Wrigly Sisters - Guitar Style

Subject: Wrigly Sisters - Guitar Style
From: GUEST,Frank Costello
Date: 07 Mar 04 - 04:03 PM

Is there any information on the net about the "swing" guitar back-up style used by Hazel Wrigly?

Subject: RE: Wrigly Sisters - Guitar Style
From: Malcolm Douglas
Date: 07 Mar 04 - 09:53 PM

Quite a bit by now, I should think. Shetland guitarist "Peerie" Willie Johnson was certainly a big influence; he in turn modelled his style largely on Django Reinhardt.

You can find a lot more information via Google, but it will help if you spell Hazel Wrigley's name the same way she does, of course.

Subject: RE: Wrigly Sisters - Guitar Style
From: M.Ted
Date: 08 Mar 04 - 10:23 AM

I've been waiting around to post this link Playing Django Style for quite a while. It gives you everything that you could want, if you want to learn to play Django style--everything being tab, tips on technique, and recorded samples---if you aren't a player, the explanations will still give you great insight into the style--

Subject: RE: Wrigly Sisters - Guitar Style
From: GUEST,Tunesmith
Date: 08 Mar 04 - 01:17 PM

Malcolm! There is virtually nothing out there about Hazel Wrigley's or Willie Johnson's approach to back-up guitar - apart from the fact the Willie was inspired by Django. Now, Django's rhythm style was straight ahead 4 beats to the bar - very different than Hazel's approach. No, there is a book out there waiting to be written showing how the Shetlander's adapted Django's rhythm playing to suit backing fiddle tunes.

Subject: RE: Wrigly Sisters - Guitar Style
From: Willie-O
Date: 08 Mar 04 - 01:21 PM

To play Django-style, do you have to reduce two of your fingers to stubs or can you just duct-tape them out of the way?

I'm playing guitar in a production of Cabaret, which is a real boot camp for this kind of playing. Very rewarding.

Willie-O
3,000 inversions later.

Subject: RE: Wrigly Sisters - Guitar Style
From: wysiwyg
Date: 08 Mar 04 - 01:30 PM

You can see and hear the Wrigley Sisters in an online audio/video concert at the Kennedy Center's Millenium Stage archives. Maybe she spills the secret. Anyhow you can watch her hands!

~Susan

Subject: RE: Wrigly Sisters - Guitar Style
From: Ed.
Date: 08 Mar 04 - 01:40 PM

Malcolm is right about the spelling, and the history.

Tunesmith is right about the lack of information.

Most of the reason is that it is very much played by ear. If you want to play like Hazel Wrigley, buy a lot of CDs, listen to them, but above all practise (learn how to 'hear' as much as how to play, and be committed to do so for a long time)

It's not stuff that can be transmitted via a book.

Why not trying to play like you?