How many ways to play the guitar?

Subject: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: GUEST,Tunesmith
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 01:15 PM

I've never seen this done before!

Innovative guitar playing

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: GUEST,Dylan O'Thomas
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 05:53 PM

Very interesting! Maybe people are getting blase about such innovative playing, but I'd love to walk into a folk club and see someone playing like that.

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: PoppaGator
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 06:07 PM

A few months ago I watched a guy play the electric bass guitar with his bare toes while playing two electric six-string guitars, one with each hand, one guitar strapped across his back and the other across his front.

He sang, too.

The music was pretty good, even without allowing for the difficulty factor. Quite impressive.

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 06:24 PM

Clever gimmick, and very skilled - but essentially it was a party piece, of pretty limited utility. As Joey 'The Lips' Fagan said in The Commitments when his fellow musician started doodling around "You were spiraling".

Anyone thinking of trying this might be better considering getting hold of a harp instead.

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: PoppaGator
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 06:45 PM

Anyone thinking of trying this might be better considering getting hold of a harp instead.

Or, better yet, learn to play the GUITARP.

An instrument invented and (exquisitely) played by world-class eccentric Phil DeGruy.

(Phil's web page "guitarp.com" should include a link to the instrument pictured at "guitarp.com/guitarp.html" ~ but it doesn't.)

This is NOT just some kind of "show-off" novelty act, but rather highly serious musicianship (albeit a little weird). Read the Guitar Player magazine article referenced on the above-linked pages if you need convincing

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: Nick
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 06:59 PM

I've never seen it done before either.

Why not turn the pictures off and listen to it as a piece of music and then care HOW it was done?

Works for me, I enjoyed it.

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: catspaw49
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 07:29 PM

.......wow.........thrilling.............what a sound..........gave me a boner for sure.

Stop back when you find a guy playing "Wildwood Flower" with his Willie on a 12 String.................

Spaw

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: bankley
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 07:31 PM

why not, how many ways to use a drumstick too......

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: Don Firth
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 07:48 PM

I know a guy who made a very creditable sounding didgeredoo out of a length of PCV pipe.

(The perfect instrument for playing on YouTube.)

Also knew a guy who couldn't play his guitar for sour owl jowls, but he'd lay it face-down on his lap and beat out tricky, complicated rhythms on the back.

Don Firth

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: catspaw49
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 07:58 PM

Geeze Don.....Hope he "played" a Framus! You could use a Framus to play Field Hockey.

Spaw

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: Grab
Date: 08 Oct 07 - 08:49 PM

Harp guitars have been around forever.

As for the vid, he's reinvented the hammered dulcimer played with fingers - just a nylon-strung six-string version thereof.

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: GUEST,Tunesmith
Date: 09 Oct 07 - 06:37 AM

This seems closest to Koto playing, the way the player bends the strings to get - to my ears - a definite eastern sound.

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 09 Oct 07 - 09:55 AM

thanks for posting, Tunesmith. I liked it.

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: GLoux
Date: 09 Oct 07 - 10:54 AM

Here's a YouTube video of another innovative approach to playing guitar

-Greg

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: Don Firth
Date: 09 Oct 07 - 01:12 PM

Greg, I've gotta admit, that's one helluva party piece!

(As long as he doesn't get a crick in his neck!)

Don Firth

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 09 Oct 07 - 01:49 PM

Hannes Coetzee it appears, from South Africa. Interesting. And as soon as you see it you can't help but want to grab a guitar and a teaspoon and try it. But I don't think the tricky bit would be the crick in the neck, it'd be the strain on the teeth.

Of course the other way to do this kind of thing would be to call in a mate and play the guitar as a duet instrument.

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: Rog Peek
Date: 09 Oct 07 - 02:38 PM

What about this one!
Andy McKee

Rog

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: M.Ted
Date: 09 Oct 07 - 03:28 PM

I may be wrong, but, as far as I can figure, there is no particular reason for Mr. McKee to reach over the top of the neck, except for the novelty of reaching over the top of the neck--a nice trick is to listen to it without looking at the video--as for the other guy, let me know how he plans on fingering scales.

I have a friend who always impresses people with all the gifts she gives--and she gives a lot of gifts, and wraps them all up nice and pretty. The thing is, it's all stuff from the dollar store.

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: GLoux
Date: 09 Oct 07 - 03:57 PM

Here's another YouTube video of yet another "innovative" approach to play the guitar. It is a trailer from a DVD of the Roan Mountain Hilltoppers that is available from the Field Recorders Collective. Watch to see how Bill Birchfield plays the guitar....

-Greg

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: M.Ted
Date: 09 Oct 07 - 06:22 PM

It is a pretty interesting way to play--reminds me of the zither--sort of--

Subject: RE: How many ways to play the guitar?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 09 Oct 07 - 07:13 PM

Or a mountain dulcimer.