Lesson 2

The Music and the Musicians

The earliest music written for the guitar dates back almost 500 years. In this chapter, we’ll take a look at different types of guitar music and the top players in each genre.

Classical

Andres Segovia can be heard on the compilation Recordings, which highlights his works from 1927-39. Later recordings from the 1950s are featured in the set The Master. See pages 42-44 of the K.I.S.S. Guide to Playing Guitar for more on classical guitar.

Classical Music

In its early days, as you’ve already seen, the guitar wasn’t taken very seriously by “real” musicians. Most of the music written for guitar consisted of simple strummed chords, which gave it a reputation for being an instrument that could be mastered in a short period of time.

One of the first guitarists to achieve an international reputation, Francesco Corbetta taught both King Louis XIV of France and King Charles II of England, making the guitar rather fashionable. In 1677, Corbetta wrote Easie Lessons on the Guittar For Young Practitioners, a kind of 17th-century version of my own K.I.S.S. guide (which I hope you’ve all got!).

The early 19th century saw the first great music and musicians emerge. Fernando Sor was the guitar’s first virtuoso. Sor toured widely throughout Europe, thrilling audiences with brilliant playing. It was rumored that Sor so inspired Paganini that he briefly abandoned the violin for the guitar. His book of guitar compositions is still considered essential for many fledgling classical players.

Francisco Tárrega came to prominence during the second half of the 19th century. He was not only the finest player of the period, he also established the now-common practice of transcribing compositions created for other instruments for the guitar. This vastly enriched the relatively small repertoire of high-quality compositions for the instrument.

From the early 20th century, classical guitar was dominated by one figure — self-taught maestro Andres Segovia. Segovia pioneered the practice of playing with a relaxed right hand and striking the strings with the left-hand side of the fingernails. Generally considered to be the finest classical guitarist ever, Segovia used almost evangelical zeal to raise the profile of his instrument, inspiring successive generations of players and composers alike.

Under Segovia’s patronage, many leading 20th century composers — Turina, Torroba, and Rodrigo — produced works for Segovia. His South American tours inspired new masters in guitar composition, including Brazilian Heitor Villa-Lobos and Mexican composer Manuel Ponce. Having died in 1987, Segovia can rest assured that his crusade to have the guitar afforded the same respect as other traditional orchestra instruments has truly been achieved.

Apart from his highly dubious sideline in the late 70s classical-rock group Sky, John Williams is one of the finest players of the late 20th century. Try listening to John Williams Plays Spanish Music. As well as being a virtuoso musician, Julian Bream has also been responsible for broadening the classical repertoire. Try his 20th Century Guitar.

Compositionally speaking, works by Ponce, Torriba, and Rodrigo are among the most enjoyable compositions for the guitar. For something a little more demanding, Villa-Lobos is a must. The works of J. S. Bach have also been very successfully transcribed for the guitar.

Country Crossovers

Country music has long been combined with other musical forms. Late 1960s bands like the Byrds pioneered country-rock, which peaked in popularity a decade later when The Eagles became just about the biggest selling band ever. Contemporary stars like Garth Brooks are among the most popular artists worldwide. In a less commercial vein, harder and more contemporary country sounds exist in the so-called alt.country fraternity, featuring bands such as Uncle Tupelo and Steve Earle.

Country and American Folk

The roots of country music are tied up with the various forms of folk music that were popular in the United States during the 19th century, such as the blues or Celtic music. Country music as we know it now evolved at the end of the century, gradually mutating into different styles such as country and western, swing, bluegrass, Cajun, hillbilly, and rockabilly.

The guitar has always been crucial to country and American folk music — country music helped popularize the guitar in North America. The first country player to reach a large radio audience was Jimmie Rodgers, who learned guitar as a child from black railroad workers. His songs told of the hardship of the working man — a baton later taken up more eloquently by Woodie Guthrie and by 60s protest folkies like Bob Dylan.

In the 1930s, the glamorous “singing cowboy” movie stars like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers helped to steer millions towards cheap acoustic guitars from Sears Roebuck — the starting point for many a picker. During the same period, Lester Flatt helped to develop the famous “Western Swing” sound.

In Western Swing, the thumb is used to play a bass line whilst the other fingers play the chords and melodies. This style of picking was taken up by Merle Travis and, most dramatically, by the amazing Chet Atkins who added flourishes of incredible speed. He also all but invented the “Nashville Sound,” variations on which have dominated the country scene ever since.

Recommended Listening

You need to have the RealPlayer installed on your computer to be able to listen to these clips. Be sure to contact the help desk if you have problems playing these sound clips.

Chet Atkins’ A Legendary Performer contains a good sample of his work from 1952 to 1964.

Fans of the soundtrack to “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?” might like to hear Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs playing together in The Foggy Mountain Boys (yes, that’s where the name came from!) on the album The Original Bluegrass Band, which highlights country music from 1945 to 1949).

And of course, for great songs, just get anything by Hank Williams (Senior, of course).

• Guitar sound bite
• Chet Atkins
• ‘Petite Waltz’
• album: RCA Country Legends
• Guitar sound bite
• Flat and Scruggs
• ‘Roll in My Sweet Baby’s Arms’
• album: 20^th Century Master – The Millenium Collection: The Best of Flat & Scruggs

Blues

There is a direct line of heritage that runs from the blues and ethnic music of the early 20th century to the popular rhythm and blues bands of the 1940s. The first star of ragtime blues guitar was Blind Lemon Jefferson. Between 1925 and 1929, he sold hundreds of thousands of records.

In what would become a long-standing (and tragic) tradition, Jefferson saw almost no reward for his success. Jefferson was a major influence on other blues players like Leadbelly, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Robert Johnson, and T-Bone Walker — his playing has to be heard to be believed.

Until the 1940s, the popularity of raw acoustic blues was largely restricted to black audiences. This slowly changed with a generation of Chicago-based rhythm and blues players, notably Muddy Waters. The first great electric blues player, his sounds were a major influence on the first wave of young white rock musicians in the 1950s.

As rhythm and blues evolved into rock and roll in the 1950s, this traditionally black music reached a more massive audience. Chuck Berry was one of rock’s pioneers — his rhythm playing and unmistakable solos influenced a generation of budding guitarists. At the same time, white country musicians began to make a big impression. Elvis Presley’s guitarist, Scotty Moore, while never a household name, is considered by many to be the first true rock guitarist.

Recommended Listening

For early recordings, check out anything by Blind Lemon Jefferson or Robert Johnson. Both players have a small body of work that can be contained within a couple of CDs. Any compilation will do the trick.

• Guitar sound bite
• Blind Lemon Jefferson
• ‘Long Lonesome Blues’
• album: Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1
• Guitar sound bite
• Robert Johnson
• ‘Kindhearted Woman’
• album: The Complete Recordings

Bone Walker was one of the fathers of electric blues. His classic sounds can be heard on The Complete 1940-54 Recordings. Another great electric blues pioneer, Muddy Waters (and many other blues greats) can be assessed on The Chess Box compilation.

• Guitar sound bite
• T Bone Walker
• ‘Mean Old World’
• album: Blues Masters: The Very Best of T-Bone Walker

• Guitar sound bite
• Muddy Waters
• ‘Rolling Stone’
• album: The Chess Box

A master of country blues, Lightnin’ Hopkins is worth checking out on The Gold Star Sessions. He often made up songs while he was on stage, improvising the lyrics as he went along.

• Guitar sound bite
• Lightnin’ Hopkins
• ‘Baby Please Don’t Go’
• album: The Gold Star Sessions, Vol. 1

Chuck Berry’s Hail! Hail! Rock and Roll! highlights his big hits between 1956 and 1965.

• Guitar sound bite
• Chuck Berry
• ‘Roll Over Beethoven’
• album: The Chess Box

Roy Buchanan was a guitarist’s guitarist — meaning nobody bought his records. Try 1976’s A Street Called Straight.

• Guitar sound bite
• Roy Buchanan
• ‘Ramon’s Blues’
• album: Guitar on Fire: The Atlantic Sessions

My Favorite Things

Much of my favorite guitar-based rock comes from punk and beyond. Many of these groups eliminated long solos, with few (if any) technical virtuosos in this list. Here are some guitar bands to consider (in no particular order): Wire, Gang of Four, Pere Ubu, the Velvet Underground (OK, they’re from the 60s, but it took people until the late 70s to catch up), Television, Nirvana, Sonic Youth, Rage Against The Machine, Radiohead, and the Ramones.

Rock

By the start of the 1960s, the electric guitar group had become the standard form of ensemble. During this period, the British blues boom turned out an endless stream of young virtuoso electric guitarists — players such as Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Peter Green are still revered decades later. These were among the first rock players to combine the raw emotion and energy of the great bluesmen with a dazzling playing technique.

The second half of the 1960s gave birth to heavy rock. The English group Cream, featuring Eric Clapton, are often cited as pioneers. The overriding sound was of loud distorted guitar riffs played in unison with the bass, accompanied by fast soloing. The late 60s also turned up the single most significant electric guitar player of them all — Jimi Hendrix.

Although barely four years passed between his first album and his death in 1970, Hendrix redefined the electric guitar. Whilst his playing technique was formidable (and pretty unorthodox), he was among the first prominent guitarists to experiment with the sonic possibilities of the amplifier and electronic effects.

Heavy metal — a harder, faster, and louder form of rock — dominated the first half of 1970s. Also popular was the predominantly British progressive rock — a form that saw serious young musicians taking a music college mentality to rock music. Although a lot of people saw it as pop growing up, it largely disappeared in the late 70s with the punk and new wave explosions in London and New York.

Punk, in its many forms, saw a return to the raw energy of the 60s beat groups. The sheer noise, thrash, and accompanying attitudes has ensured that punk has in some form remained popular with successive generations, most notably the grunge sound of the early 1990s based around the city of Seattle, which introduced such great bands as Nirvana.

In recent years, musical boundaries have gradually fallen — largely under the strong influence of dance music and DJ culture. This has seen some unexpected hybrids such as nu-metal — traditional riffing rock music underpinned by samples, scratching, and dance grooves.

Recommended Listening

Take a listen to some of the best early British blues-boomers with their original groups: Bluesbreakers by John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (with Eric Clapton), Roger the Engineer by The Yardbirds’ (with Jeff Beck), and Fleetwood Mac’s 1966 eponymous debut album (featuring Peter Green). (Note that the latter has almost no musical connection with the horrid adult-oriented rock of the late 70s, world-dominating Fleetwood Mac.)

• Guitar sound bite
• John Mayall
• ‘Lonely Years’
• As it all began: the best of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, 1964-1969
• Guitar sound bite
• The Yardbirds
• ‘A Certain Girl’
• Ultimate!

Captain Beefheart’s Trout Mask Replica is probably the greatest album ever made. Some may find it a challenging listen, though.

• Guitar sound bite
• Captain Beefheart
• ‘Ella Guru’
• Trout Mask Replica

Of course, Jimi Hendrix remains the übermeister of the electric guitar. His first two albums (with his band The Experience) Are You Experienced? and Axis: Bold As Love are benchmark recordings in rock guitar.

• Guitar sound bite
• Jimi Hendrix
• ‘Are You Experienced?’

Are You Experienced?

Led Zeppelin is probably the single most influential rock band of them all. The brain behind their sound was guitarist and producer Jimmy Page. Terribly sexist lyrics notwithstanding (it was 1968 — that sort of thing was still allowed then), Led Zeppelin still manages to sound quite contemporary.

• Guitar sound bite
• Led Zeppelin
• ‘Good times Bad Times’
• Led Zeppelin

Jazz

Originally based around the New Orleans area, jazz emerged at the end of the 19th century as a genuine Black American folk music. The guitar played a very low-key role at first, simply because it just wasn’t loud enough to compete with all those horns.

The first great jazz guitarist was New York musician Eddie Lang. Active during the 1920s, Lang was widely credited for having pioneered the idea of using the guitar for playing solos. Although Django Rheinhardt made similar progress on the other side of the Atlantic, the guitar was still mostly used for rhythm work.

All this changed when the guitar went electric. During the early 1940s, Charlie Christian revolutionized not just jazz, but guitar playing in general, establishing the instrument as a credible tool for his virtuoso soloing. Although Christian was barely active for four years before his death, it would take almost 20 years for the next significant influence to arrive in the world of jazz guitar — Wes Montgomery.

In the late 1960s, jazz was given a new direction as Miles Davis experimented with integrating elements of rock. The fusion sound produced such fine guitarists as John McLaughlin and Pat Metheny. Many of the most technically accomplished players continue to inhabit this territory.

Unlike rock, the jazz scene is less fashion-driven. Consequently, the various sub-genres of jazz that have emerged over the past 60 or so years all continue to thrive and develop.

Recommended Listening

For a taste of state-of-the-art jazz soloing guitar circa the 1930s, go for Eddie Lang’s Jazz Guitar Virtuoso and any of the many compilations featuring Django Reinhardt (with the Quintet of the Hot Club of France).

• Guitar sound bite
• Eddie Lang
• ’Eddie’s Twister’
• Handful of Riffs
• Guitar sound bite
• Django Reinhardt
• ’Oh Lady Be Good’
• Quintette de Hot Club de France: 25 Classics 1934

Anything you can lay your hands on by Charlie Christian (there isn’t a whole lot out there) will see you well served.

• Guitar sound bite
• Charlie Christian
• ’Seven come Eleven’
• the Genius of the electric guitar [Columbia]

For mastery of chord movement, get to hear Wes Montgomery. The Incredible Jazz Guitar of . . . is a good example (although watch out for his schmaltzy orchestral stuff from the mid-60s — it’s OK, but doesn’t hit the mark). A good deal of Wes can also be heard in George Benson’s playing (yes, that George Benson — before he became a platinum-selling crooning disco sensation).

• Guitar sound bite
• Wes Montgomery
• ’Polka Dots and Moonbeams’
• the incredible jazz guitar of Wes Montgomery

What’s So Great About . . .

Here’s a fun thing to do. Lock a dozen guitarists in a room and have them debate their favorite 20 guitarists: sit back and let the fur fly! The answers will be varied as the players themselves. Who’s your favorite guitarist? Come to the Message Board and state your preferences!

Other Categories

OK, there’s more to music than the generalizations already covered. Many of the finest technicians can be heard playing flamenco, a folk music of the Andalucian region of Spain. Flamenco gained credibility in America during the 1940s when Carlos Montoya introduced it to concert audiences, ending its former role as simple background music for dance. The modern-day flamenco maestro is unquestionably Paco De Lucia, who has combined intense passion and awesome technique to magnificent effect.

In the 1980s, a new genre emerged in Spain — flamenco nuevo — a sort of hybrid form mixed in with elements of jazz-rock. Although almost unknown outside the Latin world, bands such as Ketama are well worth catching if you can find their music.

Astor Piazolla was known as the man who updated the traditional Argentinian tango form. Although his instrument was the bandonion, he composed some extraordinarily haunting guitar music, some of which has only come to light in the years after his death in the early 1990s.

The guitar also enjoys a central role in Celtic and other European folk forms. During the 1960s, many fine British musicians, such as Martin Carthy, Richard Thompson and Nick Drake, emerged, bringing a very different kind of folk music to rock and pop audiences — markedly different than that on show in the Greenwich Village coffee houses of the same period.

There are also some very interesting musicians who are quite difficult to categorize. John Fahey played unaccompanied steel-string acoustic guitars, but the effect couldn’t quite be called country, blues, or folk. Try Dance of Death and Other Plantation Favourites for a taste of the unusual.

A similar queer fish is Brazilian Egberto Gismonti. His gentle acoustic music often finds itself lumped in with other new age styles, but this doesn’t tell the whole story. A highly trained classical pianist, he abandoned his instrument in favor of the guitar — his unique style was developed while living among the Xingo tribes of the Amazon.

The players recommended in this lesson are but a tiny proportion of any definitive list. You’ll find a whole lot more in my K.I.S.S. Guide to Playing the Guitar. But even then, I’ve had letters from fans complaining of my omissions. I make no apology for this: Greatness is in the ear of the beholder. And the more you listen, the harder it gets to take such generalized views.

Moving Forward

See you in the next lesson. There we’ll talk about choosing the equipment you need to play the guitar.

Assignment : Listen

For this assignment, choose two of the guitar players or bands mentioned in Lesson 2 whom you’ve never listened to before. Give their albums a couple of spins. Try and isolate what makes the player innovative, unique, or legendary. It will most likely be a magical mixture of technique and feeling, and may be hard to pin down!