ACOUSTIC ISSUE 49 JANUARY 2011

36
KAKI KING
Like skinning a cat, there’s more than one
way to play an acoustic as Kaki explains.

ALSO ACOUSTIC
14 This month:
Joe Satriani
RETUNE
YOUR EARS
20 Listen to
something new.
30 3 Daft Monkeys
The trio from Cornwall are destined for big things. We find out why.
43 Fran Healy
The Travis frontman talks to Acoustic
about his new solo album.

47 Chrissie Hynde and JP Jones

We talk to The Pretenders singer and JP about their new project

25 Michael UK LUTHIER CORNER

32 Ramon Chapman
Goose The Yorkshire folk legend
80 UK Luthier Kevin Aram
The UK bluesman tells us why talks to us about his If Julian Bream plays your guitars you know you’re doing
he’s exploring world music prolific career. something right.

Contents 49_BC.indd 6 25/11/2010 14:26

 Guitar Techniques
CHECK OUT THIS MONTHS
TECHNIQUES SECTION
With 13 pages of different level specific tech-
niques, whether you’re a novice or an expert our
columns have something for everyone.
Acoustic Techniques
Biography
Ray Gamble started his
musical career on piano, but
later in life fell in love with
the humble ukulele. His
regular column in Acoustic
is designed to help the
competent acoustic guitarist
‘migrate’ to the ukulele.
RAY
GAMBLE
Ukulele
Skill Level: Intermediate
Charles Dibdin may not be much
remembered these days, but
during his life he enjoyed great
popularity as a composer of “musical
entertainments” and popular songs.
At the time of the Napoleonic Wars
his patriotic sea songs were greatly
appreciated – “Tom Bowling”, one
of his most beautiful melodies –
belongs to this genre.
As you scan through the tune you
will notice that it is entirely diatonic
– no awkward sharps, flats and
chromatic chords – its beauty lies
in its simplicity. When you prepare
the piece, therefore, do focus on
achieving a legato, cantabile line.
When I made this arrangement
I was particularly pleased with
bar 10. Here the melody, which is
slightly syncopated, is harmonised
in sixths and thirds – not difficult
to play and very effective. In the
Tom Bowling
118
Ray Gamble_BC.indd 118
104 Gordon Giltrap
Another classic from Gordon’s back-catalogue.
106 Pierre Bensusan
Learn part of a piece from Pierre’s new album.
110 Chris Gibbons
Exploring exotic timings to improve your playing.
114 Simon Mayor
A relatively simple Irish tune to get your mandolin singing.
118 Ray Burley
The importance of sight reading.
Special Features
80 UK Luthier Kevin Aram
If Julian Bream plays your guitars you know you’re doing
something right.
84 Patrick Godin
We find out the facts behind the success of the Canadian
manufacturer.
90 History Of Guitar
Paul Brett concludes his series with an overview and an eye to
the future.
94 Sons of Seasick Steve
Hobo blues is all the rage at the moment. We look at some
choice acts following in the bearded one’s wake.
Contents 49_BC.indd 7
Gear Reviews
Acoustic keeps you up
to date with whats hot
and whats not in our
gear reviews section.
Acoustic Techniques
52 Peerless PD-85E
With a name like Peerless you are setting yourself
Tom Myth-busting Biography
on a high pedestal. How well seated is this guitar
Techniques
Bowling
With Lin Flanagan
Skill Level Lin Flanagan is one of
This is suitable the foremost pedagogues
for beginners in the UK. Aside from his
work in education, he
A famous sea song by a sadly forgotten
on that lofty throne?
has performed in various
Bossa Nova: The Old Beat settings including solo
composer. Splice the main brace! classical guitar, small-
group jazz, folk, blues
and rock. LIN
www.linflanagan.eu
FLANAGAN
RGT Guitar Tutor
Skill level: Suitable for all
penultimate bar a couple of discords
move the music along into the final trying to figure out or copy solos,
56 Faith FMTB Trembesi
the repertoire. After the high academia
cadence. Budding composers might melodies and chord progressions etc.
of bebop and cool jazz there was an
appreciate making the comparison João Gilberto was one of those
audience waiting for something that
between bar one and bar thirteen. youngsters who used to hang around
they could listen to without needing
Note pitches are identical but the the Copacabana record stores.
a PhD in jazz theory. Getz and Byrd’s
addition of dotted rhythm patterns Influenced by the music that he was
album, Jazz Samba, sent the USA
in bar thirteen brings variety. If you hearing, in his apartment he began
have the opportunity of hearing absolutely Latin crazy. They quite
to develop his own distinctive style
the song you will enjoy the word simply couldn’t get enough of it, and
of performance to accompany the
painting that Dibdin employs. hence a lot of musicians who were less
equally distinctive pieces that he was
Mercury Parlour
The rising melodic idea of the skilled in the Latin style jumped onto
composing. His songs were quiet,
penultimate bar emphasises Tom intimate, introvert and used extended
the bandwagon with embarrassing
Bowling’s demise as his “soul is chords that had been gleaned from his
musical consequences. Incidentally,
gone aloft”. Getz and Byrd’s influential album took
limited access to North American jazz
I pitched the arrangement in the only three hours to record. Now there’
recordings. However, he also used the s
key of “D” so that I could make use an abject lesson in true musicianship
old rhythms of the samba dance. He
of the low C# in the harmonisation. for those who think that it takes 12
called his new style ‘bossa nova’, and
Choice of key is so important on months in a recording studio to come
he envisaged it as being the next new
the ukulele with its relatively narrow up with something worthy!
craze. This, dear reader, is what bossa
range. If you perform this song with Notice that Getz and Byrd called
nova was intended to translate as: new
Is this Faith instrument something you could or
vocalists, make sure they’re happy their album Jazz Samba, not ‘Jazz Bossa
with top F#’s! craze/trend/fad/wave – not ‘new beat’
. Nova’. This is important. They knew
While Gilberto was responsible for
that they were not playing bossa nova.
the performance style of the bossa
They took the bossa nova repertoire,
Welcome to this new column, the nova music, it was Antonio Carlos
the wealth of this middle class was removed some of the bossa nova
successor to ‘Thinker’s Corner’. Over Jobim who came to compose the
largely still impoverished by European performance style and added North
should hope for?
the next 12 articles we’re going to look better and most popular songs within
and North American standards. They American jazz to it, thereby creating
at some of the many myths that exist the genre (eg ‘How Insensitive’ and
were wealthy only by Latin American a new style of Latin jazz. However,
within the music world, and, as the ‘The Girl From Ipanema’). Jobim was
standards. much of the USA, including many
column title suggests, bust them right already a recognisable figure in the
Those who financially benefited jazz musicians, did not realise this. As
open and help you to see things from Brazilian music scene when he and
from the economic reforms were a result, almost all Latin jazz or jazz
an accurate perspective. Gilberto began their short association
mostly based in the Copacabana samba at this time was erroneously
Some of our topics for discussion together. Jobim composed both alone
district of Rio de Janeiro. Here, some labelled ‘bossa nova’. This included
will be historical, some will be practical and in collaboration with others, but
of the younger generation spent a subsequent Getz album, Big Band
and some will be philosophical. I want largely in the bossa nova style that
a large part of their time in record Bossa Nova, which by the nature of the
to begin this column by busting the Gilberto had presented to him.
shops, often just to listen to free large amount of instruments involved
60 Aria AF Tenor N
myth that the acoustic music that So, how did this musical style come
music over the stores’ tannoy systems. was far removed from Gilberto’s ethos
we know as ‘bossa nova’ is so named to take the West by storm? Well, in
The most popular recordings were for the genre.We have to blame record
because it translates as ‘new beat’. In the late 1950s and early 1960s the US
rare imports of North American jazz company executives for that ‘oversight’
the process of doing so, we’re also State Department organised tours by .
musicians and singers, such as Dick So, bossa nova was certainly not a
going to look at what bossa nova cultural representatives, such as jazz
Farney and Frank Sinatra. As most of new beat, and was never intended to
is, and also what it isn’t. So, if you’re musicians, to Latin American countries
the young Brazilians, even those who be translated as such. It is an intimate,
sitting comfortably, it’s story time. in order to promote the wonders of the
were comparatively wealthy, could reflective, performance mood of music
Bossa nova evolved in Rio de USA. The guitarist Charlie Byrd was one
not afford to buy many recordings, that used old samba rhythms and
Janeiro in the late 1950s. Until this time of the musicians who took part in these
their access to imported music was jazzy chords. When somebody asks
Brazil had been an utterly destitute tours. Having been exposed to the
Aria always appear to be able to fill a niche where
rather limited. Don’t forget, until fairly you to play a bossa nova rhythm they
nation, even more so than it is now. bossa nova music that was prevalent
recently, when music tutor book are either ill-informed or they mean a
When Kubitschek became president in in Rio at the time, Byrd returned
publishing and the World Wide Web samba rhythm in an understated and
1956, he introduced new policies and home with a suitcase packed full of
went into overdrive, as musicians our intimate manner. In my experience it’s
ideas (including the creation of a new recordings. He played these to his
main educational sources for decades usually the former. Thanks for listening.
capital city, Brasilia) that permitted the friend, the tenor saxophonist Stan Getz,
were recordings. Guitarists traditionally
with the intention of subsequently
there is a demand for an instrument. Will they fulfil
rise of a new middle class. Of course,
used to play along to records while Lin Flanagan
recording their own interpretations of
112 21/10/2010 13:05
the demand here?
Lin Flanagan_BC.indd 96
21/10/2010 10:29
64 Martinez Classical Guitars
MCG-70C and MCG-150S
Can these two classical guitars marry
American design and aesthetics with Chinese
manufacturing?
68 Laka VUC80EA and
VUT90
The ukulele market is flooded, but can Laka paddle
their way to the front? Sam Wise finds out.
72 Kustom Sienna 65 and
Sienna 16
In terms of price per square foot, the chunky
Sienna 65 is a bargain, but how does it stack up to
its smaller brethren?
76 LR Baggs M1 Active
Huw Price tests an active offering from LR Baggs
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