instrument's volume and effects Regardless of the style of ampliliea: tion, of course, the effectiveness of any performance still comes down to the playing “Its very important to keep in mind that when you amplify the guitar. you are amplifying the playing technique that yeu already are bringing to the in- strument," says Barbosa-Lima, “When ‘you are using amplification, you must play very cleanly and clearly, because every subtlety comes out in the instrument's amplified sound. . Four GENERATIONS PimentoCUSTOM MADE ACOUSTIC GUITARS BY APPOINTMENT 301 W. NEW YORK AVE. SOMERS POINT, NJ. (609) 927-2486 SWINGING WITH SALLY GOODIN Jazzy accompaniment for contest fiddling, Texas style (OVER THE PAST FEW DECADES TEXAS contest style fiddling has made inroads {nto most regions of North America, and wherever it goes, so goes its partner, Texas-style rhythm guitar. Conteststyle fiddlers and guitarists work The guitar symbiotically. leading lives of style their own but needing each combines the otner to create a RICHARD COLLOPY Guitarmaker 716-8th Ave. Sanfrancisco, Ca. 941s (415)668-0733 complete, unified texture of mel ody, harmony, and’ rhythm, As the fiddle style has evolved, its harmonic and melodic structures of Charlie guitar accompa- Chirrastar a Sees ali ort with the right into a s0- phisticated sub- country genre of folk ae guitar, with appl sensibility of Cations in myriad Bob Wills. ae ‘The evolution of Texas-style rhythm gultar owes much to the west- ern swing of Texan Bob Wills, which has made an enormous impact on country ‘music in general, In Wills’ home state, old-timey fiddling followed the lead of pioneers like Eck Robertson and Benny ‘Thomasson and quickly absorbed west: fern swing's jazz influences—intricate, hot ead lines and swinging rythm. The guitarists accompanying these fiddlers, Inspired by early swing greats such as_| Wills" guitarist and arranger Eldon Mandolin Brothers Lowden Guitars Lowden Guitars, hand made in Irland of all solid eoods feature gold plated tuners, ‘Done nut and bone spit sade (Gor better intonation), pinloss bridge, ‘wood bindings and deluxe hard shell ease, Before you purchase any professional acoustic guitar, ty a LOWDEN at the world’s most comfortable and complete ‘guitar shop: Mandolin Brothers, Lid. ‘Asie by mal eer, FREE CATALOG (718) 981-9226 629 Forest Avan Staton land NY 10320, By Jim WoodExample 1 Example 2 A D BS > ptr yA Bm? 7 gers FEET phere? Dire Dm/F Ae E78 emt A Shamblin, soon developed a country swing style that employed walking bass lines and passing chords. Shamblin forged a new approach that combined the sophisticated harmonic and me- lodie structures of jazz legend Charlie Christian with the country sensibility necessary to back an old-time musician like Wills, This sound, with varying de- grees of jazz Influence, has become the basis for contest-style rhythm, ‘One of the more difficult require ‘ments for playing Texas-style rhythm Is, deciding exactly which chords work ‘and which do not. Many common chord Substitutions cause quite a bit of disso- nance, but they usually work out fine because the fiddle and the guitar are ‘going to the same end even If they take different paths to get there. Indiscrimi- nate alterations to the basic progres- sion, though, result in boring patterns. that obscure the individuality of the ‘melody. You can only learn to bring alive the stylistic subtleties of each tune through experience. “Sally Goodin,” the quintessential contest fiddle tune, is an excellent place to start an investigation of the rhythm guitar style; its moves are fundamental and can be employed to great effect in hundreds of tunes. The transeription in Example 1 is in A major, the most com- mon key for “Sally Goodin,” but these same bass lines and chord substitu- tlons can be transposed easily to any key. The melody given here is very basic, and the accompanying chord progression demonstrates the essen- tial, unadorned harmonic rhythm; the dominant (V) to tonic (1) cadences are the only movements that are absolutely required on the part of the rhythm sec- tion (as a matter of fact, this is precisely the way almost any biuegrass or old- tmey version would go). To this basic version we now add the subdominant (IV) in measures 2, 6, 10, and 14 of the tune. Example? shows the first four measures with the added chord. ‘The resulting progression serves as the foundation on which we shall build the two common chord sequences in Example 3, one with an ascending bass line (measures 1-8) and the other de- scending (measures 9-16). By connect- ing the fundamental changes in the previous example with passing chords land inversions and by extending the length of the V7, we can construct an Interesting bass line that creates mo- ‘mentum and direction; a good bass line should have melodic integrity in itsell While a strong bass line and solidpassing chords can do much to propel the music, more important is generat Ing the right kind of groove, which de- pends on good timing and proper articulation, The lowest note on each chord form should be plucked by itself fon the downbeat (the 1 and 2 of each measure) and should, for the most part, remain ringing until the strum of the full, cchord on the backbeat (the “ands” be- tween the downbeats). The strums should be staceato, with the pick mov- Ing as quickly through the strings as possible (all strokes are down), pe Aah D_ Jamming with musicians who al. ready have a feel for this groove is the best way to develop it yourself, but practicing alone with a metronome should definitely play a large role in your learning. You should practice any. thing that fits into the swing category, however remotely, with the metronome fon the backbeat—so the clicks are in between | and 2 (on the “ands") and so fon (as in the previous example). When ‘you really get locked in the rhythm, you will more than likely drown out the: with your strum, Start at a tempo slow enough for you to play these sequences perfectly all the way through without stopping. From here you should grac: ually increase the beats per minute until you are comfortable at the re quired speeds (about 96 to 120 is com mon in Texas-style hoedowns) ‘These passing chords and moving bass lines have a number of uses out- side the straightahead fiddle contest style; so experiment and see what ‘works well in whatever context they The following albums demon- strate pure Texas-style fiddling land accompaniment. In addition to the normal sbestring guitar, you will hear tenor guitar and piano playing inthe same fashion. {ry local record stores or contact County Sales, PO Box 191, Floyd, ‘VA 24091; (703) 745-2001. Texas Fiddle Favorites, County 707 (LP only). Texas Hoedown, County 703 (Ponty). Benny Thomasson, Fidding from the Big tare, County 724 (out of prin) ‘As for western swing, one dow bie album stands out as a classic expression of the genre, and It showcases the desterous guitar ‘work of Eldon Shamblin, K's just fone out of print but worth keep Ing an eye out for: Bob Wills and his Texas Play- boys, For the Last Time, Liberty IxB216, seem appropriate . IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR ‘THE ONTOUR FOAMCASE. High density foam and Cordura nylon construction fis aver your hardshel cage to provide {he ukimate in insuiaion and snock absorption. Weighs only 31/2 Ibs. Comes in biack, gray, and many color. ONTOUR PRODUCTS 20 stro Ihommic Ono, LT Ye Cac) S05 CTL CLL Vi ON aed Crane) =o SRE etn F ic Clie Choate Pefeatenal Cie ees and imported student ins eet eens Pearce Ee ay BAOh retWhy We're The World’s Largest Martin Guitar Dealer. QL james Goodall Fas, end, poral sane Fit pres. Acormiment ogra use Sodio ou FREE CATALOGS: — maker of fine Ising te conpll Marin in swe tote coer aera handcrafted Guitars ) Becnearsstse —_ Nn Forage U8 BENS “onsets? accessors, books, videos, records, tapes, and CDs — and youl see for yours INSTRUMENTS. P.0.80x 21040 5 ANSING, 501 eeu’ (817)872-7890Sideman, frontman, guitar fiend, violin collector, folkie in the city, rocker in the country—who is this David Bromberg? DEMON IN DISGUISE ‘By Jellrey Pepper Rodgers California flatlands, beneath a dusty apier-maché airplane hanging from the rafters, David Bromberg holds the stage and delivers a slow, melancholy ‘blues. The club—the Palms, named for the anomalous trees that cluster around it—Is small enough that the Dackbeat thump of Bromberg’s shoe is plainly audible. The crowd falls silent, fully absorbed, and Bromberg senses It, He sings the post-breakup, missing-my- aby blues, and his volce and guitar soften to near a whisper: “Peace be with you, honey.” Then just as our ears Jean In closer, he cuts loose with the chorus: When rattlesnakes have knees ‘and money grows on trees Til take you back Bromberg leans back and lets out a sort of cat's youl, then keeps the sar- done couplets coming: “When rats learn to fly / and winos don't get high . .. When fools don't fall in love / and Michael Jackson wears both gloves [Til take you back.” David Bromberg has delivered mo- ments like this for years, winning over club audiences all around the country ‘with his wit, gitar versatility, unmistak- able voice (Sweet and sentimental then froggy, then growling and jaded), and his unerring entertalner’s instinct. The Palms crowd knows what's coming— bawdy blues, a little country, Irish tunes, some long, raucous sto- ries/songs, a lot of laughter—and Bromberg does not disappoint, despite the fact that he and his road manager have logged a cumulative total of six hours’ sleep in the last 48 hours. Bromberg’s musical identity is insep- arable from these live performances, Even though he studiously avolds cate- gorization by mixing musical styles and switching between small/iarge and acoustic/electric ensembles, his stage personality brings together all these facets into one idiosyncratic, rowdy whole. On stage (and off) he bubbles over with a distinctly urban nervous en- ergy, but he never loses his connection, to rural settings like the Palms: rough, unpretentious, good-humored, off the beaten track but just like home to the Initiated. The audiences don't worry about pegging his manic performance as city or country, folk or R&B, what- ever—they call it vintage Bromberg. David Bromberg’s musical career was sparked by the Greenwich Village folk scene of the "60s, which led him away from his musicology studies and Into gigs as a guitarist. He began work- I SIDE A CONVERTED BARN ON THEIng with performers of all kinds—Jerry Jeff Walker, Rick Derringer, Bob Dylan, Chubby Checker, Paul Siebel, Jody Stecher—and absorbed a variety of styles while playing in the studio, on stage, on the New York subways, To showcase his growing body of original tunes he launched a solo act in 1970, releasing a string of recordings (Demon ‘in Disguise, Midnight on the Water. Reck. less Abandon ...) and perpetually tour- {ng the clubs. ‘All that activity ended abruptly in 1980, though, when a combination of road fatigue, record company snarls, and band personnel changes led Bromberg to abandon the stage, move to Chicago, and indulge a new passion: studying and collecting American vio- lins. Only toward the end of the decade did he reemerge as a performer, follow- Ing a more sane touring schedule (in ‘small acoustic ensembles and, once a ‘year, with the big band) that allows his Violin work to continue undisrupted Bromberg’s long career now comes full circle with a new Rounder recordin Sideman Serenade, that celebrates i ‘sideman roots. Always eager to mix things up, he trades slide licks with David Lindley, plays blues with Dr. John and Jorma Kaukonen, and throws in an instrumental samba, some straight country with Willie Nelson's band, and alittle R&B courtesy of a group of Chi ‘cago jingle musicians. On record, on stage, and in conversa- tion, Bromberg relishes any chance to defy expectation, to provoke and sur- prise. He's quick to point out that un- predictability doesn't always go over big in the music business, but it’s much ‘more of a boast than a complaint when he says, “I've always played too much other crap to qualify as a folk musician, ‘and too much folk music to quality as anything else.” He pauses and cracks a arin, “Iust don't qualify” ‘One thing I have to ask you about has litle. perhaps, to do with musie: heard that you used to be a magician. promnene Yes. [was a good one too. Were you performing for people? romaenc When I was 12 | performed at a convention of the International Brotherhood of Magicians in Buffalo and won the originality contest. And shortly after that I gave a lecture on close-up card technique to the New York ring of the International Brother- hood and was the only junior member they had ever invited. ‘So you dropped itall in favor of musi. promeers Yes. Well, the main reason Is that when you do magie you're basi- cally lying constantly, and when you do ‘music, if you're doing it right, you're constantly telling the truth, or a portion of the truth. Part ofa larger truth. Even when you're telling a fictional ‘story? prompers Even when I'm telling a story in the first person that never hap- pened to me, some part of itis the truth, (or I wouldn't be able to do it, I mean that’s how I pick and write songs, But it's also true musically, with the notes that you play: You try to play the truth. Twas wondering about the truth behind ‘your new song. "Watch Baby Fall” [see transcription, page 30), which I found very moving when you performed it the “L get hired to do David Bromberg, because | do the best David Bromberg there is right now.” other night. Iwas with someone who has ‘wo litle kids, and the song's depiction of parental worries and ambivalence reached him even more. Does it come ‘out of personal experience? sromenc See, If it reaches someone, you know there has to be some truth in it. Well, the truth is that I have a son ‘who's only six years old, but the feeling Js correct all the way along there {the song telescopes through the son's adulthood] because every parent wor- ries about their child. I also have a daughter—and | worry about them. It's every parent's nightmare: You wonder, what is going to happen to my son? How can give him a happy, productive, fult- ful life? I have friends whose children didn’t turn out well, and you superim- pose your own feelings on that And that's the way I write songs. You start with a kernel of truth. Every song. Is different as to how much of itis true and how much of it isn't. But the things that aren't, just because they didn’t happen doesn’t mean you didn’t exper- fence them in some way, in your imag nation, want to talk about the sideman theme, which is obviously in your mind given Your newest recording, Sideman Sere- nade. You're best known for backing up people like Jerry Jeff Walker when you Started out, but were you playing all kinds of gigs? emomeene Studio gigs, live gigs, what- ever I could. At the same time I was recording with Jerry Jeff and Bob Dylan Twas also recording with Rick Derrin- ger, Blood, Sweat & Tears. I've always played more styles than Ishealthy for anybody. at least commer- clally healthy. As far as my mental health, it does me good. One of the things Ilegrned from Jody Stecher is an abandonment of musical snobbery. Maybe I should blame him for this, be- cause commercially it’s dreadful for me. But Jody is deeply involved, deeply in- volved, with many kinds of music, and he taught me that you didn’t have to be a dilettante just because you're in- volved with more than one style. To Jody it's all music, and I kind of picked that up, ‘There are quite a few musicians who can appreciate that, including Charlie Parker—you know, I've heard stories about him playing with Hank Williams. [ would like to see that. And I was im- pressed once to hear Bob Dylan and Bill Monroe play together. I mean there are all kinds of weird things that have hap- pened in this world, where musicians who you wouldn't think would appreci- ate each other really do. So you think that you're better off com- mercially if you have a more snobbish posture? prompene | con't know about “snob- bish posture.” You're better off com- ‘mercially if you're very focused in an area which can be defined. If you play: something that can be labeled jazz, rock, or even finer definitions are bet- ter: hard rock, soft rock, country rock, pop rock, funk rock. As long as you can be defined that way, then you have a premade audience. It not only means that they'll receive you better, but that the people who promote your product will know how to do it. They know what radio stations to approach, what maga-Watch Baby Fall Words and music by David Bromberg David Bromberg says that “Watch Baby Fall," from Sideman ‘Serenade (Rounder C3110), Is “as pure country as I can get.” Like many good country songs, “Watch Baby Fall” Is simple, effortless, and strikes a deep emotional chord. Brombers's ‘moving tale of parental worries spans a boy's life from birth, to adulthood, yet It all unfolds in four compact verses—no ‘musical or lyrical padding here. GUITAR INTRO c q Am Verse On the record Willie Nelson's band rounds out Bromberg’s acoustic guitar and lead vocal with a quiet 3/4 groove. Performed solo with just guitar and voice, “Watch Baby Fall” has even more impact. A wise country singer in search of covers could get serious mileage out of this fook proof tearjerker. TON-MY WAS PORN, HEWAS THE LIGNT OF MY LIFE MYOWNUITRE BA- BY Boy F c 3 AND L COULD HARD-LY BE~ LIEVETHATTHAT ONE LITTLE SOUL CouLo FILL uP MY G c LIFE WITH sucH JOY You KNOW HOW IT 1S WHENA KID LEARNS To. F WALK. WHENHE STUMBLES HELL JUST SIT THERE AND BAWL WELL IT WAS c G Am HARD KTWAS SWEET AS OM FOUND IIS FEET. © G © 1989 Sweet Jellyroll Music. Used by permission, Just To BETHERE To WATCH BA - BY 70 BE THERE AND WATCH BA- BY FALL make FAL 2THEY FALEGUITAR 5 ioe ~o DAL BALO 3. TORRY Diao AFTER VERSE THREE PLAY INTRO AND GO To VERSE FOUR APTER VERSE FOUR. SK/P FROM @ TO CODA COPA ra CANT TAKE THEIR PAIN YOU JUST STAND THERE AND WATCH YOUR CHILD FALL iS 6 F STAND THERE AND WATCH BA- BY FALL I. WHEN “TOMMY WAS BORN. HE: WAS THE LIGHT OF mY LIFE. My Own LITILe BABY BoY ND 1 COULD HARDLY BELIEVE THAT ONE LITTLE Sout. COUP FILL UP My LIFE WiTH SUCH JOY. You know HOW If IS WHEN A KID LEARNS 70 WALK WHEN HE STUMBLES HELL JUST Sif THERE AND BAWL FrwAs HARD IT WAS SWEET AS TOM FOUND HIS FEET 1o BE THERE 10 WATCH BABY FALL Dust 10 Be THERE 10 WATCH BABY FALL. 2. THEY GROW UP WAY 100 FAST, ANP TOMWASA SCAM? He WORE MORE’ BAND-AIDS THAN CLOTHES: om HAD MORE WAYS OF SKINNING HIS KNEES HAN ANY SIX CHLDREN T KNOW WELL HE CHASED NE AWAY FROM HIS BRAND NEW TW0- WHEELER WHEN £ TRIED To COACH HIM AND ALL 30 T WATCHED WITH PRIDE AS HE LEARNED TO RIDE ‘Ano 1 WINCED SVERY TIME HE WOULD FALL BUTE SrAvED THERE TO WATCH MY CHILD FALL. YOU CAN'T LEARN FoR THEM, You. 6 Am: You wust rit 3. om DIDN'T LIKE ScHCOL Much: AND HE RAN WITHA CROWD Just How BovS GET IN THEI TEENS. WE MIGHT HAVE BEEN WILD, BUT HE STUL IS My CHILD [AND No ONE COULD SAY HE WAS MEAN ‘WELL Fr WAS Tom WHo GOT CAUGHT WIEN THE BoYS ROBBED A RICH MAN AND ToM “Took THE HEAT FOR THEM ALL THe Jubae THOUGHT 1 BEST 70 SEND My CHLP To JAIL. ‘Ano 2 COULP PO NOTHING AT ALL EXCEPT To STAND THERE AND WATCH MY BOY FALL. 4. Tommy's FULL- GROWN NOW, T GUESS HE'S A MAN FOUND AND THEN LOST A GOOD WIFE HES ORINKING REAL HARD AND NOT GETTING MUCH WORK Bur TOM DON'T WANT HELP OR ADVICE WE STILL Shoot THE BREEZE AND FLL BUY HIM A DRINK Bur THAT WHISKEY TASTES GITTER AS GALL HE Most GOD-AWFUL THING THAT Ve DONE IN THIS LIFE [so STAND THERE AND WATCH My SON FALL JUST To STAND THERE AND WATCH MY SON FALL coma, You CANT LEARN FOR THEM AND YOU CAN*T TAKE THEIR PAIN You sist STAND THERE AND WATCH YOUR CHILD FALL YoU JUST STAND THERE AND WATCH BABY FALL.zines to approach, what venues you should be in—that Is all obvious and easy. But if you have your own area, child, you are on your own. Especially since radio stations, and even fans, define their musical taste by negatives. If you ask somebody, What kind of music do you like? they'll say, "I like everything.” i want you to hear this guy: he plays blues. “I love blues, you know.” And Irish music, “Hey, could get Into that.” He plays a little bit of coun- try.and-western. "Ah, I don't like that stuff" And right away you've lost them. "Ldon't like that; it doesn't sound like my thing.” And if they like country-and- western, Its “Oh, I don't like that jazz stutl” You think fans are that way, not just the music industry? eromerre Oh, | don't think that, | know that. The other thing is that when ‘you describe someone who plays avari- ety of styles, the first thing that comes to mind is a dilettante or a Holiday Inn band, And I don’t think [fit very well in either category. ‘So you think you've paid a price for mbx- ing things up over the years? anonaens Commercially, yes, but only. commercially. | don't have regrets about it. mean I would like to have ‘more money, and this is a new thing for ‘me—I now have children, 80 this is now a consideration. We're fine now, but | don't know about putting them through college, and I like to, How would you compare your role as a guitarist leading your own band to back ‘ng someone else? ‘sromaena When you're backing some- ‘one you're not playing for the audience, in my opinion—and I'm very opinion ated on this. You're playing for the per- son that you're backing, and you're trying to make them perform the plece better. You're playing into them, for them, You're being a team player. T remember doing a session with ‘Tom Rush. We recorded a tune that 1 later recorded too, called “Child's Song.” by Murray MeLauchlan. And he had a number of musicians in. | don't know how many sessions he tried the song, but he couldn't get it. He tried it alone and couldn't get it. He just ‘couldn't get his performance. So he had me in and we did one take, land he said, “That's it." They didn't use my playing on that record, but I got that performance from him. He sald s0, and he thanked me for it, and Ielt like {had “These guys would come backstage and say they wanted to Blay music together— but what they really wanted to do is gunfight with guitars.” ‘done my job. 1 was part of that track— {you didn’t need to hear me. It's proba- ble that my playing would have distracted the listener from what he ‘was doing, but it didn’t for him. It fo- ‘cused him, and that's what you try to do as an accompanist. ‘Do you think good accompaniment is an undervalued, overlooked art? srommere It may be undervalued or ‘overlooked by listeners, but not by per- formers. Any musician wio’s been in- spired by a good accompanist knows what that means to him, You play with a group of jingle musicians fon Sideman Serenade. Have you ever done any jingle work? srompere Yes. | was very surprised to learn how much fun itis to sing on jin- sles. | wasn't surprised to learn how litle fun i is, generally, to play on them, What's the difference? sromsens The musician is under the gun to produce very rapidly exactly ‘what is in the jingle producer's mind, which is usually a stereotype, a musical stereotype. You've got 30 seconds or 60) seconds at the most in which to create this impact, and generally you don’t want the muse to intrude upon and ob- scure the message, If they want me to sing the jingle, however, they don’t want me to sound like anyone else. They Just want me to cdo my thing. So the only criticism I get Is, "No, no, we want you to be more yourself, to put more you into It.” You get hired for that reason, promaera | get hired to do David Bromberg, because ! do the best David, Bromberg there is right now. So it's great fun When you were putting together the new ‘album, did you choose the songs with the sidemen in. mind, or did you choose the ‘songs and then think about which players could make that song happen? eromaena More the second way. The ‘commercial player, because of the stric- tures on him, has to be very gifted, You have to be able to do allot of things very ‘quickly, very accurately. You need to have very accurate time and pitch. And younger guys who are in the jingle thing, and even some of the older guys, love the change to swing. They love the chance to step out for more than 15 seconds. Some of the best musicians in the country are Jingle musicians, and Chi- ‘cago is the heart of the jingle industry. ‘The problem with what makes a jingle ‘musician a jingle musician is that they'll do gigs in Chicago, but you've got to have some big bread to take them out of town. If you look in Madonna's band land Michael Jackson's band you'l find Chicago jingle musicians. Madonna and, Michael Jackson weren't the first peo- ple to discover how good these guys were, but they were the first ones to be able to pay them enough to get them ut of the jingle trade. (fall the settings you've worked in—as a sideman, playing solo, in small bands, in ‘your big band—does one seem to bring ‘out your best guitar playing? sromsene | think my best work as a gultarist Is backing someone else up, because then I needn't concentrate on, anything but that. I don't even have to concentrate on speaking English. The first thing | discovered when I started singing is that I'd sing two verses usu- ally, then the chorus—depending on the song—do a solo, and then I'd sing another verse, right? That's the way ‘most things are done. I'd find, when 1 first started singing, that 1 couldn'tcome in time with the verse after the ‘chorus. I couldn't switch my mind into English. So llearned to pull my mind out ‘of my playing, say two bars before the fend of the solo, and start thinking E lish so that I could come out, play the Tast note of the solo, and come in in time In English. Because when I play music, I can't find language. t's the same for getting into the solo too. For a while, when I first started pe forming solo, Iwas known as a hot gu tar player. Every place I'd go, after the show these guys would come back stage and say they wanted to play music together—but what they really wanted to do is gunfight with gultars. Guitar sling- ers: they wanted to show me their hot licks and they wanted to play them at me. They didn't want to create music That's very anti my feelings about music. Actually my fa- vorite solos—the first one I told you about was that one that wasn’t used on the re cord. One of the best things | play is rests Tm a really good rest player, and they're very musical, the rests. I feel very strongly about creat- Ing musie; sure, hot licks are called for in certain times, places, land pieces, but then you find guys who think they're called for all the time, ‘That's not very musical for me. What would you do about those ttle jam sessions after the show, then? promserc | stopped getting involved in them, and | stopped emphasizing my- self as a guitar player and got more in- terested in what | could do as a bandleader. 1 think I learned to do it well, and that's what Ido best. ‘One thing I noticed in your show at the Palms is how you came alive as soon as the backup singers joined you. All of a sudden you were on fire fora few bars, as if you were drawing energy from them. ‘sromeens | give it back to them too. Do you always feet that with a good band? promeene Sure do. It's very hard being the only generator. Very hard. 11 can help it, [won't perform solo for a whole show—ever. Well, maybe at one or two clubs in the United States. These days I've developed my singing to a point where I very much enjoy it. And the things that I'm arranging and writ- ing are built more around vocals than Instrumental colors. So these days if 1 can only work with a few people, I want them to be able to sing, whether or not they ean play ‘a the Great American Music H “One of the hest things | play is Pests.” Who knows how many times you've per formed your famous tale of diry-dancing ‘Sharon, but t seems rowdier and funnier than ever. How do you keep a song like that fresh? jommenc | don’t do it every night. 1 simply don’t do It for a while I it gets stale, How much of it remains improvisatory? eromaen A little bit. There were some things that I said the other night that 'd never said before and proba- bly won't say again, T won't say that 1 give something new Into it every time 1 do it, but [don't do. It every night. And after every show Someone will come up to me and say, “Why didn't you do...” and name one ef about 20 tunes. Well, I could go out and just play those 20 tunes night after night after night, and no one would complain about my leaving ‘something out. But they would com- plain, “Oh, let’s not go hear those again.” Afterall these years, what kind of place does this Sharon woman hold in your imagination? promserc _Isee her pretty regularly. She's married to my brother, who's a big, tall guy with red hair and a beard She's got four kids and Is still the filth: est dancer I've ever seen in my Ife. Do you see any changes ahead in your ‘music oF have any specific projects in ‘mind? promsere | never see the changes. 1 just kind of drive into them blindfolded. They seem to keep occurring, enough to keep me interested, and evidently ‘enough to keep other people interested. Ike to be surprised, so I don't get too analytical about what I'm doing or where Im going. [ll find out when I get there .Regular maintenance and common sense can prevent many guitar casualties SNAP, CRACKLE, AND BUZZ By Paul Neri yeaa ‘Geeour wena \\ / af EC ee / =| ‘T SOME CRUCIAL MOMENT, most guitarists have exper! snced the hard truth of Murphy's Law: “If something can go wrong, it will” After all, the gultar is a complex structure built with thinly dimensioned woods, and, in the case of a steel-string acoustic, tls under tremendous string ressure—160 to 170 pounds. All of these forces keep the guitar in constant flux. testing it and you on a dally basis. Ifyou are a performer or studio guitar- Ist, you are bound to encounter broken strings, tuning and intonation prob- Jems, and string buzz at the most inop- portune times—like in a studio where you're being charged $100 an hour, or ‘while tuning up backstage before a con- cert, For casual players the circum stances may be less pressured, but the problems are the same. Some guitarists bring three guitars to.a session so that if one misbehaves, they have at least one backup. Some of us aren't so fortunate as to own more than one guitar, yet even this hasn't proven itself to be the sole answer. One poorly maintained guitar is usually kin to more like itsel. Also, most guitarists ‘have one guitar that they are most com- fortable with and prefer to play. So how do you keep Murphy's Law at bay? A little common sense goes a long, ‘way-—you can prevent many problems by remembering some simple guide- lines. Put your guitar out of the way ‘when not in use. Leaving it on a stand is, fine if you're not expecting any toddlers to be teetering by, or if you won't stum- ble near the guitar stand in the middle of the night. And protect your guitar from direct heat, especially in car trunks, which can surpass 140 degrees In the summer. The heat will break down glue joints, like those on the bridge and braces. Guitars that live in overheated rooms, especially dormitory or public Institutions without Independent ther ‘mostatic control, are in jeopardy of se- vere and sometimes irreversible damage due to shrinkage. Fret ends that poke out of the edge of the fretboard are sure Indicators that the woods are los- Ing dimension, A shrinking guitar top ‘can lower the action (the distance be- tween the strings and the fretboard); conversely, a swollen top can raise the faction. Changes in humidity and dry- ness can warp the fretboard and neck away from or toward the strings, which also affeets action and playing feel For an investment of under $10, a gultar humidor (an &-inch length of tubethat holds a sponge and is inserted dk rectly into the guitar), available through ‘most music stores, can arrest the ef fects of dryness. ‘The neat step is to have preventive maintenance performed on your gultar by a competent repair technician. It helps to know one well enough to call on him or her when an emergency arises. The best remedy ofall is to have ‘your guitar set up at least twice a year. Like a tuneup for your car or physical ‘exam for your body, a setup is a must for anyone serious about preventing a problem before itis too late, and it will also help bring out the best in your sgultar’s sound. A complete setup should include fret leveling, nut adjustment, truss rod ad- Justment, saddle adjustment, tuning machine screw tightening, intonation check, and a new set of strings. Here's ‘an overview of these basle procedures and the problems they can fbx, A thorough fret leveling job (also called milling, trueing, fling, dressing) entails setting any loose frets, along with level- ing, recrowning, and polishing them. This process virtually eliminates fret buzz, although string height, truss rod ‘and nut adjustment, and your playing style figure Into the best formula for buzz-tree play. Only have leveling done when there's a problem, however, be- ‘cause it lowers the frets and so short. ens their life; let a repairer judge whether it's necessary. A loose fret that pops up can cause fone or more fretted notes behind it to buzz. Generally, repairers glue a loose ‘Generally, repairers glue @ loose fret down by flowing a bt of syano acrylate—in this ease, Krazy Glue—on both sides of the {o0se fret end. Beware the power of this glue the bond It Creates iz extremely strong, in some canes permanent, and i immediately dissclves most lacquer finishes. fret down by flowing a bit of cyano acry- late—Krazy Glue, Super Glue, and other brands available in different thick: rnesses—on both sides of the loose fret end. Anyone using these glues has to be very careful: they tend to run, and they immediately dissolve most lacquer fin ishes. The bond they create is ex- tremely strong, in some cases permanent; excess glue must be wiped Like a tune-up for your car, a guitar selup is a must for anyone serious about preventing a problem before it is too late. off immediately with a towel, not with fingers. ‘One way to ensure that, as the glue dries, the loose [ret won't set at adiffer- ent level than the other frets Isto center ‘4 wooden ruler on the loose fret and bridge the frets on either side of it for ‘one minute, pressing hard. In the shop, a repairersmay also do a fret leveling alter gluing the loose fret Alter frets are leveled, the nut must be ‘adjusted so that there is enough clear- ance at the first fret for the string to vibrate without buzzing, yet low enough to feel comfortable. Note, however, that the nut should not be adjusted to con- trol action, ‘Aworn nut slot can cause a string to rattle off the first fret (you'll only hear it ‘when you play the open string). If only. fone slot Is bad, a repairer can shim (level) it with bone or with wood that matches the neck. Another option is to ccut out the problem slot, insert a piece ‘of bone, and recut a slot in the insert. If several slots are worn, the entire nut ‘may have to be replaced. Inan emergency, a repairer can tem- porarily remedy this problem by bring- {ng the strings up at the nut slot with a Lny piece of tissue paper, about 5 mill ‘meters square, folded in thirds. A care- fully applied drop of Krazy Glue in the slot will hold the tissue in place; the tip fof a screwdriver can be used to push the tissue into the slot, The tissue needs one more drop of glue, then it should be tamped down once more with the screwdriver until it is firmly seated. In less than one minute, the glue should be hard enough to place the string back on the nut. ‘The truss rod is a hardened steel! rod{than the other frets, !oentor a wooden ruler on the: that adjusts the bowing in the neck, If adjustable, it should be set for the most comfortable playing feel, while provid Ing adequate clearance for string vibra- tion given playing style, string gauge (the thickness of the strings), and scale length (the vibrating length of the strings), Heat warping might be needed to achieve optimum settings on those gultars without adjustable rods, but the process can cauise more problems than It solves if i's applied improperly. Tightening the rod, by turning it clockwise, corrects a bow away from the strings; loosening the rod, by turn- Ing It counterclockwise, corrects a re verse or backbow. The truss rod should be adjusted not to control string height fF action, but to accommodate your playing attack: more bow away from the strings for players with a hard attack and less for a lighter style. Some necks ‘move more than others due to climatic changes, and they can surprise you at a time when you most need them to be acting right. Usually this movement is {gradual, but you probably won't notice the change—like anything that wears ‘out—until It's too late. You can follow a simple method to ‘see if your guitar's truss rod needs ad- justment. Bear in mind, though, that other adjustments to the nut and saddle figure into the right setting for your gul- tar; let a qualified repairer judge the proper setting and do the actual adjust ment. To test the bowing, hold the guitar as. you would during play. Make sure it's tuned to concert pitch or to whatever tuning you will be using. Press your left {ruse rod wrench, end nippers, Krazy Glue (with green cap, tuler, exten saddle, screwdriver (to ft truss rod cover plate’ rows}, sowing scissors, ‘inch piece of issue paper. Center: ‘o0grt back silicone o ide sandpaper, and credit card stock ‘cut to fit under bridge saddle. Thome t {Used inthe repairs shown at right. hand index finger down on the frst fret of the sixth string. Hold down the same string at the neck/body joint (12th or Mth fret) with the pinky of the right hand, With the thumb of your right hand, tap the string midway (at the sixth or seventh fret). Listen for a ping and observe the distance between the ‘Testing the bowing in the neck. top of the fret and the bottom of the string. A thumping sound from your ‘thumb hitting the fretboard, with a litle Ping and no discernible tone, means the string has no clearance. The rod needs to be loosened. Another way to tell if the rod is too tight is if, during play, you hear more string buzz in the first posi ton (first to fourth fret area) than at the rest of the positions. Ifthe neck is bowed away from the strings, you will hear more of a clear tone as you tap your thumb on the string. You need a little of this type of bow in order for there to be unencum= bered string vibration. The correct amount of bow is relative to other ad- justments, but a general measurement, taken at the midway point, is between 1/32 and 1/64 inch, Do this test for the first string. The discrepancy between the sixth and first strings should be minor, if any. An obvi- ous difference means the neck is twisted and needs to be checked by a qualified repairer. ‘The saddle should be adjusted carefully to conform to the fretboard radius and set in such a way as to accommodate your playing attack while giving you lowaction, burz-ree play, It should be made of bone and burnished to harden Itagainst abrasion. ‘A repairer can use shims (made of wood, or even of credit card stock) to ralse the action. First the saddle must bbe removed. This can be an easy task with a loosely fitted, tall saddle, or tough when the saddle is tight and barely poking out of the bridge—and ‘impossible if itis glued in, ‘The best time to find out whether ‘your saddle will slip out easily is when you're not caught in an emergency, like ‘during a string change. If your bridge has an open slotted end, and it Is a steel-string guitar, the saddle may be‘A worn nut slot can cause the strings to rattle off the first frot. ‘Above, lus the emergency kit tools to temporary fix the buss by gluing a piece of tissue paper in the slot to raise the strings. Intess than one minute, the glue should be hard enough {0 place the string back on the mut slued in. Ifso, have your repairer free It, Any sadlle should fit with just enough friction to keep it from falling out if the guitar is turned upside down. It’s help- ful Ifthe slot Is deep enough to accom modate some shimming, should the need arise ‘The quickest and easiest way to re move a saddle is with an end nipper ‘wire cutter. Squeezing the nippers too tightly can break the saddle, so be care- ful if you try to remove it yourself. A gultarist well-versed in repair might ‘carry along a few premade, fitted sad- dles of differing heights, justin case. ‘Shimming the saddle with some card stock can raise the action high enough to remove the buzz. If the action is too. high and there are no shims under the saddle, there isn't much you can do on the spot. ‘A missing cog gear or button screw can keep a tuner from functioning. Open gears should also be oiled. This important adjustment is often ‘overlooked in a setup. Intonation af- fects the guitar's sound quality when ‘you're playing high on the neck. When it Is incorrect, tuning becomes more problematic. Intonation can be adjusted by compensating the string lengths. A repairer can change the compensation ‘onan acoustic guitar witha fixed saddle either by filing the saddle forward or backward in a generalized fashion or by routing the bridge to accommodate a wider saddle, which would allow the in- dividual strings separate compensa ton, New strings are mandatory for a proper setup. Make sure the repairer uses your favorite brand and gauge, since ten- sions and gauges can vary slightly from company to company. All guitars are slightly out of tune in some places to be in tune in most places. If you don’t change strings often enough or don't have nuts and saddles adjusted, your chances of breaking Strings increases for a variety of rea- sons. I your strings break at the saddle, for instance, you need to have the string dents filed, sanded, and bur- nished smooth. If your strings break at the nut (a more common occurrence on nylon-string guitars), you need to have the nut slot’s sharp edges and corners filed and sanded to reduce abrasion. If your strings break at a fret, you may be playing too hard for your cho- titing just ghtly enough thet it doesn fall out ‘when you turn the guitar upside dover. sen string gauge; using a capo in one position could also be the cause. A notch, burr, or general fret roughness ‘can also cause breakage, however, and string fatigue, caused by continual bending in one area, can eventually break string, Remedies include having frets leveled and polished, and increas- Ing string gauge either by using an en- tire heavier set or just increasing the offending string, ‘Old strings can also be the cause of tuning problems. New strings, in con- junction with all the other aspects in- volved in a complete setup, lessen the chance of tuning problems. if you still ‘encounter tuning problems after having ‘a complete setup, then your ears are not hearing things; you are tuning into the fact that all guitars are slightly out ‘of tune in some places in order to be in ‘tune In most places. This Is not a cruel trick, but a grim reality. The frets are placed in a way that best compromises the physics of the structure as well as the mathematics of interval relation: ships. (For full explanation of this con- cept, read Complete Guitar Repair, by Hideo Kamimoto, published by Oak Publications.) ‘The best way to be in tune is to use an electronic tuner, Ifthe tuning checks ‘out on the open string but not at the ‘octave, then the intonation of the string, needs compensation to correct it. With some common sense and the help of a competent repairer, you can defy Murphy's Law. Your reward will be less time worrying about your guitar's performance and more time to eoncen- trate on your own. .New recordings peer into rich worlds of acoustic guitar music from Mali, Guinea, Kenya, and Madagascar AFRICAN VOICES By Derk RichardsonT: WIDESPREAD FASCINATION prising success of Paul Simon's 1986 Graceland album, focused much atten- tion on the various electric guitar styles of the continent. The ringing guitar choruses and haunting steel guitar of King Sunny Ade's Nigerian juju music, the scratchy funk rhythms in the jazzy Afrobeat of Ade's country mate, Fela Anikulapo Kutl, the jittery tapestries of Zairean soukous, the mbira-to-guitar transpositions of Zimbabwean hero ‘Thomas Mapfumo, and the lilting melo- dies of South African mbaganga all ‘caught the ears of music fans and gultar freaks In Europe and the United States, Musicologists, critics, and instrumen- talists analyzed the African adaptations of the electric guitar and traced the thorny evolution of styles from both their Western and thelr Indigenous roots. Largely overlooked in the process, however, was the rich and complex tra- dition of African acoustic guitar. AL though a number of African music collections—most notably John Storm Roberts’ Original Music recordings— featured historieal documentation of the prelectric era in Sierra Leone, Kenya, Mozambique, and elsewhere, it was the electric guitar, dominant since the 1960s, that held the most interest for Westerners. Moreover, the World Beat movement has been greatly influ- enced by the magnetic pull of poly- rhythmic dance music and has tended to downplay the song forms that are ‘more akin to folk music. Consequently, other than the enthralling vocal ensem ble work of such groups as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, few acoustic music re- cordings were licensed and distributed by the major record companies or large independents in the West. But last year, as the 1980s drew to a Close, two very Important acoustic gu tar albums found their way to the US. ‘via Mango Records. Ali Farka Toure, re corded in London in late 1987, intro duced the world to a remarkably Original guitarist/singer from Mali, His guitar playing draws immediate com- Parisons with that of legendary Amer ‘can bluesman John Lee Hooker, and his vocals range through a panorama of languages from his homeland. Djam Leeli, by Baba Maal and Mansour Seck, presented one of Senegal's most popular electric bandleaders, Baaba Maal, in a stunning acoustic duet with blind Gambian guitarist Mansour Seck. Culled from a 1984 cassette recording ReconDINGS REVIEWED many). (Victor Industries, Inc., Tokyo, Japan). ‘Newton, NI 07860). NY 10012). Various Artists, Sona Diabate, Kankeledi, featuring Sekou “Bembeya” Diabate on guitar, African ‘Music PAM 06 (Giinter Gretz, 4-6000 Frankfurt 90, Damaschkeanger 51, Ger- The Art of Rakoto Frah & Randafison Sylvestre/Madagascar, SVC CD VID-25012 ‘Tata Bambo Kouyate, /atigui featuring Saki Kouyate on guitar, GlobeStyle ORB (042 GlobeStyle Records, 48-50 Steele Road, London, England NW10 7AS). ‘Baaba Maal and Mansour Seck, Djam Leeli, Mango MLPS 9840 (Island Re- cords, 14. Léth St, New York, NY 10012). ‘All Farka Toure, African Blues, Shanachie 65002 (Shanachle, 37 E. Clinton St., ‘Ali Farka Toure, Mango MLPS 9826 (sland Records, 14 B. 14th St., New York, Shem Tube, Justo Osala Omutfila, and Enos Okola, Abana Ba Nasery: Classic Acoustic Recordings from Western Kenya, GlobeStyle ORB 052 (GlobeStyle Re- ‘cords, 48-50 Steele Road, London, England NW10 TAS). r Le Valina, PlayaSound CD PS 65046 (US. distrib utor: Harmonia Mundi, 3964 South Robertson Ave., Los Angeles, CA:90064).. land remixed in London in 1988, Djam Leelii features subtle electric guitar, balafon (a xylophone with gourd reso- nators), and percussion accompani- ment, but has the character of a spontaneous back porch jam by two Delta blues masters. Taken together, the two Mango al- bums revealed a seldom heard side of the African guitar tradition and broad- ened the geographical scope of popu- larly available recordings. If Westerners hhad been aware of Senegal, it was prob- ably through the music of Youssou N'Dour, who toured with Peter Gabriel Mali Is likely even more mysterious, known mostly to world musie aficiona- dos for Its hypnotic kora (the 21-string harp-lute played by Toumant Diabate and others), Although the flow of acoustic guitar recordings has yet to reach the flood stage (or anything near an equal level with the pop music of Nigeria, South Arica, and Zaire), a spate of fascinating, recent releases continues to expand the ‘musical boundaries. Most are available in this country only as imports, but Shanachle Records has stepped into the breech with Ali Farka Toure's African Blues. Part of the label's new Globetrotter series, African Blues includes some valuable biographical Information about this 5l-year-old who took up first the traditional houdou monochord and later the acoustic and electric guitar— even though he did not come from a sgyiot family and hence was not born to assume the social role of musteian. In the 1960s, a friend who had been a stu- dent in the US. brought back records by John Lee Hooker, Albert King, Otis Redding, ahd others, and in those Afri can-American blues and soul record- ings, Ali Farka Toure heard distant echoes of his native Tamashek music, Like Hooker, Ali Farke Toure uses re- petitive patterns to set up mesmerizing drones against which he improvises me- lodic variations to complement his vo- cals. He will linger extensively within fone chord or mode and explore the pos- sibilities with brisk arpeggios, hammer- fons, and pullofts. Frequently, he eapos up the neck for higher and brighter tones. His fingerpicking Is feet and his “feel” Is extraordinary. Like Ry Cooder, All Farka Toure taps a vast array of dis- parate sources and blends specific re- sional traditions into his own personal sound. The notes on African Blues offer no recording data, but it has a rather un- produced, “historical” sound. While it exhibits most of All Farka Toure's stylis- tic hallmarks, African Blues is neither as artistically mature as last year's Mango release nor nearly as powerful as The River, a 1990 release on World Circuit The latter has one electric and one acoustic side, The five acoustic songs dare drawn from traditional material and arranged for guitar, voice, and. percus- sion (played by Amadou Cisse). Here All Farka Toure’s genius Is fully exposed: He parallels his raspy vocals (in the Bozo and Songhat languages) with fluid picking and spirals off into sparkling ‘embellishments, playing with but never losing track of a fundamental pulse. He is able to render his tribally basedmusic so universal that ‘even the fiddle and bodhran accompaniment on *Kenouna,” played by Sean Keane and Kevin Connelt of the Chieftains, sounds natu- ral, Demonstrating, his ver- satillty, he closes with an absorbing onesstring violin tune from the Puel people. Unlike Ali Farka Toure, who isa self-made musician In spite of his family back- ground, Tata Bambo Kou- yate comes from a long heritage of jalis, hereditary musicians of the Manding people in Mali. As tradition ‘warrants, she has been lav- shed with sponsorships and extravagant gifts from wealthy patrons Gatigui) who are in tum memorial led in her songs. Jarigui,re- leased in late "89 by GlobeStyle Records, was re- corded in Paris in 1985, after Kouyate had come to brother Sekou “Bembeya” Diabate and 12-string player Demba Camara, ‘Sekou Diabate, whose in- fluence extends throughout West Africa, Is the most far mous studio guitarist in Guinea; he has appeared on scores of recordings and is internationally known for his leading role in the pop band Bembeya Jazz. Dia- bate is chiefly recognized for his electric guitar play- Ing, but this low-key acous. tc setting offers astounding Insights Into his gifts. On six songs, while his sister sings about the vagaries of youth and the myriad forms of s0- ‘lal duty, romance, and loy- alty, and Demba Camara strums steady 12-string chords, Diabate picks out shimmering webs on his acoustic guitar, His bass runs are sure and resilient and his brief, linear solo the attention of one of Mall's most legendary pa- trons, Babani Cissoko. The album revolves around Kouyate's extraordinary, edge-othysteria vocals; she is singing the praises of well- todo bankers, merchants, counselors, and clerics, but her raw, impassioned delivery could easily be mistaken for the result of demonic possession. Kouyate’s husband, Saki Kouyate, is the guitarist in the accompanying alle acoustic band that also includes kora, balafon, violin, n'gonni (ive-string lute), and flute. The guitar melds seamlessly Into the traditionally based arrange- ‘ments in this multivoiced instrumental ensemble. As opposed to the distinctive blues flavor of Ali Farka Toure's playing, the guitar work here is derived from the Intricate patterns of the kora; it some- times mimies koralike runs and some- times supplies tersely struck chords in the rhythmic undercurrent below the simple melodies and Kouyate's brash, ‘unnerving vocals. Sona Diabate is also a griot daughter, from a large family of musicians in Guinea. But her recording Kankelesi (Airican Music) could hardly differ more from Tata Kouyate's Jatigul Blessed with a lighter, more lilting but still"unrefined” voice, Sona is accompa nied only by two other female singers— her sister Sayon Diabate and Fatoumata Bangoura—and two gultarists—her Like John Lee Hooker, Ali Farke Toure sets up mesmerizing Urones against which he improvises melodic variations to complement his flights venture from five- note kora patterns into something between flamenco and country-and-western. The two-guitar Interplay captured so eloquently on Kankelesi has been a pan-At- rican phenomenon. It reached a high stage of development on the opposite side of the continent, in Kenya, espe cially after the influx of guitars in the post-World War Il period. Although an turban, electric approach, influenced by Zairean pop, came to dominate the Ken- yan capital of Nairobi, the more rural ‘Sound of the omutibo style, from the Kakamega District of the Luhyia people, remained vital in the 1960s and "70s, ‘This “dry” guitar approach hinged upon ‘dual acoustic guitars accompanied by ‘chupa percussion—elinking on Fanta ‘soda bottles. ‘Abana Ba Nasery: Classic Acoustic Re- ‘cordings from Western Kenya is a compi- lation of 12 undated (but post-1968) tracks by guitarists Shem Tube and Justo Osala Omufila and percussionist Enos Okola, Osala plays the “big guitar,” the rhythm guitar responsible for the lower range, while Tube plucks out the high melodic accents and flaring little rruns that play off the collaborative vo- cals. The “rhythm” guitar actually per- forms much like a bass—both holding a rhythm and establishing a repetitive pattern, The “small guitar"—often played with a capo up the neck, givingit‘The National Cultural Theater and Dance Company of Gambia performs with a balafon (lft) and a Kora (right) player. Musiolans in Gambia, Mati, and ot 44 ukuleledike ring—states the song's melody, bouncing off the “big gultar” rills, and breaks into occasional solos. ‘The tempos are upbeat and the overall ‘effect is bright and cheerful, even when the prosaic lyrics are dealing with unre. quited love, moralistie reproach, or mourning after death One of the more intriguing and ap- parently least investigated African acoustic guitar styles is that of the large Island of Madagascar, located in the In- dian Ocean, south of Kenya and Tanza- nia, due east of Mozambique. The key national instrument is the valiha, a zither strung on a hollow bamboo tube, but the flute, accordion, and guitar fig: ture prominently as well. In the mic 1980s, GlobeStyle traveled to the cities of Antananarivo, the capital, and ‘Tamatave, and recorded a variety of the island's traditional and contemporary music. The GlobeStyle recordings did not trigger a stampede, but last year, PlayaSound (France) released Madagas car Le Valiha, and IVC (Japan) issued The Art of Rakoto Frah & Randafison ‘Syloesire/Madagascar. As its ttle indicates, Madagascar: Le Valiha focuses on that instrument, played similarly to the kora, with the thumbs and fingers of both hands, and generating a gentle harp- or harpsi- chord-like sound. The valiha artists are Randafison Sylvestre and Ramaro- nandrasana Jean-Baptiste. But many ccuts feature Rakotomavo Germain or Rabemanjara David on guitar, and the typical Madagascar guitar is fretted dia~ tonically rather than chromatically, with some frets extending halfway or less across the fretboard (similar to the Novatone guitar made in the US. a few years ago). “Le Valiha isa pleasant and enlighten- ing but somewhat academic compila- tion dominated by brilliantly played but folkloric sounding examples. The Art of "Countries have Joined guitar with these and other nstrumonts in acoustic ensembles. Rakoto Frah & Randafison Sylvestre, on the other hand, isa lively collaborative session of traditional music being freshly created in concert by contempo- rary masters. The amazing flutist Rakoto Frah and valiha player Randafl- son Sylvestre deservedly get top billing but guitarist fans can spend hours try- ing to figure out the fingering of aceom- panist Patrice Ratsimbazaly while he strums in syncopated time and idiosyn- cratic harmony with the vallha. Theres fan almost Polynesian flavor to the eom- bination of strings, voices, and thumped percussion. (on the square box of the guitar’), ‘Madagascar may well be one of the last frontiers of African acoustic guitar, where the sources and mysteries of tun- Ing and technique have yet to be unrav- elled. And these recordings may only scratch the surface of what remains to be discovered in a musical world that is, Just beginning to come into focus. mlRuss Barenberg pursues fair Melody in the kingdom of the Hot Lick SONG OF THE STEEL-STRING ES By John MeGann ment, When it functions as a lyrical voice, you can be certain there is a thoughtful, feeling musician behind the sound. Russ Barenberg is one of a rare breed of plectrum guitarists who bring a strong melodic sense to their music, in soloing as well as actual tune writing. In Barenberg's case plectrum guitarist seems a more appropriate term than atpicker, as flatpicker usually connotes a musician involved exclusively with the Dluegrass/fiddle tune world. While Barenberg's background includes a strong grounding in these areas, his musical sensibilities are too broad to be categorized. In his compositions you can also hear strains of contemporary Brazilian, Celtic, and Te STEELSTRING ACOUSTIC GUITAR IS A NATURALLY PERCUSSIVE INSTRU-swing musie, with improvisations that mix a jazz vocabulary with R&B- and rockstyle phrasing and punch. Barenberg made his recording debut Inthe 70s with the groundbreaking pro- gressive bluegrass band Country Cook- Ing, and has since recorded three solo albums, Cowboy Calypso, Behind the ‘Melodies, and Moving Pictures. Each of these recordings has its own individual spirit, which may be due to the fact that Barenberg takes his time between re cords—in fact, four or five years. He says that by having different experi fences between recordings and taking time to absorb new ideas, he can let his muse evolve naturally. This schedule also contributes to the unity of each album, which Barenberg tries “to create to be listened to from start to finish, rather than have it be something guitar players will want to pick this or that from, There's some intangible sense pulling it together—when gathering tunes, arranging them, choosing the order” He adds, “You follow your nose and have faith that if you do what your'e interested in, for its own sake, there will bea thread... I's nonverbal, more of a musical sense.” Although Barenberg now finds the first LP, Cowboy Calypso, “kind of raw and less polished,” it shows an adven- turous gultarist/composer, surrounded by such imaginative players as Tony Trischka, Andy Statman, and Matt Gla- ser, among others. The musicians glide ‘smoothly through different moods and styles of compositions, from fiddle tune-inspired melodies to samba to cre ative amalgams of different styles that are difficult to describe and label Barenberg's next release, Behind the Meiodies, is more laid back and beauti- fully recorded, with a feeling of a guitar plus ensemble session that gets more deeply Into color and texture. A good example is “The Invisible Choir” which has a slow main melody containing dit- ferent textural developments, then adds a second melody (twice as slow) and a third melody (twice as fast). The whole recording tends toward simple melodies, played repeatedly, with the arrangements giving shape and variety to the pieces. Barenberg’s latest, Moving Pictures, blends the two approaches, returning to more guitar improvisation while re- taining the arranging complexity devel- ‘oped during the Behind the Melodies cera. Between these two recordings, Barenberg played a good deal of New England contradance music, which was “a whole new kind of music for me,” he Our Time Music by Russ Barenberg ‘This piece, which opens Barenberg's latest recording, Moving Pictures, shows how he tries to “milk the expressive- ness of the acoustic guitar for all i's worth.” The opening chordal phrases set the mood and groove. He plays the melody with a legato sound, with nicely mixed articulations, long, lyrical notes, D Dee G slides, and hammer-ons, Barenberg’s trademark warm tone is beautifully evi dent here, ‘The chord pattern is executed with a ‘combination of the pick and righthand fingers, which pluck the upper notes of the chord, so a unified attack is achieved, much lke a plano, Em D Bm gst ah Vast DD Deeg D Bm Arsusd Aue D Dre © Laughing Hands Music. Used by permissionsays. "Some of those rhythms came up on the LP, and moving from Boston to Nashville got me involved with a differ- ent group of musicians whom I also eared a lot from.” The tune “Edge of the Atlantic” had an interesting evolution: "I had a piano at the house in Boston, which I didn’ really play,” he says. “But one day, | sat down and picked out a dissonant clus- ter of white keys and started playing a shythm with it, and then plunked out a very simple bass line. started singing a tune over the top of it, so I had three parts. It sat around like that for awhile (that happens to me a lot—t get bits that aren't really enough to be a tune, but that exist as something striking) When it came time for the album, I wrote a bridge for it and took it to th studio and added bass and drums, with the cluster now on synthesizer. As we ‘were working it up, It became apparent to everyone that the original idea for the piece, the cluster, wasn’t working. We took it out and | added a guitar part Dased on that idea. There's an example ‘of where the original idea didn't even, appear’ It's a piece f'm fond of.” For about half of Moving Pictures, Barenberg played his recent acquisi- tion, a 1938 Martin 00021, “a very ex: pressive, unique guitar” he says. “use silk and bronze strings on It, and it re- ally sults me—by far the most satisfying guitar T've played.” He also used his “Martin HD-28 and borrowed Bela Fleck’s 1951 D-28 for some of the album. Listening to these recordings makes clear that Barenberg's playing has al- ways been guided by a compositional sensibility. “I didn't think I'was a very good improviser, s0 I tended to com pose solos,” he says. “I may have started with an improvised idea, but I'd look at it and think, How could I hear this compositionally? I've always val- ‘ued that sensibility, the approach of try- Ing to follow a unique melodic line, o train of thought, rather than reiterate ‘what I'd done a million times, “Although It seemed like a limitation not to be able to just rattle off heavy- ‘duty improvising, it may have been a blessing in disguise. ! made the effort to take the extra step, to carefully put to- gether something that to me was more Interesting and valuable. It was an im- plied rule not to fall back on something T knew would work-over a particular chord change, but to try to gear the solo more uniquely. As the years went by, I gradually improved my sense of melody and familiarity with the gultar. Solo from “Open Arms” Music by Russ Barenberg ‘This solo (as played on Moving Pictures) Is exemplary of good phrasing, rhyth- mic interest, and good guitar playing that avoids ‘cliché. The Improvisation retains the spirit of the original melody. ‘Again, the guitar sound is full and rich, and there Is some slippery phrasing, with slides (@s in bar 3) that sound bluesy within a chord progression that’s unusual for blues. The slides, hammer-ons, and pullotfs add a liquid feel to the melodic line. Listen to how the staccato notes in bar 21 stand out, € eat A © Laughing Hands Music. Used by permission. Eat from the legato sound of the other notes. ‘This music Is worthy of the kind of study that technique-minded players ‘could gain a lot from:; rather than read- ing through the music, listen to it a few times to absorb the sounds, then follow the transcription while listening for the melody, rhythmic phrasing, nuances— and especially for the use of sustained notes and rests, Try to emulate the atti tude as much as the actual notes. Hat C#m‘These selected Russ Barenberg are available from Rounder (One ‘Camp Street, Cambridge, MA 02140), Flying Fish (1304 W. Schubert, Chicago, IL 60614), and the MCA Master Series. Solo recordings: Cowboy Calypso, Rounder 0111 (LP, cassette); Behind the Meiodies, Rounder 0176 (LP, cassette); Moving Pictures, Rounder 0249 (all three formats). ‘With Country Cooking: 26 Bluegrass Originals, Rounder 11551 (CD only); Barrel of Fun, Rounder 0033 (LP only). ‘With Tony Trischka: Bluegrass Light, Rounder 0048 (LP only); Heartland, ‘Rounder 0062 (LP, cassette); Banjoland, Rounder 0087 (LP, cassette); A Robot Plane Flles over Arkansas, Rounder 0171 (LP, cassette). ‘With Andy Statman: Flatbush Waltz, Rounder 0116 (LP, cassette); Nashville ‘Mornings, New York Nights, Rounder 0174 (LP, cassette). ‘With Rodney Miller: Airplang Rounder 0193 (LP. cassette). With Laurie Lewis: Love Chooses You, Fiying Fish FF 487 (all three formats). With Jerry Douglas: Under the Wire, MCA 5675 (all three formats); Changing (hasoats RICA Sms Ck thes ors: Pan rte MEA OS (tree fr: mats) ‘That element stayed with me, and when 1 got fluid enough not to falter and stum- ble when! improvised, I still valued that approach, to strive for strong melo dies.” ‘That melodie strength Is consistent In Barenberg’s music; you won't find breathless scale patterns or excessive finger wagging In his tunes, although there is enough exciting guitar to satisfy the most Jaded hotlick seekers. As Barenberg explains, “Ive never done much singing, $0 I lke to approach the guitar as a surrogate volee, to try to milk the expressiveness for all it's worth, With @ naturally legato instru- ment such as violin, saxophone, or voice, you can just nail someone to the wall with one note If you put the right Inflection into it. The acoustic guitar's expressiveness Is a more subtle thing, Dut you try to create it as much as pos- sible within the context of the instru: ment.” ‘This singing quality also helps the music to breathe, because the phrasing Teaves space, the way a singer would— which is arguably a more natural ap- proach to music than constant barrages ofnotes. “When you're younger and learning, you're trying to figure the instrument ‘out, Just what to do with it,” Barenberg, says, “It then grows into more of a voice, a means of expression. The com- posing and arranging became as much a part of what was interesting and satisly- Ing to me as the playing, so the connec- ton Is using the instrument to help my writing, rather than just trying to see what [could do on it. Barenberg's flair for melody is strongly evident in his compositions, ‘most of which are singable, hummable, memorable. They tend to sound very organic, and though not necessarily predictable, they often have a sense of Inevitability or “rightness.” “Why write a tune unless it's going to be a tune?” he asks. “I ike to come up ‘with melodies that are simple and natu- ral. Of course, there are other ways to compose, trying to create a texture or specific rhythm, but for the most part, I've created melodies first, and played with texture and rhythm in support of the melody, Sometimes all the elements appear at once. There are lots of jump- ing-off points. I'm not really thinking about that as it happens; it's a matter of coming up with an idea and being in- volved with It enough to se® it through, hhaving fun with it, and trying to keep a guiding sense of unity, or form, or truthabout the end result. Sort of chipping away at what shouldn't be there and leaving what should be there.” Instrumental music obviously com- municates differently than vocal music, and Barenberg says it "bypasses spo- ken and written language. Talking about music is secondary to what you do ‘when you're playing music. It doesn't depend on understanding words, and it's unique in that respect, mysterious and very direct in its connection with, people. To me, that's the most impor- tant part.” Barenberg says that “For J..” (from Behind the Melodies) “was a very emo- tional response to hearing the news that John Lennon had been Killed. [hap- pened to be listening to the radio, and I had a guitar in my hands. It was like bursting into tears, except the guitar ‘was there, and I just played the chords and hummed the tune—kind of like ery- Ing into the melody. “That was the only time a song came so obviously from an emotion, but it always comes out of that involvement between you and your instrument. Sometimes it's more playful, or about sadness, or anger, or aggression. As a listener, I like to feel that level of in- “I've never done much singing, so | like to approach the guitar as a surrogate voice.” volvement and intensity from a player or singer.” Barenberg has no solo album record- ing plans at the moment, given his de- sire to take the time for musical growth between albums. He is keeping busy in Nashville with session work, which he says “really sharpens up the basics— rhythmic exactness, being perfectly in tune, That in itself doesn't make it music, but when it's sed in the service of higher goals, it's nothing to be sneered at.” One recent session was for Tim O'Brien's upcoming solo albun which should be released in autum 1990, Barenberg has also been doing a fair amount of local gigging with dobro player Jerry Douglas and bassist Edgar Meyer. “For the first time in years Ive been able to play my tunes live and have them realy come across,” Barenberg says. ‘It's hard to duplicate the records live due to the various over- dubbed parts. With the trio, it's very transparent; you can hear everything very clearly, so there's a lot of respons. bility for everyone. We've added [man- dolinist] Sam Bush on a few gigs, and he's an incredible force, really sparks things! 'm realy enjoying working with this region of musicians. Im learning and gaining a lot, as I did in New York land Boston.” Barenberg’s warm tone, clean articu- lation, and elear conception are evident whenever and wherever he plays. He brings a rare understated style to the world of guitar improvisation, creating guitar-based music guided by a refined Sense of musicianship. 7 The Craftsman's Shop Specialists in acoustic sound equipment and ‘amplified acoustic sound. Custom Repair and Restoration. Custom Inlay ~ Engraving ~ Custom Design Martin * Taylor ¢ Larivee* Heritage" Yamaha Ovation * Guild * Gallagher * Gibson * Deering * £ oe, oy 0. Goll 415) 921-8281, or Drie YY GAUCHE GUITARS" 184 Up Sr» Say Francisco 93 MARTIN: GUITARS. f THE QUALITY GUITAR DEALER IN TEXAS. oe Buy + Soll « Trade * Repair * News Used Vintage FENDER «GIBSON» MARTIN « OUAION = GRETSCH» RICHEMBACKER i goboALL AEN GUN HERTAGE = Stelling * Gold Star * Kentucky * Flatiron * Rivera 214-243-4187 Fender £5, taney ns at Royal Lane (Sour: Comey Much, Much More. 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WANTED: Classical and flamenco tars rom tho pastin any condition. vate colecor wishes to purchase ‘der insrumens by makers such as. Santos, Barbero, Hauser, Esioso, Ramirez, Bouchet. lta, ot. Wit or call RE. Brune, 800 Greenwood Stree, Evanston, IL 60201. (708) 8547730reat acoustics The Pikasso Guitar guitars, when a big smile swept over his face. He asked me, "How many strings can you put on a guitar?” I smiled back and said, “How many do you want?” The resulting collaboration was the 42-string Pikasso Gultar. ‘The guitar is built with the same solid, aged woods | use for all my guitars—Indian rosewood, German spruce, South American mahogany with ebony fingerboard and bridge—but the similarity obviously ends there. There are four sets of strings. The relatively conventional sixstring neck can hook up to Metheny’s Synclavier with MIDL The 12-string, short-scale, kotolike section beside itis usually tuned chron cally, Beneath these sections are 12 more strings similar to those on an autoharp, because many are tuned in duplicate. Another 12string, harplike section covers especialy low and high notes Each of the gultar’s five acoustic pickups has a preamp custom-designed for Metheny by Mark Herbert of Guitar Works in Boston. also installed two brass fittings inside so the guitar can be mounted on a stand, thereby leaving one’s arms free to Concentrate on the task at hand. The body is slightly tapered (4 inches thick on the treble side and 3 inches on the bass side) so that the top is more visible to the player. [ike to think of the Pikasso, with Its two soundholes and two doors for easier access inside, as a two-door soft top. With so many sound options available, one can only wish for more than two hands. . I was talking with virtuoso Jazz gultarist Pat Metheny, for whom I had bullt severalSHARE YOUR DISCOVERY. AND SAVE $20 OR MORE! Each addi you'll take full advantage of it! PAY LATER. You've probably got plenty of shopping to do between now and the holidays. That's why we'll wait until January 1, 1 before sending you a bill THE SCHEDULE, You'll receive a written confirmation of your order as soon as we receive it, We'll also send a card to each recipient announcing your gift, timed to arrive for the holidays. Their first issue will follow shortly after. ACT MEDIATE. Now's the time to really get a jump on your holiday shopping. And since deal like this comes around just once a year, please don’t walt to order. Send no money. Just fill out the coupon below, or the card in this, issue, and we'll do the rest. GIVE ACOUSTIC GUITAR FOR THE HOLIDAYS. 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We hope Send order to Acoustic Guitar, PO Box 7, San Anselmo, CA 94960.The Shenandoah Guitar is simply our way of building a Martin Guitar for less. Only the Martin Guitar Company could make a Shenandoah guitar. It's an affordable blend of Martin tradition and technology: Designed by the inventors of the Dreadnought. Given musical identity from select woods you see and special bracing you don't. Then energized by a high output pickup for acoustic-electric play. Every Shenandoah guitar meets the same high standards as other fine Martin instruments. Our skilled craftsmen coristruct, finish and inspect each one—right here in Nazareth. Because we build it, we're proud to put the C.F, Martin name on it. A full line of Shenandoah models is now available. Visit an authorized dealer when you have your heart set on a Martin Guitar. 1989 The Martn Gutar Company All nights reserved Nazareth, Pa. 18064