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Post by billhammond on Nov 18, 2014 14:12:27 GMT -5
Nice arrangement by Al Petteway:
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Post by theevan on Nov 18, 2014 14:29:48 GMT -5
Creative and nice.
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Post by millring on Nov 18, 2014 14:40:46 GMT -5
I had coincidentally just recently stumbled upon that video. I like his take. I really like my arrangement of Wayfaring Stranger, but when I play it for others I get a blank stare. Clearly, mine falls short.
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Post by Doug on Nov 18, 2014 14:59:55 GMT -5
Interesting.
I don't do open tunings, is the strange guitar sound the guitar or the tuning?
I can't seem to get past Burl Ives.
Not a knock just not my cupa.
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Post by Marshall on Nov 18, 2014 15:16:01 GMT -5
Nice. I especially enjoyed the intro piece. Even more than Wayfaring. I love the bag-pipey sound he gets out of his syncopated finger picking.
I think this guy has a future. Maybe he can get a good brewery gig.
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Post by millring on Nov 18, 2014 15:33:37 GMT -5
Nice. I especially enjoyed the intro piece. Shady Grove.
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Post by billhammond on Nov 18, 2014 16:46:07 GMT -5
Interesting. I don't do open tunings, is the strange guitar sound the guitar or the tuning? You think that guitar sounds strange? I think it sounds fabulous.
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Post by Doug on Nov 18, 2014 17:15:51 GMT -5
Interesting. I don't do open tunings, is the strange guitar sound the guitar or the tuning? You think that guitar sounds strange? I think it sounds fabulous. To me it doesn't sound guitar like. I don't know what I think it sounds like but not guitar. Might be my ear or my youtube stream?
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Post by Marshall on Nov 18, 2014 18:04:22 GMT -5
The beginning part on the clip (Shady Grove) sounds very unusual for a guitar. Very lovely, for sure. But strange, in that it sounds to me like a bag pipe type sound; sliding up and down into notes. Quite an unusual and nice technique for a guitar.
And that would be enhanced by the tuning with all those drone notes (which is also bag pipe like).
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Post by godotwaits on Nov 18, 2014 19:35:37 GMT -5
If I may indulge myself, may I share an appreciation of Al and Amy.
It was in January of 1996 after a very deep snowfall in Maryland. High snowbanks everywhere. I was new to the area, having recently suffered by a "downsizing" and having located a contract job of a temporary duration in Md. I saw in a local weekly news mag, an ad for a concert in Ellicott City at a small, almost in disuse, theater. Didn't know the names but was persuaded by the idea of a night out. Cabin fever sufferer. So I went and was thrilled just to find a reasonable parking space in this old mill town. Narrow streets and small shoveled trails along the sidewalks.
It was a shared bill between Al and Amy. (I should note that this was before they were married) so Al had a whole set and then Amy had a set and then they did some amount of collaboration work between them. I was struck by what immensely talented musicians they were. And I was also struck by the chemistry between them. And I realize now, in retrospect, that they were just beginning to merge their incredible talents together.
Back then Al already had a couple of things for sale through Maggie's Music, a label in Md, and he played some really wonderful stuff in several open tunings. Al was playing an old Martin back then, and he had to take a considerable amount of effort adjusting and tuning to accommodate the various tunings he was using. He was playing a lot of the material from his cds.
Two things subsequently happened. He married Amy. Probably the smartest thing he could do, and then almost incredibly he transposed his entire repertoire into the DADGAD tuning and literally became a virtuoso with this tuning. And none of his previous compositions lost any of their life and glow and were even superior. No more tuning on stage from one tuning to another. I kept kind of following them after a couple of years and was nothing short of amazed. "Caledon Wood" and "Racing Hearts" are two of my absolute favorites.
Just thought I'd share.
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Post by Doug on Nov 18, 2014 19:48:00 GMT -5
The beginning part on the clip (Shady Grove) sounds very unusual for a guitar. Very lovely, for sure. But strange, in that it sounds to me like a bag pipe type sound; sliding up and down into notes. Quite an unusual and nice technique for a guitar. And that would be enhanced by the tuning with all those drone notes (which is also bag pipe like). I was thinking harpsichord but bagpipe may be right.
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Post by RickW on Nov 18, 2014 22:20:45 GMT -5
Nice take, GW. That's a fabulous arrangement. Very celtic treatment, to my ear, which is a good thing. We could coin a phrase, missionary guitar, for Doug. Doug does missionary guitar. I know you're a bit older than the rest of us, Doug, but you could get crazy and try drop D sometime.
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Post by Village Idiot on Nov 18, 2014 22:37:40 GMT -5
I liked it, and I especially liked his opening with Shady Grove. My personal problem with this kind of playing is this:
My untalented hands can pick out a nice verse of, for example, Shady Grove. Or Wayfaring Stranger, for that matter. A melody that lasts 8 to 10 seconds, but then what? The giant artistic leap for people like Pettaway is to keep a brief melody interesting for three or four minutes, and they do that with constant variations that keep the listener interested without ever losing sight of the original melody. I have utmost admiration for anyone who can do that.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2014 22:45:52 GMT -5
Very pleasant. DADGAD is one of the tunings I use most, it's only a semitone away on the G string from open D, the first alternate tuning other than dropped D that I spent much time messing about in, but that little change can add a lot of colour. With a capo shifted around the neck now and then, it's a handy tuning for sitting in on Irish sessions and kinda bluffing it.
The first fingerstyle tune I learnt to play half/quarter competently that a few people seemed to want to hear me play was in DADGAD. Martin Simpson's arrangement of Garryowen. (I missed out some tricky bits).
Dick Gaughan, the Scottish guitarist and singer/songwriter plays in DADGAD sometimes when he is emulating bagpipe tunes.
Correction - His most bagpipey tune is in DAAEAE.
Pierre Bensussan is another player who only uses DADGAD
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2014 0:23:51 GMT -5
Martin Simpson does a bluesy slide version of Wayfaring Stranger in DADGAD
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Post by jdd2 on Nov 19, 2014 6:18:52 GMT -5
I like tunes that I can whistle/hum to myself. This thread kind of straddles that to one side...
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Post by Doug on Nov 19, 2014 7:21:32 GMT -5
We could coin a phrase, missionary guitar, for Doug. Doug does missionary guitar. I know you're a bit older than the rest of us, Doug, but you could get crazy and try drop D sometime. I can do drop D and double drop D. Early Lightfoot. But I don't consider drop D open tuning. Kind of missionary with a vibrator.
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Post by millring on Nov 19, 2014 13:57:28 GMT -5
If I may indulge myself, may I share an appreciation of Al and Amy. It was in January of 1996 after a very deep snowfall in Maryland. High snowbanks everywhere. I was new to the area, having recently suffered by a "downsizing" and having located a contract job of a temporary duration in Md. I saw in a local weekly news mag, an ad for a concert in Ellicott City at a small, almost in disuse, theater. Didn't know the names but was persuaded by the idea of a night out. Cabin fever sufferer. So I went and was thrilled just to find a reasonable parking space in this old mill town. Narrow streets and small shoveled trails along the sidewalks. It was a shared bill between Al and Amy. (I should note that this was before they were married) so Al had a whole set and then Amy had a set and then they did some amount of collaboration work between them. I was struck by what immensely talented musicians they were. And I was also struck by the chemistry between them. And I realize now, in retrospect, that they were just beginning to merge their incredible talents together. Back then Al already had a couple of things for sale through Maggie's Music, a label in Md, and he played some really wonderful stuff in several open tunings. Al was playing an old Martin back then, and he had to take a considerable amount of effort adjusting and tuning to accommodate the various tunings he was using. He was playing a lot of the material from his cds. Two things subsequently happened. He married Amy. Probably the smartest thing he could do, and then almost incredibly he transposed his entire repertoire into the DADGAD tuning and literally became a virtuoso with this tuning. And none of his previous compositions lost any of their life and glow and were even superior. No more tuning on stage from one tuning to another. I kept kind of following them after a couple of years and was nothing short of amazed. "Caledon Wood" and "Racing Hearts" are two of my absolute favorites. Just thought I'd share. Someone from the DC area bought a piece of mine as a wedding gift for Amy and Al. When I opened up a facebook account, through the interconnectedness that is social media, someone "liked" an image I posted, Amy saw the image recognized it, and promptly "friended" me. As it turned out, the two of them have selflessly promoted and bought my work ever since. It's been a great experience, as I admire the two of them so much.
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Post by billhammond on Nov 19, 2014 14:40:48 GMT -5
I met Al and Amy in 2000 at Swannanoa, back when Al was still fairly new to his job of being in charge of Guitar Week there. It is a very demanding task, for sure, but you would never know it from the joy that he (and his bride) brought to the place day after day. And more than a few instructors have told me how much they lusted after snagging a teaching spot at Swanny, for many reasons but high on the list was the chance to live with and hang out with and jam with so many of their favorite musicians, folks they ordinarily only saw in passing.
My daughters and I were even welcomed into Al and Amy's mountaintop home on one of my North Carolina visits -- two more gracious people you will never meet. And FUNNY, and TALENTED, hoo boy.
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Post by lar on Nov 19, 2014 19:33:33 GMT -5
What Todd said.
And, I might add:
I enjoy the sound of open tunings when they are played by people who really know what they are doing. I have enough trouble with standard tuning.
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