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104-498: Albert William Lee (born 21 December 1943) is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked, both in the studio and on tour, with many famous musicians from a wide range of genres. He has also maintained a solo career and is a noted composer and musical director. Lee was born in Lingen , Herefordshire , but grew up in Blackheath , London ,

208-652: A "guitar hero", playing his Fender Telecaster at breakneck speed. Heads Hands & Feet became a popular live band in the UK, making appearances on The Old Grey Whistle Test and also in Europe, where they appeared on the German music programme Beat-Club . In October 1969 Country Fever , an RCA package toured six countries in eleven days, starting at the Nashville Room with the London band

312-592: A blend of soul and country music. The album did not chart. Although best known as a songwriter and alternative country artist, Crowell enjoyed mainstream popularity during the late 1980s and early 1990s. His critically acclaimed album 1988's Diamonds & Dirt produced five consecutive No. 1 singles during a 17-month span in 1988 and 1989: " It's Such a Small World " (a duet with Cash), " I Couldn't Leave You If I Tried ," " She's Crazy For Leavin' ," " After All This Time " and " Above and Beyond " (a cover of Buck Owens ' 1962 hit). Crowell's "After All This Time" won

416-517: A chord played one after the other, as opposed to simultaneously) and other elements such as artificial harmonics , hammering on and pulling off notes with the fretting hand, using the body of the guitar percussively (by tapping rhythms on the body), and many other techniques. Often, the guitarist will play the melody notes, interspersed with the melody's accompanying chords and the deep bassline (or bass notes) simultaneously. Some fingerpicking guitarists also intersperse percussive tapping along with

520-556: A collaborative album, titled TEXAS on August 15, 2019. In 1975, Crowell married Martha Dant Watts, and their daughter Hannah was born in May 1976. The brief marriage ended in divorce, with Crowell retaining custody of Hannah. Crowell was subsequently married to Rosanne Cash (daughter of Johnny Cash ) from 1979 to 1992 and they had an influence on each other's careers, with Crowell producing most of her albums during that period and her success influencing his songwriting. They collaborated on

624-404: A good deal of ostinato patterns, and the use of alternative tunings ( scordatura ) such as open D , open G , drop D and open C . The application or "cross-contamination" of traditional forms of music within the style of American primitive guitar is also very common. Examples of traditions that John Fahey and Robbie Basho would employ in their compositions include, but are not limited to,

728-405: A guitarist, winning five consecutive times Guitar Player magazine's "Best Country Guitarist". Lee is known within the music industry for his speed of playing and his technical virtuosity and yet by the same token, one of the most melodic, playing slower passages approximating the sound of the pedal steel guitar with his Music Man and Telecaster guitars which are equipped with B-Benders . He

832-553: A huge cult following. Crowell himself criticized his debut album for not translating onto vinyl the same clarity and energy he felt in the studio. His single "Ashes by Now" from "But What Will the Neighbors Think" reached No. 37 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1980. Though he had already several country hits by artists covering his songs (including " I Ain't Living Long Like This " by Waylon Jennings , " Leaving Louisiana... " by

936-656: A live concert recording at the Budokan in Japan. Lee was responsible for the Everly Brothers ' 1983 reunion concert and was its musical director. He played regularly with the Everlys for over twenty years. In 1987, Lee was invited by Gerry Hogan to headline at a steel guitar festival in Newbury , Berkshire . Lee was at first intimidated by the prospect of having to front a band; however,

1040-400: A live performer, session player and sideman , perhaps due to his self-effacing stage presence. Lee has been described by his peers, who include Jimmy Page and Ritchie Blackmore , as a complete gentleman who does not know the meaning of the word ego . After Gram Parsons ' death, Emmylou Harris was told that she could gain the backing of a major record label only if she could assemble

1144-456: A member of a Romani family. His father was a musician, and Lee studied piano, taking up the instrument at age seven. During this time, Lee became a fan of Buddy Holly and Jerry Lee Lewis . He took up guitar in 1958 when his parents bought him a second-hand Höfner President which he later traded in for a Czechoslovak Jolana Grazioso , the forerunner of the Futurama . Lee left school at

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1248-540: A music video for the song "It Ain't Over Yet", which features guest vocals from Rosanne Cash and John Paul White as well as harmonia from Mickey Raphael . The song appears on his album Close Ties , which was released in 2017. The album also features a duet with Sheryl Crow titled "I'm Tied To Ya". In 2019, Crowell received the Poet's Award from the Academy of Country Music for his achievements in songwriting. He also released

1352-473: A number one country single with his song " 'Til I Gain Control Again " from her first Elektra album, True Love . The song was first recorded in 1975 by Emmylou Harris and appeared on Elite Hotel that year. In 1984, Crowell returned to working on his own music career and recorded what was to be a new album for Warner Bros., Street Language . That album, a pop-sounding effort co–produced by David Malloy,

1456-429: A nylon string guitar, or more narrowly to music of the classical period , as opposed to baroque or romantic music . The major feature of classical-fingerstyle technique is that it enables solo rendition of harmony and polyphonic music in much the same manner as the piano can. The technique is intended to maximize the degree of control over the musical dynamics, texture, articulation and timbral characteristics of

1560-468: A pick player), Stephen Malkmus , Bruce Cockburn (exclusively), Robby Krieger , Lindsey Buckingham , Mike Oldfield , Patrick Simmons , Elliott Smith , Wilko Johnson , J.J. Cale , Robbie Robertson , Hillel Slovak , St. Vincent , Yvette Young , Kurt Vile , David Longstreth , Richie Kotzen (formerly a pick player), Greg Koch , Guy King , Courtney Barnett , Jared James Nichols . Rodney Crowell Rodney Crowell (born August 7, 1950)

1664-447: A popular recording artist of the late 1920s and early 1930s. In the 1960s, a new generation of guitarists returned to these roots and began to transcribe piano tunes for solo guitar. One of the best known and most talented of these players was Dave Van Ronk , who arranged St. Louis Tickle for solo guitar. In 1971, guitarists David Laibman and Eric Schoenberg arranged and recorded Scott Joplin rags and other complex piano arrangements for

1768-509: A really "hot band". Harris did just that, enlisting guitarist James Burton and pianist Glen Hardin, both of whom had played with Elvis Presley and Parsons; she named the band "The Hot Band". When Burton left to return to Elvis Presley , Lee was his replacement. Harris said of him that Lee is "a brilliant guitar player. His sound is unmistakable—often emulated, never equaled. When Saint Peter asks me to chronicle my time down here on earth, I'll be able to say (with pride if that's allowed) that for

1872-605: A recording of Davy's Anji that appears on Sounds of Silence , and as a result was copied by many subsequent folk guitarists. By the 1970s Americans such as Duck Baker and Eric Schoenberg were arranging solo guitar versions of Celtic dance tunes, slow airs, bagpipe music, and harp pieces by Turlough O'Carolan and earlier harper-composers. Renbourn and Jansch's complex sounds were also highly influential on Mike Oldfield 's early music. The style also had an impact within British folk rock , where particularly Richard Thompson , used

1976-548: A solo artist. Rodney Crowell was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2003 with fellow inductees Hal Blair, Paul Overstreet and John Prine . 2004 saw the release of The Notorious Cherry Bombs , a reunion of Crowell's 1970s road band, including Vince Gill and Tony Brown . The future Keith Urban hit " Making Memories of Us " was included on this disc. In 2005, Crowell served as producer for established Irish singer-songwriter Kieran Goss on

2080-756: A soloist. His predecessor in Grappelli's band, John Etheridge (b. 1948) is also an occasional fingerstyle player. The solid-body electric guitar is rarely played fingerstyle, although it presents no major technical challenges. Slide guitarists often employ fingerstyle, which applies equally to the electric guitar, for instance Duane Allman and Ry Cooder . Blues guitarists have long used fingerstyle: some exponents include Jorma Kaukonen , Hubert Sumlin , Albert King , Albert Collins , John Lee Hooker , Muddy Waters , Derek Trucks , John Mayer , Joe Bonamassa , Sandor Enyedi and Buckethead . Exponents of fingerstyle rock guitar include: Mark Knopfler , Jeff Beck (formerly

2184-493: A songwriter in the 1990s and 2000s. Crowell's songs that reached to Top Ten in the country charts in the decade included " Song for the Life " by Alan Jackson , " Making Memories of Us " by Keith Urban , " Ashes by Now " by Lee Ann Womack , and " Please Remember Me " by Tim McGraw . In 2001, after a brief hiatus from recording, Crowell released The Houston Kid on Sugar Hill Records , his first studio album since 1995's Jewel of

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2288-418: A versatile guitarist of the three and sometimes four fingers playing style (thumb, index, middle and ring); he plays several different African styles, including soukous or West African music. He often flavours his playing with jazzy improvisations, regular fingerpicking patterns and chord melody sequences. Even when the guitar is tuned in a manner that helps the guitarist to perform a certain type of chord, it

2392-699: A while I played rhythm guitar in a band with Albert Lee." In 2017, Lee was honoured with the Trailblazer Lifetime Achievement Award at the UK Americana Awards . Albert Lee owns around 40 guitars, including Don Everly 's Gibson J-200 . The Gibson Guitar Corporation made one for Don Everly and the other for Phil. The guitars have an all black, high-gloss lacquered finish and are equipped with twin Everly Brothers white pickguards. The Everly Brothers ' manager Wesley Rose had wanted

2496-471: A wider audience in the 1950s. Fingerstyle jazz guitar has several proponents: the pianistic Jeff Linsky (b. 1952), freely improvises polyphonically while employing a classical guitar technique. Earl Klugh (b. 1953) and Tuck Andress have also performed fingerstyle jazz on the solo guitar. Briton Martin Taylor (b. 1956), a former Stephane Grappelli sideman, switched to fingerstyle on relaunching his career as

2600-471: Is G-major (D–G–D–G–B–D), called "taropatch", though there is a family of major-seventh tunings called "wahine" (Hawaiian for "woman"), as well as tunings designed to get particular effects. Basic slack-key style, like mainland folk-based fingerstyle, establishes an alternating bass pattern with the thumb and plays the melody line with the fingers on the higher strings. The repertory is rooted in traditional, post-Contact Hawaiian song and dance, but since 1946 (when

2704-459: Is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar . The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles. Instead of altering the pitch of the strings in the normal manner (by pressing the string against frets ), a slide is placed on the string to vary its vibrating length, and pitch. This slide can then be moved along

2808-402: Is a subset of fingerstyle guitar. It originated with John Fahey , whose recordings from the late 1950s to the mid-1960s inspired many guitarists such as Leo Kottke , who made his debut recording of 6- and 12-String Guitar on Fahey's Takoma label in 1969. American primitive guitar can be characterized by the use of folk music or folk-like material, driving alternating-bass fingerpicking with

2912-418: Is able to run up to 6 lines from his guitar to a mixing desk, providing a full "band sound" – bass drum, snare, bass, guitar – as an accompaniment to his vocals. The six string guitar was brought to Africa by traders and missionaries (although there are indigenous guitar-like instruments such as the ngoni and the gimbri or sintir of Gnawa music ). Its uptake varies considerably between regions, and there

3016-598: Is about. I started filling my mind with as many symbols and images as I could. I started reading. I got real hungry to have something to contribute". Emmylou Harris had recorded one of Crowell's songs, "Bluebird Wine", on her Pieces of the Sky album and made a request to meet him. After he sat in with Emmylou at her gig at the Armadillo World Headquarters in early January 1975, she asked him to play rhythm guitar in her backing band, The Hot Band. He accepted and left

3120-564: Is an American musician, known primarily for his work as a singer and songwriter in country music . Crowell has had five number one singles on Hot Country Songs , all from his 1988 album Diamonds & Dirt . He has also written songs and produced for other artists. He was influenced by songwriters Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt . Crowell played guitar and sang for three years in Emmylou Harris ' Hot Band. He has won two Grammy Awards in his career, one in 1990 for Best Country Song for

3224-444: Is both a playing style and a genre of music. It falls under the "fingerstyle" heading because it is plucked by the fingers, but it is generally used to play a specific type of folk, country-jazz and/or blues music. In this technique, the thumb maintains a steady rhythm, usually playing "ostinato bass" or "alternating bass" patterns on the lower three strings, while the index, or index and middle fingers pick out melody and fill-in notes on

Albert Lee - Misplaced Pages Continue

3328-566: Is known as "the guitar player's guitar player". Lee is also referred to as "Mr. Telecaster ". A long-time Telecaster player, Lee wrote a foreword to A.R. Duchossoir's book detailing the history of the instrument. Lee's song "Country Boy" helped to redefine country guitar for a whole generation of players, and was later to become a hit for multi-instrumentalist Ricky Skaggs . Despite positive press from Melody Maker and New Musical Express , Lee has never achieved any great commercial success in terms of record sales during his career, but more as

3432-599: Is now based in the US. Tony Cox (b. 1954) is a Zimbabwean guitarist and composer based in Cape Town , South Africa . A master of the Fingerpicking style of guitar playing, he has won the SAMA (South African Music Awards) for best instrumental album twice. His music incorporates many different styles including classical, blues, rock and jazz, while keeping an African flavour. Tinderwet is

3536-561: Is often played in chord-melody style, where the guitarist plays a series of chords with the melody line on top. Fingerstyle, plectrum, or hybrid picking are equally suited to this style. Some players alternate between fingerstyle and plectrum playing, " palming " the plectrum when it is not in use. Early blues and ragtime guitarists often used fingerstyle. True fingerstyle jazz guitar dates back to early swing era acoustic players like Eddie Lang (1902–1933) Lonnie Johnson (1899–1970) and Carl Kress (1907–1965), Dick McDonough (1904–1938) and

3640-456: Is often undesirable for all six strings to sound. When strumming with a plectrum, a guitarist must "damp" (mute) unwanted strings with the fretting hand; when a slide or steel is employed, this fretting hand damping is no longer possible, so it becomes necessary to replace plectrum strumming with plucking of individual strings. For this reason, slide guitar and steel guitar playing are very often fingerstyle. Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar

3744-415: Is performed/composed most often in standard tuning (EADGBE). However, altered tunings such as dropped D are common. Fingerings for both hands are often given in detail in classical guitar music notation, although players are also free to add to or depart from them as part of their own interpretation. Fretting hand fingers are given as numbers, plucking hand fingers are given as letters In guitar scores ,

3848-414: Is related to classical technique, but with more emphasis on rhythmic drive and volume, and less on dynamic contrast and tone production. Flamenco guitarists prefer keys such as A and E that allow the use of open strings, and typically employ capos where a departure is required. Some specialized techniques include: Bossa nova is most commonly performed on the nylon-string classical guitar , played with

3952-460: Is the use of "preset right-hand pattern[s]" while fingerpicking, with the left hand fingering standard chords . The most common pattern, sometimes broadly referred to as Travis picking after Merle Travis , and popularized by Chet Atkins , Scotty Moore , James Burton , Marcel Dadi , James Taylor , John Prine , Colter Wall and Tommy Emmanuel , is as follows: The thumb (T) alternates between bass notes , often on two different strings, while

4056-677: Is the usual technique on the banjo. A distinctive style to emerge from Britain in the early 1960s, which combined elements of American folk, blues , jazz and ragtime with British traditional music , was what became known as 'folk baroque'. Pioneered by musicians of the Second British folk revival began their careers in the short-lived skiffle craze of the later 1950s and often used American blues, folk and jazz styles, occasionally using open D and G tunings. However, performers like Davy Graham and Martin Carthy attempted to apply these styles to

4160-448: Is therefore no single African acoustic guitar style. In some cases, the styles and techniques of other instruments have been applied to the guitar; for instance, a technique where the strings are plucked with the thumb and one finger imitates the two-thumbed plucking of the kora and mbira . The pioneer of Congolese fingerstyle acoustic guitar music was Jean Bosco Mwenda , also known as Mwenda wa Bayeke (1930–1990). His song "Masanga"

4264-435: Is titled A Long Way From Lubbock . Lee also received many other offers of session work. In 1976, he was asked to join Emmylou Harris 's Hot Band , replacing one of his heroes, James Burton , who was returning to perform with Elvis Presley . The Hot Band featured other musicians including Ricky Skaggs and Rodney Crowell . Starting in 1978, Lee worked for five years with Eric Clapton , which included playing and singing for

Albert Lee - Misplaced Pages Continue

4368-424: Is too wide and the normal position of the thumb used in classical guitar technique do not make that possible. Scores (contrary to tablatures ) do not systematically indicate the string to be plucked (although often the choice is obvious). When an indication of the string is required the strings are designated 1 to 6 (from the 1st the high E to the 6th the low E) with figures 1 to 6 inside circles. The positions (that

4472-405: Is where on the fretboard the first finger of the left hand is placed) are also not systematically indicated, but when they are (mostly in the case of the execution of barrés ) these are indicated with Roman numerals from the position I (index finger of the left hand placed on the 1st fret: F–B ♭ –E ♭ –A ♭ –C–F) to the position XII (the index finger of the left hand placed on

4576-503: The Argentinian Oscar Alemán (1909–1980). Django Reinhardt (1910–1953) used a classical/flamenco technique on unaccompanied pieces such as his composition Tears . Fingerstyle jazz on the electric guitar was pioneered by George van Eps (1913–1998) who was respected for his polyphonic approach, sometimes using a seven string guitar . Wes Montgomery (1925–1968) was known for using the fleshy part of his thumb to provide

4680-590: The Oak Ridge Boys , and several covers by Johnny Cash , Rosanne Cash , Emmylou Harris, Jerry Reed and others), Crowell got his first big taste of pop songwriting success with " Shame on the Moon ". "Shame on the Moon" was recorded on the 1982 album The Distance by Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band . Glenn Frey joined Seger on background harmony on the song. Appealing to a broad cross-section of listeners,

4784-515: The fingerpicking technique of Merle Travis and others to play wide variety of material including jazz. This style is distinguished by having a steadier and "busier" (several beats to the bar) bass line than the chord melody approach of Montgomery and Pass making it suited to up-tempo material. Fingerstyle has always been predominant in Latin American guitar playing, which Laurindo Almeida (1917–1995) and Charlie Byrd (1925–1999) brought to

4888-456: The melody is played on the bass strings, usually low E, A, and D while rhythm strumming continues above, on the treble strings , G, B, and high E. This often occurs during the break . Travis picking derives its name from Merle Travis . The foundation of Travis picking revolves around the combination of alternate-bass fingerpicking and syncopated melodies. This style is commonly played on steel string acoustic guitars. Pattern picking

4992-410: The 12th fret: E–A–D–G–B–E; the 12th fret is placed where the body begins) or higher up to position XIX (the classical guitar most often having 19 frets, with the 19th fret being most often split and not being usable to fret the 3rd and 4th strings). To achieve tremolo effects and rapid, fluent scale passages, and varied arpeggios the player must practice alternation, that is, never plucking a string with

5096-599: The 1990 Grammy Award for Best Country Song . His follow-up album, 1989's Keys to the Highway , produced two top 5 hits in 1990, which were " Many a Long & Lonesome Highway " and " If Looks Could Kill ." After 1992's Life Is Messy , he left Columbia Records and signed to MCA Records where he released two more albums — Let the Picture Paint Itself and Jewel of the South . Crowell continued to enjoy success as

5200-656: The Billboard Hot 200 charts. In 2013, the album won the Americana Music Awards' Album of the Year award and Crowell and Harris were named group/duo of the year. On January 26, 2014, Crowell won his second Grammy Award when Old Yellow Moon won the Grammy for Best Americana Album. On May 11, 2015, Crowell and Emmylou Harris released The Traveling Kind on Nonesuch Records. Crowell released his first album on New West Records , Tarpaper Sky , on April 15, 2014. Crowell co-produced

5304-787: The CD Earl Scruggs and Friends . In September 2006 Lee took part in Primal Twang: The Legacy of the Guitar , a documentary about the history of the guitar. Lee appeared at the 2007 Crossroads Guitar Festival on 28 July and performed with Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings at the Ahmet Ertegun tribute show at The O2 in London on 10 December. A new album entitled Like This was released in spring 2008 to coincide with their European tour. He lives in Malibu , California. Lee has received many awards as

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5408-549: The D–A–D–G–A–D tuning, though with a hybrid picking style to produce a similar but distinctive effect. In 1976, William Ackerman started Windham Hill Records , which carried on the Takoma tradition of original compositions on solo steel string guitar . However, instead of the folk and blues oriented music of Takoma, including Fahey's American primitive guitar, the early Windham Hill artists (and others influenced by them) abandoned

5512-510: The Everly Brothers , Scotty Moore , James Burton and Jerry Reed . Lee first experienced commercial success as the lead guitarist with Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds. Lee says that he enjoyed playing the Stax -type material, but he really wanted to play country music . Consequently, he left Farlowe and the Thunderbirds in 1968. During his time playing with Heads Hands & Feet , Lee became

5616-559: The Kingpins. In 1971, Lee performed with Deep Purple 's keyboard player Jon Lord on the studio recording of Lord's Gemini Suite . That opus was a follow-up to Deep Purple's Concerto for Group and Orchestra . Ritchie Blackmore had played guitar at the first live performance of the Gemini Suite in September 1970, but declined the invitation to appear on the studio version, which led to

5720-494: The LP The New Ragtime Guitar on Folkways Records . This was followed by a Stefan Grossman method book with the same title. A year later Grossman and ED Denson founded Kicking Mule Records , a company that recorded scores of LPs of solo ragtime guitar by artists including Grossman, Ton van Bergeyk, Leo Wijnkamp, Duck Baker , Peter Finger , Lasse Johansson, Tom Ball and Dale Miller. Meanwhile, Reverend Gary Davis

5824-525: The South . Many songs on the album were semi-autobiographical, and the album included a duet Crowell had recorded and released as a single in 1998 with his ex father-in-law Johnny Cash , " I Walk the Line Revisited ". Crowell followed up this effort with Fate's Right Hand in 2003 and The Outsider in 2005, both of which appeared on Columbia Nashville , a division of Sony Music . Leading critics and Crowell consider these three albums his finest work as

5928-793: The Top Country Albums chart and No. 105 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The songs "Stars on the Water" and "Victim or a Fool" were released as singles. "Stars on the Water" reached No. 30 on the Hot Country Songs chart, Crowell's highest charting song up to that point. It peaked at No. 21 on the Canadian country charts. "Victim or a Fool" reached No. 34 in the U.S. In 1981, Crowell put his career on hold to produce several of his wife Rosanne Cash's albums. In 1983, Crystal Gayle had

6032-483: The age of 16 to play full-time. Lee was with a variety of bands from 1959 onwards, playing mostly R&B , country music and rock and roll . He was accompanying Richard Kneller, ( Dickie Pride ), in the Castle Pub, Tooting, the night Russ Conway saw him perform there, two weeks before taking Larry Parnes to see Pride. In addition to Buddy Holly, his early guitar influences included Cliff Gallup , Grady Martin ,

6136-549: The album "Blue Sky Sunrise". In 2007, Rodney Crowell was inducted into the Music City Walk of Fame . Crowell released his next album, Sex & Gasoline , on Yep Roc Records in 2008, ending his relationship with Sony Music. The album received a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album . Crowell figures prominently in musician-neuroscientist Daniel Levitin 's book The World in Six Songs for which he

6240-544: The band at one time or another. In 1988 Lee toured Australia along with Vince Gill , then a comparative unknown, and has returned to tour the country on several subsequent occasions. In the early 2000s Albert Lee toured with Bill Wyman 's Rhythm Kings. In 2002, Lee appeared at the Concert for George [Harrison]. Also in 2002, Lee received a Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance for " Foggy Mountain Breakdown " from

6344-452: The bass line while strumming chordal or melodic motives with his fingers. This style, while unorthodox, was widely regarded as an innovative method for enhancing the warm tone associated with jazz guitar. Montgomery's influence extends to modern polyphonic jazz improvisational methods. Joe Pass (1929–1994) switched to fingerstyle mid career, making the Virtuoso series of albums. Little known to

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6448-406: The day mixed with a few country numbers. In August 1972 he moved to Nashville, Tennessee , in search of a musical career and got a job as a songwriter after being discovered by Jerry Reed . He later met and befriended fellow songwriter Guy Clark , who became a major influence on his songwriting and vice versa. While there, he said, "I got a real cold splash in the face of what real songwriting

6552-521: The early 1970s the next generation of British artists added new tunings and techniques, reflected in the work of artists like Nick Drake , Tim Buckley and particularly John Martyn , whose Solid Air (1972) set the bar for subsequent British acoustic guitarists. Perhaps the most prominent exponent of recent years has been Martin Simpson , whose complex mix of traditional English and American material, together with innovative arrangements and techniques like

6656-565: The extended Raga of Indian classical music , the Japanese Koto , and the early ragtime-based country blues music of Mississippi John Hurt or Blind Blake . Fingerpicking was soon taken up by country and western artists such as Sam McGee , Ike Everly (father of The Everly Brothers ), Merle Travis and "Thumbs" Carllile . Later Chet Atkins further developed the style and in modern music musicians such as Jose Gonzalez, Eddie Vedder (on his song Guaranteed) and David Knowles have utilized

6760-495: The fingers rather than with a pick . Its purest form could be considered unaccompanied guitar with vocals, as exemplified by João Gilberto . Even in larger, jazz-like arrangements for groups, there is almost always a guitar that plays the underlying rhythm. Gilberto basically took one of the several rhythmic layers from a samba ensemble , specifically the tamborim , and applied it to the picking hand. Fingerpicking (also called thumb picking, alternating bass , or pattern picking)

6864-471: The first commercial slack key recordings were made) the style has expanded, and some contemporary compositions have a distinctly new-age sound. Slack key's older generation included Gabby Pahinui , Leonard Kwan , Sonny Chillingworth and Raymond Kāne . Prominent contemporary players include Keola Beamer , Moses Kahumoku, Ledward Kaapana , Dennis Kamakahi , John Keawe , Ozzie Kotani and Peter Moon and Cyril Pahinui . The unaccompanied guitar in jazz

6968-548: The five fingers of the right-hand (which pluck the strings, for right-handers) are designated by the first letter of their Spanish names namely p = thumb ( pulgar ), i = index finger ( índice ), m = middle finger ( medio ), a = ring finger ( anular ), and when used, often c = little finger or pinky ( chiquito ). There are several words in Spanish for the little finger: most commonly dedo meñique , but also dedo pequeño or dedo auricular ; however, their initials conflict with

7072-647: The following day to join Emmylou in Los Angeles. In 1977 as a side project, he formed a musical group, The Cherry Bombs, together with Vince Gill , Tony Brown and others. One year later, he signed a solo deal with Warner Bros. Records and in August 1978, released his debut album, Ain't Living Long Like This . His debut album, as well as his following two albums, But What Will the Neighbors Think and Rodney Crowell , were not commercially successful despite garnering

7176-523: The foundations for playing in this way Michael Hedges and Eric Roche developed and essentially pioneered percussive techniques forming a style of their own in the 1980s - 90s. Their progressive contribution played a significant role in influencing a new wave of percussive players including Andy Mckee , Preston Reed , Jon Gomm , Mike Dawes , Chris Woods , Don Ross , Declan Zapala , Erik Mongrain , and Marcin Patrzałek . "Funky fingerstyle" emerged in

7280-645: The general public Ted Greene (1946–2005) was admired by fellow musicians for his harmonic skills. Lenny Breau (1941–1984) went one better than van Eps by playing virtuosic fingerstyle on an eight string guitar . Tommy Crook replaced the lower two strings on his Gibson switchmaster with bass strings, allowing him to create the impression of playing bass and guitar simultaneously. Chet Atkins (1924–2001) sometimes applied his formidable right-hand technique to jazz standards, with Duck Baker (b. 1949), Richard Smith (b. 1971), Woody Mann and Tommy Emmanuel (b. 1955), among others, following in his footsteps. They use

7384-686: The gig was successful and he toured as Albert Lee & Hogan’s Heroes on a regular basis until 2015. The lineup of the band included British musicians Peter Baron on drums, Gerry Hogan on guitar and Brian Hodgson on bass. Pete Wingfield was the original keyboard player, before leaving to be replaced by Elio Pace and later Gavin Povey. They were renowned for attracting celebrities to their gigs. Stars such as Eric Clapton , Tommy Emmanuel , Lonnie Donegan , Dave Edmunds , Nick Lowe , Marty Wilde , Willie Nelson , Nanci Griffith , Don Everly , Emmylou Harris , Sonny Curtis and Rodney Crowell have all jammed with

7488-462: The guitar rather than the hand working as a single unit (which is the case when a guitarist is holding a single pick), a guitarist playing fingerstyle can perform several musical elements simultaneously. One definition of the technique has been put forward by the Toronto (Canada) Fingerstyle Guitar Association: Physically, "Fingerstyle" refers to using each of the right hand fingers independently to play

7592-532: The guitar to be presented to the Country Music Hall of Fame , but Everly informed him that guitars like that should be played, not kept sitting in a glass case. Don Everly presented it to Lee, along with his Gibson Everly Brothers model. Eric Clapton gave Lee the Gibson Les Paul Custom that he played while with Delaney and Bonnie . Lee also plays his signature Music Man (the guitar shown in

7696-404: The guitar. Jody Stecher and Alec Stone Sweet are exponents of guitar clawhammer. Fingerstyle guitarist Steve Baughman distinguishes between frailing and clawhammer as follows. In frailing, the index fingertip is used for up-picking melody, and the middle fingernail is used for rhythmic downward brushing. In clawhammer, only downstrokes are used, and they are typically played with one fingernail as

7800-562: The guitar. The sitting position of the player, while somewhat variable, generally places the guitar on the left leg, which is elevated, rather than the right. This sitting position is intended to maintain shoulder alignment and physical balance between the left and right hands. Thumb, index, middle and ring fingers are all commonly employed for plucking, with occasional use of the pinky. Chords are often plucked, with strums being reserved for emphasis. The repertoire varies in terms of keys, modes, rhythms and cultural influences. Classical-guitar music

7904-601: The high strings. The style originated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, as southern blues guitarists tried to imitate the popular ragtime piano music of the day, with the guitarist's thumb functioning as the pianist's left hand, and the other fingers functioning as the right hand. The first recorded examples were by players such as Blind Blake , Big Bill Broonzy , Skip James , Blind Willie McTell , Memphis Minnie and Mississippi John Hurt . Some early blues players such as Blind Willie Johnson and Tampa Red added slide guitar techniques. American primitive guitar

8008-421: The index (I) and middle (M) fingers alternate between two treble notes , usually on two different strings, most often the second and first. Using this pattern on a C major chord is as follows in notation and tablature : However, Travis's own playing was often much more complicated than this example. He often referred to his style of playing as "thumb picking", possibly because the only pick he used when playing

8112-406: The initials of the other fingers; c is said to be the first half of the initial letter ch of dedo chiquito , which is not the most common name ( meñique ) for the little finger; the origin of e , x and q is not certain but is said to perhaps be from extremo , Spanish for last or final, for the e and x , and meñique or pequeño for q . The four fingers of the left hand (which stop

8216-540: The involvement of Lee. Other performers were Yvonne Elliman , Ian Paice , Roger Glover , Tony Ashton and the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Malcolm Arnold . Lee left for Los Angeles in 1974 and, through his friend bassist Ric Grech (of Blind Faith ), did some session work on three albums with the Crickets who also at the time included Sonny Curtis and Jerry Allison . One of these releases

8320-589: The lyrics and Crowell set them to music. KIN was Karr's first foray into songwriting. Crowell performed four tracks on the album; one as a duet with Kris Kristofferson . A variety of other artists recorded the other songs on the album, including Norah Jones , Vince Gill , Lucinda Williams , Lee Ann Womack , Rosanne Cash , Kris Kristofferson and Emmylou Harris . On February 26, 2013, Crowell and Emmylou Harris released Old Yellow Moon on Harris' longtime label Nonesuch Records . The album reached Number 4 on Billboard ' s Country albums chart and Number 29 on

8424-407: The melody, chords and bassline. Fingerstyle is a standard technique on the classical or nylon string guitar , but is considered more of a specialized technique on steel string guitars . Fingerpicking is less common on electric guitar . The timbre of fingerpicked notes is described as "result[ing] in a more piano -like attack ," and less like pizzicato . Because individual digits play notes on

8528-474: The mid-2000s, as a style in which the sounds of a full funk or R&B ensemble are emulated on one guitar. Uncommon sounds are being discovered thanks to the technical possibilities of various pick-ups, microphones and octave division effects pedals. Adam Rafferty uses a technique of hip-hop vocal percussion called "human beat box", along with body percussion, while playing contrapuntal fingerstyle pieces. Petteri Sariola has several mics on board his guitar and

8632-680: The multiple parts of a musical arrangement that would normally be played by several band members. Deep bass notes, harmonic accompaniment (the chord progression ), melody, and percussion can all be played simultaneously when playing Fingerstyle. Many fingerstyle guitarists have adopted a combination of acrylic nails and a thumbpick to improve tone and decrease nail wear and chance of breaking or chipping. Notable guitarists to adopt this hardware are Ani DiFranco , Doyle Dykes , Don Ross , and Richard Smith . Nylon string guitars are most frequently played fingerstyle. The term " Classical guitar " can refer to any kind of art music played fingerstyle on

8736-573: The photographs) and a 1950s Telecaster (and has versions of both with custom B-Benders ), a 1958 Stratocaster and a Martin 000-28 acoustic. Despite his being heavily associated with the Fender Telecaster, guitar manufacturer Ernie Ball Music Man makes a signature Albert Lee guitar, which unlike typical Telecasters is offered with three single-coil or two humbucker pickups. Albert Lee website Fingerstyle Music arranged for fingerstyle playing can include chords , arpeggios (the notes of

8840-421: The playing of traditional English modal music . They were soon followed by artists such as Bert Jansch and John Renbourn , who further defined the style. The style these artists developed was particularly notable for the adoption of D–A–D–G–A–D (from lowest to highest), which gave a form of suspended-fourth D chord, neither major nor minor, which could be employed as the basis for modal based folk songs. This

8944-659: The record with his long-time collaborator, Steuart Smith . In the fall of 2014, Crowell was hired as music director for the Hank Williams biopic I Saw the Light . In 2015, Crowell provided background vocals on "It Doesn't Hurt Right Now", a song he co-wrote with Jewel for her album Picking Up the Pieces as well as on "Holy War", a track which appears on I Am the Rain , a 2016 album by Chely Wright . On December 20, 2016, Crowell released

9048-474: The same finger twice. Common alternation patterns include: Classical guitarists have a large degree of freedom within the mechanics of playing the instrument. Often these decisions influence tone and timbre . Factors include: Concert guitarists must keep their fingernails smoothly filed and carefully shaped to employ this technique, which produces a better-controlled sound than either nails or fingertips alone. Playing parameters include: Flamenco technique

9152-738: The single reached No. 4 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs chart. Crowell produced Chely Wright 's 2009 album, Lifted Off the Ground . Wright also made a cameo appearance in Crowell's 2008 music video for his single "Sex and Gasoline". Vintage Books published Crowell's memoir, Chinaberry Sidewalks , in 2011. "Chinaberry Sidewalks" focuses primarily on Crowell's relationship with his parents’ marriage and his own early years growing up in Houston , Texas. In 2012, Vanguard Records released KIN: Songs by Rodney Crowell and Mary Karr . Karr wrote

9256-643: The song " After All This Time " and one in 2014 Best Americana Album for his album Old Yellow Moon . Crowell was born on August 7, 1950, in Houston, Texas, to James Walter Crowell and Addie Cauzette Willoughby. He came from a musical family, with one grandfather being a church choir leader and the other a bluegrass banjo player. His grandmother played guitar and his father sang semi-professionally at bars and honky tonks . At age 11, he started playing drums in his father's band. In his teen years, he played in various garage rock bands in Houston, performing hits of

9360-550: The song spent four weeks at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart, topped the adult contemporary chart, and placed in the Top 15 of the country chart in early 1983. The song's dark, poetic and hypnotic style helped boost Crowell's cult status. The album Rodney Crowell was released in 1981 (see 1981 in country music ) by Warner Bros. Records and was his last album on that label before switching to Columbia. The first album Crowell produced by himself, it reached No. 47 on

9464-475: The steady alternating or monotonic bass in favor of sweet flowing arpeggios and flamenco -inspired percussive techniques. The label's best selling artist George Winston and others used a similar approach on piano. This music was generally pacific, accessible and expressionistic. Eventually, this music acquired the label of "New Age", given its widespread use as background music at bookstores, spas and other New Age businesses. The designation has stuck, though it

9568-507: The string without lifting, creating continuous transitions in pitch. Slide guitar is most often played (assuming a right-handed player and guitar): Slack-key guitar is a fingerpicked style that originated in Hawaii . The English term is a translation of the Hawaiian kī hō‘alu , which means "loosen the [tuning] key". Slack key is nearly always played in open or altered tunings—the most common tuning

9672-408: The strings, for left-handers) are designated 1 = index, 2 = major, 3 = ring finger, 4 = little finger; 0 designates an open string, that is a string that is not stopped by a finger of the left hand and whose full length thus vibrates when plucked. On the classical guitar the thumb of the left hand is never used to stop strings from above (as is done on the electric guitar): the neck of a classical guitar

9776-530: The style. Most fingerpickers use acoustic guitars, but some, including Merle Travis played on hollow-body electric guitars , while some modern rock musicians, such as Derek Trucks and Mark Knopfler , employ traditional North American fingerpicking techniques on solid-body electric guitars such as the Gibson Les Paul or the Fender Stratocaster . An early master of ragtime guitar was Blind Blake ,

9880-417: The tuning to replicate the drone common in medieval and folk music played by the thumb on the two lowest strings. The style was further developed by Jansch, who brought a more forceful style of picking and, indirectly, influences from Jazz and Ragtime, leading particularly to more complex basslines. Renbourn built on all these trends and was the artist whose repertoire was most influenced by medieval music. In

9984-475: The use of guitar slides, represents a deliberate attempt to create a unique and personal style. Martin Carthy passed on his guitar style to French guitarist Pierre Bensusan . It was taken up in Scotland by Dick Gaughan , and by Irish musicians like Paul Brady , Dónal Lunny and Mick Moloney . Carthy also influenced Paul Simon , particularly evident on Scarborough Fair , which he probably taught to Simon, and

10088-466: Was a banjo thumb pick, or "Muhlenberg picking", after his native Muhlenberg County, Kentucky , where he learned this approach to playing from Mose Rager and Ike Everly . Travis's style did not involve a defined, alternating bass string pattern; it was more of an alternating "bass strum" pattern, resulting in an accompanying rhythm reminiscent of ragtime piano. Clawhammer and frailing are primarily banjo techniques that are sometimes applied to

10192-499: Was a guitarist from Mali , whose music has been called the "DNA of the blues". He was also often compared to John Lee Hooker . His son Vieux Farka Toure continues to play in the same style. Djelimady Tounkara is another Malian fingerstylist. S. E. Rogie and Koo Nimo play acoustic fingerstyle in the lilting, calypso -influenced palm wine music tradition. Benin -born Jazz guitarist Lionel Loueke uses fingerstyle in an approach that combines jazz harmonies and complex rhythms. He

10296-615: Was active in New York City, where he mentored many aspiring finger-pickers. He has subsequently influenced numerous other artists in the United States and internationally. Carter Family picking , also known as "'thumb brush' technique or the 'Carter lick,' and also the 'church lick' and the 'Carter scratch'", is a style of fingerstyle guitar named for Maybelle Carter of the Carter Family 's distinctive style of rhythm guitar in which

10400-458: Was combined with a fingerstyle based on Travis picking and a focus on melody, that made it suitable as an accompaniment. Denselow, who coined the phrase 'folk baroque,' singled out Graham's recording of traditional English folk song 'Seven Gypsys' on Folk, Blues and Beyond (1964) as the beginning of the style. Graham mixed this with Indian, African, American, Celtic, and modern and traditional American influences, while Carthy in particular used

10504-460: Was interviewed, and three Crowell songs, "Shame On The Moon," "I Know Love Is All I Need" and "I Walk the Line (Revisited)" are featured in the book. In 2009, Crowell wrote Wynonna Judd 's title track to her album Sing: Chapter 1 , which also was released in 2009. The song was given several electronic dance music remixes, and sent to dance radio as Judd's second release from the album. In August 2009,

10608-476: Was not a term coined by the company itself. "Percussive fingerstyle" is a term for a style incorporating sharp attacks on the strings, as well as hitting the strings and guitar top with the hand for percussive effect. Principally featuring, string slapping, guitar body percussion, alternate tunings and extended techniques such as; tapping and harmonics. Flamenco and Blues guitarists regularly feature percussive techniques and alternate tunings, and arguably laid

10712-601: Was particularly influential, because of its complex and varied guitar part. His influences included traditional music of Zambia and the Eastern Congo, Cuban groups like the Trio Matamoros, and cowboy movies. His style used the thumb and index finger only, to produce bass, melody and accompaniment. Congolese guitarists Losta Abelo and Edouard Masengo played in a similar style. Herbert Misango and George Mukabi were fingerstyle guitarists from Kenya . Ali Farka Toure (d. 2006)

10816-411: Was rejected by Warner Bros and never released. Warner Bros. requested a more Nashville-friendly record, but Crowell negotiated a release from his contract and moved to Columbia Records . After producing Rosanne Cash's Rhythm & Romance , Crowell signed to Columbia Records in 1986. His first album for that label was reworked Street Language , co-produced with Booker T. Jones and featuring

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