Don,

Quote:

i love all guitar playing however 'speed' playing leaves me cold.



I couldn’t agree more. A lot of flatpickers fall into that trap. A good example would be Steve Kaufman. His instructional material is very good, but his playing is really hard to listen to. I’ve never been able to listen through one CD or sit through one set without leaving. All speed and mechanics, no soul or feeling. It sounds like a good tab program. Enter the notation at a fast tempo and hit play.

Many rock and jazz guitarists affect me the same way. Listen to one song, and you’re impressed by their “prowess”. In the middle of song #2, you’re turning it off. Your term of “tiring” is a very good one.

I knew that Doc had named his son after Merle Travis, but I didn’t know about Chet. Interesting stuff. Merle Travis was a great player, but there’s no doubt in my mind that it was the black delta blues players that gave birth to it.

But we all have our influences, and there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as we make it our own, just like Tony Rice did with Clarence White and John Carlini. And I suspect that Bill Monroe’s mandolin playing also played a role.

Too bad we live so far apart. We could have some interesting conversations. Come to think of it, we are right now.

Last edited by bobcflatpicker; 10/03/10 03:49 PM.
Bob
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http://soundcloud.com/bobcflatpicke/music-in-the-mountains