Fred Treece
From:
California, USA
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Posted 30 Dec 2018 11:48 am |
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| Doug Beaumier wrote: |
Thanks Andy, I guess I'm a melody guy! I like improv too and speedpicking, etc, but a strong melody is what draws the listener in IMO. Something I've noticed... my most popular videos on YouTube feature single note playing of the melody. Not chord style and not a lot of fills mixed in. Just the single note melody. I always felt like that was copping out because the steel guitar offers so many beautiful harmonies and chord voicings, especially the pedal steel guitar. It's very tempting to play harmonies and full chords throughout the song but I think the single note way really makes a statement and grabs the listener's attention.  🎅 |
This is an invaluable statement. It wasn’t that long ago (only 50 years for me) that we were all uneducated listeners, and the single note melody line was what grabbed us. Playing this way takes a certain discipline as well as the expert touch & technique.
Great job recording as always, Doug. Also, your ability to choose material for your style and approach is commendable, and an oft overlooked talent. Not that you couldn’t play just about anything you set your mind to do... |
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Doug Beaumier
From:
Northampton, MA
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Posted 30 Dec 2018 1:17 pm
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Thanks Fred. I realized how effective single note playing can be when I recorded "Stranger on the Shore". At first I worked out an arrangement with two string harmonies and some chords, and I tried recording the song that way. But something was wrong. It didn't sound much like the original song with its strong clarinet melody. So I scrapped my arrangement and I played the tune one note at a time, trying to get close the sound of the original. As we've said before, it's very tempting to add in more stuff, but for songs like Sleep Walk, Stranger on the Shore, and a lot of surf guitar tunes, Less really is more. 
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My Site / My YouTube Channel
25 Songs C6 Lap Steel / 25 MORE Songs C6 Lap Steel / 16 Songs, C6, A6, B11 / 60 Popular Melodies E9 Pedal Steel |
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