One man and a guitar

So the 1+gtr format is really about necessity more than choice; which isn't to say it might not offer certain possibilities and pleasures that other formats don't.

But why do people, with no other option, play 1+gtr at all? The most interesting reason, from my POV, is: they have songs that they want to play and sing, and there's no immediate alternative way for them to do it. So the question becomes: are the songs any good? Or - can the songs work in this format? Or even - do they gain something from this format?

I think that some songs do; but not all. I suppose the reason that I don't like tons of 1+gtr people is that I don't rate most songwriters that highly.

BUT of course this means that when the time comes you have to split up WITHIN YOURSELF, uh-oh! singersongwriter format as recipe for CRAZYNESS.

I guess I mean very practical factors, Dodsy - not elaborate choices. Many people who write songs just don't have orchestras at their command.

I DO like minimalism and making the most of few resources. That's different.

In any case, surely the challenge of the one+guitar format to the performer, & when it works the attraction to the listener, is that the focus is concentrated on the *song*: without lead guitar, electronic wizardry, rhythm section or whatever to distract attention or cover up any deficiencies. If the songwriter is proficient at their craft the format will be successful.

Maybe Tom's problems with the sound of an unaccompanied guitar stem as much from poorly constructed material (in an almost naked state) as the genre itself.

My cranky advice: Stop learning goddamn chords on your goddamn acoustic guitar. Stop taking lessons, and cancel your subscription to Guitar World. Immerse yourself in non-guitar music for a while, then come back to the guitar and treat it like a new instrument, one you've never played before. Take off the two lowest strings and end your reliance on power chords. Each time you find yourself strumming a faux-"funky" syncopated barre-chord pattern, kick yourself in the ass, hard. And lay off the distortion pedal for a while. No Nirvana. No Zep. No Hendrix. (You'll never sound like him anyway, so just give it up.)

However I can't think of a solo perfomer+Casio that I would like to listen to.

The other flaw in my post was going away to do the washing up after a few score people between the beginning & the end of it.

Think of it in terms of the most basic conventions of music: rhythm, harmony, melody. You want rhythm, so you play these standard rhythmic guitar patterns with your right hand. You want harmony, so you play these standard harmonic guitar chords with your left. You sing the melody. You don't have body parts left to add anything fascinating to that. In order to pull it off, you have to be good not just in the writing and the presentation of your songs, but your very ability to conceive of them, based on a completely different way of offering up the "necessary" elements of the pop song. And let's face it: not a lot of people are able to dig down and reconceptualize the basic structures of music, and even fewer are able to do it in a way that's accessible or fun to listen to.

And the Pinefox is completely correct: most of the solo performers you see are non-famous, and many of them are performing solo simply because they don't happen to have met anyone else who plays an instrument and is interested in working on anything. Finding other people for musical projects is a bit difficult, you know -- not only do they have to be decent enough to spend time around, they have to play particular instruments, play them well, be interested in playing roughly the same stuff you're interested in, be available at the right times of day, etc. ... It's not exactly easy.

Oh, wait, he's not my favorite -- that Richard Youngs record about the dog is.

often go back to guitar between recording lots of synth/sample stuff to get away from ^textures^

i like playing acoustic for myself but i can't bear listening to others do it.

He is also correct re. limitations. But so is Mr Moore, who also points out that 'The Material' becomes crucial once such limitations are imposed.

(NB: they only feel like limitations if you're coming from the direction of having Lots Of Other Stuff Going On. If you're coming from the direction of Not Being Able To Play Guitar, then suddenly adding a gtr to your singing is a VAST EXPANSION OF SONIC POTENTIAL. Seriously.)

Clarke B's list is presumably not meant very seriously - but still:

>>> Take off the two lowest strings and end your reliance on power chords. Each time you find yourself strumming a faux-"funky" syncopated barre-chord pattern, kick yourself in the ass, hard. And lay off the distortion pedal for a while. No Nirvana. No Zep. No Hendrix. (You'll never sound like him anyway, so just give it up.)

I don't get it. What acoustic performers rely on power chords? Or have distortion pedals? And who says every guitar player goes for crap funky rhythms? I think I have missed a comic component somewhere.

Fuck off cunt.

Yours sincerely

Derek B

i once busked wiv sax + made money - in lisbon - i dont know how to play sax.

bongos and a dancing puppet = wot turin brakes lack

As said before, the greatest test of songs, tunes, melodies, is having them stripped (almost) bare. Sometimes extra instrumentation only hides the fact that THE SONGS ARE RUBBIDGE.

My favourite artiste of the last year records most material using this format. I like it.

awesome awesome awesome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP6Iz6xbC5A&feature=player_embedded

This guy is great. I love to hear bluegrass-types play solo.

What's dope is that he plays this kind of music and also has a BC Rich Warlock sitting behind him.

haha yessssssssss

http://i.imgur.com/458bk.jpg

i used to have a poster of this painting on my wall in 2006 -- this thread reminded me of that