Actually, two maestros here: the player, my friend Kevin Gallagher, and the composer, Francisco Tarrega, whose spirit seems to be inhabiting Kevin’s own for the duration of this intimate, heartfelt kitchen-table performance. It’s as though someone had snuck a video camera into the master’s candle-lit studio in nineteenth-century Madrid: Listen to the richness and variety [...]
Archive for December, 2009
Maestro of the Day
Posted in Uncategorized on December 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Jay’s personal assistant blogging at a Starbucks on 75th & 5th
Posted in Uncategorized on December 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
From the perspective of my iPhone
Guitar Hero of the Day
Posted in Uncategorized on December 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Technically, a mandolin hero. But check out the innovative use of percussive rhythmic tapping and string plucking techniques, very advanced for a performer of this age. That and some impressive rapid strumming peppered throughout, an expressive and innovative vocal technique, and a strategic nose scratching towards the end of the performance are no doubt responsible [...]
The Guitarist With No Bad Habits
Posted in Uncategorized on December 13, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Have you heard the urban legend of the guitarist with no bad habits? It goes like this: “there was this guy, who my friend used to go to school with, a monster guitarist, who’d been taught so well as a child that he never developed any bad habits!“ His father showed him proper hand position [...]
“I want one of those” Department
Posted in Uncategorized on December 7, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Chameleon Guitar, designed by an M.I.T. lab. A guitar with any number of interchangeable “resonator boxes” that can be swapped out in ten seconds. The resonator boxes can be made from almost anything, and they determine the basic sound properties, but then are altered virtually—essentially turning each material into a virtual guitar, the shape [...]
Maestro of the Day (#3)
Posted in Uncategorized on December 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Now that he’s comfortable on stage, here’s what the 5 year old kid can look forward to—give or take 20-30 years of practice.
Maestro of the Day (#2) (and now for something completely different)
Posted in Uncategorized on December 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
H. W. Henze – Drei Tentos played by Marlou Peruzzolo Vieira, Guitar I just always liked these pieces, bristling with disinterested beauty. A really nice performance.
Maestro of the Day
Posted in Uncategorized, tagged kid's guitar, videos on December 5, 2009 | 1 Comment »
A natural performer. Looks like he has a good teacher as well. He’s got great rhythm and is having fun. Notice that he’s simply playing repeated notes on his bass-E string, which makes it easy enough that he doesn’t have to worry about fancy chords or fingerings, and can just sing and play. I think [...]
Hat tip tip of the day
Posted in Uncategorized on December 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Art of Repetition: An incredible insight into the art of practicing from my friend Kevin Gallagher In life, we cannot relive the same day repeatedly – but as musicians, we enter into the same musical situations repeatedly through the the art of repetition. Taking a phrase, a passage, or a full piece and playing [...]
