Guitarist Stanley Clark

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Stanley Clarke

Clark was born in Philadelphia in 1951. Clarke's mother was his first musical influence as she was a professional operatic singer and as a child he often heard as singing around the house.

Violin lessons start around the age of 12 but because of his height and having long fingers is causing problems trying to play violin. He tried the shallow and had the same difficulties with a double bass one day convinced him that this is the right sized instrument for him.

By a tiny 16 he had started playing the bass guitar and his interests read music such as Wagner, Bach, James Brown, Hendrix, Beatles, and Sly.

Luckily continued his classical studies it was also playing in popular music groups in his local area. After high school he went to the Philadelphia musical Academy took a course covering symphonic  double bass playing. After the Academy he moved to New York and successfully auditioned for the jazz pianist in Horace Silver's group staying over a year.

At the beginning of the 70s he met Chick Corea and led the first line up of Return to you For Ever and recorded an album with the same name.

At this time Rick Turner showed Clarke his early two octave ALEMBIC bass guitars. This instrument with its long sky or active electronics and long sustain gave a rich sound and convince Clarke to make him a custom instrument thus initiating a combination that resulted in this distinctive sound. Return to forEver enjoy considerable success and by 1976 Clarke had become something of a legion. His Stanley Clarke solo album is accepted as an all time masterpiece he went on to perform his own group as well is work with Jeff Beck, George Duke and the Barbarians and with each Keith Richards.

Frank Zappa

Zappa has said himself that what makes him different from other guitar “hero types” is that he sees himself as a composer “ who can operate an instrument called a guitar”

He also said “ from the very beginning when I used to hear those solos on those old records I used to say ........now here is an instrument that is capable of spewing forth true obscentity, you know? If  ever there’s an obscene noise to be made on an instrument, it’s going to come out of a guitar”

Is Zappa out of touch with the world or are we out of touch with him?

He brings together influences from American dark music to Europen classical composers. Born Francis Vincent Zappa 21  December 1940 in Baltimore he started making music playing drums in 1956. He changed to guitar in Senior High.

What is a guitar  solo in his opinion?

“Three Hours Past Midnight “ by “ Johnny Guitar Watson

 Listen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdqOpDOe5Tc

Cheers David www.guitartime.com.au

Guitarist Robert Fripp

Robert Fripp - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

One of my favourite guitarists during the 60’s was Robert Fripp. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Fripp

He took rock music guitar playing in a different direction to that of many guitarists of the era. Most followed a “blues” base. He played both acoustic and electric, but his solo work is where his impact was.

He was founder member of the group King Crimson. They were what was called progressive rock combining classical and symphonic concepts using electric elements of rock

In the early eighties a Fripp band was named Discipline and recorded a great album called “Discipline”

If you are into guitar playing and need some inspiration listen to his album “Exposure

Cheers

David www.guitartime.com.au

 

Looking after Your Guitar

Your guitar is an expensive instrument, so it makes sense to take proper care of it so that you can continue playing it for years to come. Here are a few tips to assist in keeping  its longevity.
Dust. Don`t let dust cover your guitar. Dust build up  can actually affect your guitar`s performance. A very simple approach is to wipe off your guitar with a clean and soft cloth. You can use your own clean cloth or you can purchase special cloths that are available in music stores.
If you are a bit fancy about your cleaning, then you can choose many products available in the market that are designed for cleaning guitars. Guitar cleaners,  liquid solvent and even solutions especially meant for cleaning the fretboard of guitars are available. If your guitar has a matte finish surface, it is suggested to use a water-based guitar cleaner. Don’t use the creamy polished cleaners as they are abrasive.
Use lighter fluid to remove the stains or stickers on your guitar. This solvent won`t harm the finish of your guitar. Use a damp cloth with the solvent and wipe off the tape and stickers.
Before you start playing your guitar, wash your hands as this will significantly lengthen the life of your strings.
Polishing is equally important as cleaning. You will get an excellent shine and it also preserves the wood of your guitar. Always choose a polish that is designed specifically for guitars as any general polish might ruin the smooth finish on guitars.  Areas such as bridge or tuners or even the neck region of the guitar should not be polished.
Your fingerboard needs regular cleaning including the strings and the fret wire. These areas are prone to high-temperature and humidity and also of acidity by the constant touch of the player`s hands.
Lastly, where do you store your guitar. A guitar-case is a must and it should not be stored in too humid, warm or even too cold surroundings. Cheers David www.guitartime.com.au

www.guitartime.com.au "Epiphone" Night hawk is a light weight easy to play guitar with a great sound.

Learning on a decent guitar

Puchase a good guitar that will help  your playing and learning. I have seen many times  where the guitar is the problem, not the student.  Is the “action and playability” (distance of the string to the neck) of the guitar  good and is it correctly intonated (the bridge adjusted so the strings are the correct length)If not you will have tuning and playing problems that are not your fault and you get frustrated trying to learn. Use light gauge strings as it may stop finger strain.  www.guitartime.com.au