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Hi friends,

Gillian Welch and her guitar player David Rawlings have long been one of my favorite groups of acoustic players (...and yes Mac - they're acoustic for me even though they use electronics for amplification ; )

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yj3kppAkl1Q


I find her music has a sound that really moves me, I'll call it "lost and lonely" for lack of a better term. His guitar playing really takes the spotlight in an understated sort of way - without taking the spotliight off of her vocals, which is where it should be.

Now - their music may or may not be your 'cup of tea'. but if it is how you would describe what you hear in the music ?

Also, would BB/RB/RT have a style that could improvise anything close to the sound and style theis guitar player gets ? I'm guessing no such style exists, because the guitar player's soloing style is not easily generated in terms of emotion and timing; harmonically also, he's doing some interesting things I think (though I don't have the ear to describe them).

Let me know if you're aware of any styles/melodist/soloist combos that come remotely close to the sound in this recording, and share a corresponding styles demo (yes - it's a rhetorical challenge, I don't necessarily expect anyone to go to such trouble : ) If none such exists - could you say why it would or would not be challenging to generate such ?

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At the heart of their Strong Performance is the fact that they both are counting all the time and are able to keep that pulse while playing and also singing.

Don't know if there's a stle demo that would nail this or not, but if I had to create a BB file that emulates that style, I'd probably do it using separate acoustic guitar realtracks rather than look for an already existing Style file. But there may be some styles in there that could be used, or some instruments muted, perhaps a realtrack added after that.

Good act, see if you can feel the pulse they are working around, and how it stays there like a clock. That would be the most important aspect of playing their performance.


--Mac

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Interesting point Mac - now that you pointed out their rock solid timing, I notice it, but had not keyed in on it before. That is a big part of it.

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Quote:


I find her music has a sound that really moves me, I'll call it "lost and lonely" for lack of a better term. His guitar playing really takes the spotlight in an understated sort of way - without taking the spotliight off of her vocals, which is where it should be.





I think it was Bill Monroe who coined the term " High Lonesome Sound " when asked what the sound of the Monroe Brothers and the Bluegrass Boys was all about. I think the sound that you are trying to come up with is the dissonance that comes about because of the modal melodies that Gillian sings and the modal licks that Rawlings plays on that old Epiphone of his.


Keith
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Very well said Keith.

Gillian's music is a great blend of traditional country music and folk. Good stuff about real people.

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I suppose I should "Pandora" to find others similar to Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, but given I like their sound - can you 'humans' out there suggest any other acts I might like ? Also, wondering what the key attributes' Pandora uses to label their songs.

In an internet article, I though you guys might find this interesting:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/08/technology/08pandora.html?_r=0

Quote:

Pandora has 700,000 songs, each categorized by an employee based on 400 musical attributes, like whether the voice is breathy, like Charlotte Gainsbourg, or gravelly like Tom Waits. Listeners pick a song or musician they like, and Pandora serves up songs with similar qualities — Charlotte Gainsbourg to Feist to Viva Voce to Belle and Sebastian. Unlike other music services like MySpace Music or Spotify, now available in parts of Europe, listeners cannot request specific songs.





It would be an interesting approach to see if PG could gain some inspiration from these attributes for their existing and new styles and RT tracks.

Then again, on wikipedia, I found that:

Quote:


The full list of attributes for individual songs is not publicly released, and ostensibly constitutes a trade secret.





http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_Genome_Project

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I would point out that there is no real factual data upon which to base such "attributes" and thus would not put too much into the investigation of same.

Far more useful to follow your own soul, be true to what it is that you bring, or desire to bring, to your performance, for it is Strong Performance that brings the desired result and that can be exhibited in just about *any* particular genre, instrumentation, vocal style, etc.


--Mac

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I found it 'haunting', but the woman's voice is higher than I can comprehend. Well I hear some vowels.

Some melodies can stand on their own, and are singable. I can hate that, the docs say that being this deaf you compensate by singing to yourself. I can change the tune by thinking hard, but that one stays until the next one. Some old stuff comes back.

That said, tunes come and go. It's amazing how those 4 boys from Liverpool could come up with such complex and musical tunes, that stay and stay.

Not that some kid from Austria didn't pen some nice concertos and other stuff. That you still hear today.

I have to try to listen again. Sub-titles lyrics are a god-send.


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May be "too country" for you, but try Dawn Sears the the Time Jumpers

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cOX74L0SW5c

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About a year ago, I started listening to The Civil Wars (John Paul White & Joy Williams) and am completely enamored by their vocal harmonies and the simplicity of their songs. They can completely captivate an audience with just a guitar and 2 voices (just like Gillian and David do with 2 guitars and 2 voices) (Joy does play piano on some of their songs).

There are tons of youtube videos of live performances but here are 3 that I love:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOgwwZyyz2Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeuiaZXWpmk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWM9FrxSKpI

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Last edited by bobcflatpicker; 01/27/13 06:57 PM.
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