October 26, 2023 • 33 mins
In this roundtable discussion, Diego Figueiredo, Gwenifer Raymond, and Yasmin Williams share their unique perspectives on composing for solo guitar. Through conversation and inspiring demonstrations, our guests explore the differences between improvising and refining a piece, techniques for making one guitar feel like a full band, and more.
This episode is sponsored by ToneWoodAmp, a magnetically attached game-changing multi-effects device for acoustic guitars. Get reverb, delay, and more—no amp required! Learn more at tonewoodamp.com.
Additional resources:
- Listen to Part 2, where our guests discuss first songs, life-changing compositions, favorite tunings, and advice for finding your own voice on guitar.
- Visit Diego Figueiredo's website and watch this Acoustic Guitar Sessions video for his lightning-fast performance of the bossa nova standard, “One Note Samba.”
- Visit Gwenifer Raymond's website and watch her video lesson on how to play John Fahey's "Uncloudy Day."
- Visit Yasmin William's website and learn to play one of her compositions, "New Beginnings," a contemplative study in open-D tuning. Learn more about her unique Skytop Grand Concert built by luthier Eric Weigeshoff.
The Acoustic Guitar Podcast theme music is composed by Adam Perlmutter and performed for this episode by Gwenifer Raymond.
This episode is hosted by Nick Grizzle, produced by Tanya Gonzalez, and directed and edited by Joey Lusterman. Executive producers are Lyzy Lusterman and Stephanie Campos Dal Broi.
The Acoustic Guitar Podcast is produced by the team at Acoustic Guitar magazine, including:
- Publisher: Lyzy Lusterman
- Editorial Director: Adam Perlmutter
- Managing Editor: Kevin Owens
- Creative Director: Joey Lusterman
- Digital Content Director: Stephanie Campos Dal Broi
- Digital Content Manager: Nick Grizzle
- Marketing Services Manager: Tanya Gonzalez
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Nick (00:47):
Welcome to the Acoustic Guitar Podcast.
I'm your host, Nick Grizzle,and that was Gwenifer Raymond
playing her interpretation ofour theme song.
In this episode, you'll hearfrom a distinguished group of
guitarists (00:57):
Diego Figueiredo, Gwenifer Raymond, and Yasmin
Williams, who each share theirunique perspectives on composing
for solo guitar.
We discuss the differencesbetween improvising and refining
a piece, techniques for makingone guitar feel like a full band
, and a whole lot more.
Before we get into it, I'd liketo take a moment to thank
Tonewood Amp for sponsoring thisepisode.
(01:18):
Tonewood Amp is a game-changingmulti-effects device that
attaches to any acoustic guitarGet reverb, delay and more no
amp required.
Learn more at TonewoodAmpcom.
And one more thing while I haveyour attention.
If you've been listening to thisshow for a while, you've
probably noticed the musicplayed at the top of every
episode.
It was composed by AcousticGuitar Magazine's editor, Adam
(01:41):
Perlmutter.
We love hearing theinterpretations by our podcast
guests and we'd like to hearyours too.
You can find the music to playat patreon.
com/acousticguitarplus.
You don't have to be a payingmember to access it.
You'll also see instructionsfor how to submit your own
recording for the chance to befeatured on a future episode.
I'm sure this episode will giveyou some ideas and inspiration
(02:05):
for making the tune your ownAgain.
That site is patreon.
com/acousticguitarplus.
You'll find that link in theshow notes, along with
additional resources related tothis episode, as well as our
guests.
Now, without further ado, let'sbegin with our guests
describing their music, startingwith Gwenifer.
Gwenifer (02:24):
Yeah, I mean, I guess I came from kind of the more, I
guess one of the more commonroots of fingerstyle kind of
that, you know that countryblues into sort of John Faye
sort of style stuff, that Iguess that, whatever you might
call primitive guitar I've beencalling it Welsh primitive
because I am Welsh and yeah,sort of I guess I kind of dig.
I kind of dig a riff as much asanything else.
(02:46):
So I kind of go for the morehooky based, I guess you know
guitar like I like arecognizable tune.
I listen to a lot of you knowsolo instrumental classical
music as well, which I feel likehas got those you know bangin'
riffs essentially.
So yeah, I guess I also comefrom like a punk background so
(03:08):
I'm quite an aggressive player.
So I think my style is kind ofidentified by a fairly
aggressive style but with like ahopefully a fairly strong
melodic throughline, if thatmakes sense.
Again, in that, you know Ithink I pick an alternate and
thumb country blue style.
Diego (03:25):
I am originally from Brazil so I started playing,
since I was six years old, thetraditional Brazilian music the
Samba and the Bossa Nova.
That was my first contact withthe guitar.
My father used it to play thenylon string guitar and he
introduced me the oldtraditional Brazilian music.
That was my first contact withmusic.
(03:48):
Then later I discovered thejazz and the classical music.
So I played finger style withthe right hand technique and I
say I am a mix of Brazilianmusic, jazz and classical music.
So that's my conception ofmusic.
Yasmin (04:06):
I always have such a hard time answering this
question, so bear with me.
Basically just instrumentalguitar with other things added
in, like I play kalimba withguitar too and use tap shoes and
stuff, and I play guitar a lotof the time with it in my lap,
kind of like a lap tapping style, I guess.
So basically I just use a lotof hammer-ons and pull-offs to
(04:30):
tap on the fretboard veryquickly and I use my right hand
to do a lot of percussive stuffon the body of the guitar and
use my left hand for tapping andother stuff and I do regular
finger style stuff too.
So for me it's just making thesound as full as possible.
How can I make one guitar soundlike many?
How can I keep an audienceentertained throughout a show
(04:52):
with just me on stage?
How can I make it fun for meand how can I make these songs
as full and fleshed out aspossible, which is why I add
other instruments sometimes.
So that's the most importantthing and kind of has always
been, I guess.
Nick (05:09):
What are some of the techniques that you do to create
that?
Because, yeah, as sologuitarist I think that is
something that I hear a lot itnever sounds like just a guitar.
It's like, oh, that's a guitarand a bass no, it's just a
guitar, that's a guitar.
And percussion no, that's justa guitar.
That's like six guitars no,that's one guitar.
So what are some of thetechniques?
Maybe, if you want todemonstrate them a little bit, I
(05:30):
don't know, but some of thetechniques you use to actually
fill in, like you said, the band.
Yasmin (05:37):
I mean just being able to play bass lines with a melody
, like I can play a little bit,I guess, so just being able to
play the melody in the bass atthe same time and have kind of
(05:57):
like notes that ring out thatcan provide harmony and whatever
is important, and with kind ofa lap tapping style, I can kind
of do a lot more with bass, andyeah, you can kind of both,
(06:25):
which is great, since that'skind of what a band is.
Anyway, you know, you got thebass dude, you know whoever.
You got the lead player, yougot the rhythm player, you got
the vocalists.
You can kind of do all of thatwith just a guitar.
Nick (06:36):
Gwenifer, how do you find yourself doing that?
Do you have specific techniquesthat you use?
Because I I have a hard timesometimes in your albums that
I've heard, I have a hard timebelieving that's one guitar.
You know it's a lot of soundgoing on there.
Gwenifer (06:51):
Yeah, I never really made a conscious effort.
I mean, I kind of I came tothis just playing these so weird
little blues instrumentalsBecause I was just a solo guitar
player and I don't sing those.
Okay, I'll just make my ownlittle songs and didn't think
anyone ever care right.
And then I just, you know, okay, people, people, some people
kind of dig it.
And then, yeah, people wouldsay, oh, sounds like there's all
(07:13):
these guitars on stage and Inever I really have never
attempted to do that on purpose.
I guess it's just, it's just theway I play.
I mean, do play fast.
I think that comes from.
I do.
I do everything kind of fast,including talk.
But yeah, coming out there kindof punk background, um, I mean,
yeah, I mean it's beyond.
(07:34):
So I kind of like the, the, thetension that lies between
sometimes it's you know reallyreally big, loud shit and then
you sort of turn that into thatnice.
Yeah, it's like the loud, quiet, loud, right.
Yeah, you know it's that thosetwo together is kind of it is
(07:59):
the tension, right and that's.
I guess that's what's.
That's what's interesting Interms of technique.
I just hit it really hard andthat tends seems to work for me.
Nick (08:06):
Yeah, Diego, how about you ?
What are some techniques thatyou use to kind of fill in the
rest of the band, so to speak,when you're playing solo?
Diego (08:17):
Yes, so I I try to mix the balance between the two
hands, like I really love to dothe melody, the harmony together
.
So I explore a lot with thefingers when I play the, the
Brazilian, and so we weretalking about technique and
(09:07):
style, like that kind of feelingof the Brazil, that mix of
Brazilian jazz.
So it's one point that Iexplored a lot and for sure, the
right hand, the balance of theright hand.
But when I, when I explore likemore solos *demonstrates on
(09:30):
guitar* like so I use these twofingers to just solo to use.
Nick (09:48):
There's your index and your middle finger there.
Diego (09:50):
Yeah, exactly, and most of the time, and when accompany
or or when I use the bass lines,for example, when I use a
tremolo to that sounds like a,so it sounds like two guitars
(10:27):
doing one time doing one thingand then.
So there are differenttechniques that I use when I
when I do a full solo concertand and I mix all these
techniques to, so that's acombination of the three styles
that I say the Brazilian jazzand the classical.
Nick (10:47):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, keep the bass line going.
Almost sounds independent fromeverything else you're doing
there.
It's a lot of practice.
Gwenifer (10:55):
I'm sure.
Nick (11:00):
We're talking about storytelling without words a lot
of the time here.
So I mean, how do you like toconvey those emotions, those
ideas, those images in yourcompositions, specifically with
your guitar?
Diego (11:12):
my compositions.
That are a lot of situationsthat inspire me to compose, like
travel.
So is one of the differentplaces and things like that one
of my last latest album lastyear.
It's called the Antarctic.
This album all the songs wasinspired by a trip that I went
in a cruise ship to Antarcticacontinent.
Nick (11:34):
Gwenifer, how about you?
How do you convey thoseemotions, those ideas and those
images In your composition,specifically with your guitar?
Gwenifer (11:44):
One of the things I enjoy about instrumental
instrumental, especially soloinstrumental pieces Is this
ability to convey, I guess, moreabstract ideas.
I think you know part of thepower is you're not, you don't
have to form a coherent sentenceand therefore you kind of able
to represent more abstractconceptual ideas, kind of you
know things a little bit moreabout Some difficult to disclose
(12:08):
Feeling or whatever.
So to me it's sometimes it'salmost like I don't know you
kind of pulling notes out of theether.
Really, it's like it's likevalis speaking, you know,
through the windows and you justcan't.
You just kind of you just Ijust play and then things come
out and they're not.
It's not really until afterwardssometimes that I think, oh,
this really reminds me of thisthing.
(12:28):
I guess this is what thissong's about, because it's kind
of been in place to my brainalready, right, so maybe, so
maybe that piece of music issimply that bit coming out.
I think it's more about.
I like, I'm kind of more of theopposite.
I like to discover what thesong's about rather than try and
write a song about something.
Nick (12:44):
Yeah, yeah, it's been.
How about you?
You know, how do you get those,those images, those ideas?
You know those, those big ideas, those big emotions out
specifically on your guitar?
Yasmin (12:55):
So I relate a lot to what Gwenifer said in terms of
not really coming in with anysort of like set idea or concept
.
I kind of just uh, notes happenand then maybe when a song is
finished, I can kind of figureout what it's about.
If it's about anything.
But I feel like more lately, I'mkind of taking a more like
(13:17):
cinematic approach to how Iwrite things, in terms of, like
the song is kind of like a storyplaying out, whether it's like
related to travels like Isomewhat recently went to a
really picturesque, gorgeouscity and wrote a song about that
or related to how I feel aboutsomething happening like
socially, like, um, when I wrotesongs about the Black Lives
(13:37):
Matter protests that werehappening here.
Now, typically it's kind oflike both, like a song might be
related to something or it mightnot be.
It is what it is.
How I capture an emotion, um, Idon't, I don't really know.
Uh, I don't have like a setformula for writing, writing a
(13:58):
song you know like oh, I wantthis to sound sad, I'll let me
insert some seventh.
I don't know, I don't do that.
Um, it just kind of is what itis, is whatever I guess the
heart wants, and then the mindkind of just comes up with the
correct notes and not correct,but you know, correlating,
correlating notes to bring outwhatever the heart is saying.
Nick (14:19):
So it sounds like a lot of improv is is important in your
composition process.
Yasmin (14:25):
Absolutely.
It's basically all.
A lot of it is improv.
It's rare that I kind of writea melody or something or rhythm
in advance, but sometimes I do.
Nick (14:35):
Do you have those moments where you're maybe out on a walk
or something and you get amelody in your head?
Or is it when you sit down towrite and you're like okay, I'm
writing a song right now.
What's gonna come to me?
Yasmin (14:45):
Definitely, if I'm on a walk or something, I rarely have
ever sit down to write anything.
I will sit down to practicequote-unquote, because I don't
really practice that much, butwhen I do, I like to kind of
like doodle is what I call it,kind of like I don't know if
you're ever in class and gotbored and just started drawing
pictures on something.
That's kind of what I think oflike my compositional process is
(15:08):
.
It's just kind of seeing whatsticks.
Nick (15:11):
Gwenifer, how about you?
Gwenifer (15:12):
Yeah for sure.
No, it's a lot of.
I mean, I don't.
I honestly I don't do the I.
Even if I do think of a melody,it's sort of gone by the time I
sit at my guitar or it turnsinto something completely
different.
I've definitely written a fewsongs trying to play someone
else's song, having no idea howthat song goes, and then writing
some completely different.
That's.
That's kind of happened before.
(15:32):
But no, yeah, it's, it's.
I think sometimes things justmake themselves apparent.
I mean, a lot of it is aboutfinding, as I mentioned before,
I'm I'm a sucker for a reallygood hook and I think I don't
know, maybe, maybe I'veeveryone's brains different, but
I can't think of a good hook.
It's kind of I don't reallywrite the songs, they write
themselves.
I'm like just there to capturethem, you know, or some equally
(15:54):
pretentious nonsense.
Nick (15:57):
Diego, you you've written a lot of songs with other
instruments too.
I mean, a lot of your albumshave have other players on them
too.
They're not just all sologuitar albums for you.
Do you write that stufftogether with those other
players?
Do you have an idea going intoit with them?
Do you have your compositionready to go and you say here's
(16:18):
the chart, play it.
How do you like to work?
Diego (16:21):
So, depends on the situation.
I have a different recordsthat's just original songs and
that I compose thinking aboutthe guitar and about other
instruments, like my latestalbum, now called my word, I
just released a couple days ago.
(16:41):
It's our original songs, so andI compose thinking about
instruments, like I have a triolike playing drums, bass and
guitar, so I compose somethingspecifically thinking about that
combination we have.
I have a couple songs, justguitar and trumpet, with a great
(17:04):
trumpet player, Nicholas Payton.
So and I compose a songspecific specifically for that
situation, like for guitar andtrumpet, other songs with guitar
and clarinet.
So, depends on the situation.
And I have other recordings andduring my concerts that I do
(17:24):
not, original songs,arrangements of jazz standards
and Brazilian music by AntonioCarlos Jobim, by other composers
.
So it's another differentsituation because I like to
arrange or I get that.
I get a song, a well-known song, and I I put my approach on an
(17:45):
arranging, change the chords,change the harmonies.
So it's another thing.
But, for sure, when I play withdifferent instruments, when I
play solo, I am totally free todo whatever I want, to improvise
it, to create other harmonicsituations and anything.
But when I play with the othermusicians like a band or even a
(18:07):
duo.
I have to think more about whatwe'll do together, so that
that's too different.
Two different situations.
Nick (18:15):
Yeah, and when you are writing, you know solo
compositions.
Do you, do you like toimprovise in the moment and and
kind of go with it, or do you,are you more structured?
You write it all out?
Diego (18:27):
Well I am a mix of classical music too.
I just got to the technique,the technique of the right hand
of the classical music and somesongs that I like.
But I never play the same songthe same way.
I always improvise.
So if you see me playing onesong, every time I play this
(18:50):
song I play different because Iput some improvisation in the
middle.
I will start differently.
That's my favorite thing tocreate and to improvise.
So if I play Girl from Ipanema100 times, I play a hundred
times different, with differentprogression, different
improvisations.
So that's that, that's my, I'dsay.
(19:13):
But for sure that are somespecific situation that we have
to follow the rules.
When I play with an orchestra,for example, I have to follow
the structure of the song.
When I play with for arecording, that we have to
follow the structure of the songwe have to follow.
But but when I play solo,totally free.
Nick (19:32):
When you and when you do the solo and it's your song do
you still improvise?
Will you still play it ahundred different ways, a
hundred times, even if it's yourown composition?
Diego (19:44):
Yes, but everything depends on the moment.
Sometimes I really just playthe song, yeah, sometimes, if I
feel it depends.
If I am in a studio or aconcert, that depends the kind
of the audience, the response ofthe audience.
So there are a lot of thingsthat that helps me to decide
(20:07):
which way to go, or just playthe song the way it is.
I never know, I don't know whatI do.
Nick (20:19):
So actually, so depends on the situation, but but most of
the time I'm improvise yeah, andso when you're, you know a lot
of the time people guitaristswill talk about serving the song
.
You know you play what, whatit's gonna serve the song.
And when it's a solocomposition that you wrote and
(20:39):
you're playing the onlyinstrument on it, that might
change.
You know, because if you're ina band you got to lay back and
let someone else solo that kindof thing.
How do you, you know, balancethat serving the song right with
your own composition, with, ifyou want to, you want to shred a
little bit, you want to getflashy with it.
You know how do you balancethose two sides when it is your
(21:01):
own solo composition.
Diego (21:04):
Yeah, it's, it's hard, it's not easy like to take that
decision in the moment.
If I, if I will just play thesong, the regular, or if I'm
improvising something.
So I don't have any like a realdecision if I do that or not,
(21:28):
because I take it, I leave themoment to tell me what to do in
some situations.
But the most important thingfor me it's try to make that
beautiful.
So if the song, if you go to abeautiful way for my taste, of
course, and I try to make thatas beautiful as possible for me
(21:53):
and for the audience.
Nick (21:54):
Gwenifer, how do you I mean, how do you see yourself in
relationship to the song as asolo instrumentalist?
You know, like we talked aboutserving the song, that kind of
thing.
It's your song.
You're the only person playingon it.
How do you interpret that?
Gwenifer (22:08):
To me.
I'm not much of a dramaticimproviser.
You know you might attack acertain phrase slightly
differently from place, you knowfrom show to show, but I kind
of have.
I like this idea of trying todiscover what the best, like
what the perfect form of thatsong is right, and kind of your
(22:29):
first iteration, your firstdraft is probably like writing
it in the first instance andthen recording it in an album at
least it is for me and thenwhen you go, when you tour that
album, when you tour that song,you're playing it a hundred
different sound systems, hundreddifferent microphones, you're
hearing it through from ahundred different angles and you
kind of figure out actuallywhat that song should have been
all along.
So it's less aboutimprovisation or about kind of
chipping away these little bitsand pieces and tying, you know,
(22:52):
until I mean you never reallyget there right.
I mean maybe you'll go too farand you'll, you know, break the
nose off the statue or whatever.
But you're kind of approach,you just try to approach.
You know, approach, perfection,like an exponential curve man,
I don't know, it's that's kindof what I like to do anyway.
Nick (23:07):
So you were, you record it first and then, after you've
played it a whole bunch, youstart to hear the refinements.
Gwenifer (23:16):
Yeah, because I'm really bad at writing songs.
It takes me forever, so Ibetter record this, put an album
out and then, and then I go andtour it go.
Oh, if I recorded this now, itwould be a much better song what
do you mean?
Nick (23:26):
Laughs
I mean, I've heard your songsGwenifer: I'm very slow.
A very slow, very slowsongwriter takes me a long time
well.
Yasmin, how do you see you know yourself in
relationship to the song, again,as a solo, you're the only
person playing the instruments,your, it's your music that you
wrote.
You know how do you serve thesong in that and not just like
(23:47):
shred all over the place.
Yasmin (23:48):
You know for me, I guess serving the song is paramount
and by far the most importantthing and, like all the
different techniques I use andwhatever, all began with the
purpose of serving the song bestand how the best do that.
So for me improvising comes ina lot during the composition
process and when I'm actuallywriting the song, and then I
(24:09):
just go through a lot ofiterations and see what verse is
best, what course is best, whatbridge is best, whatever, and
once the song is done, for methe song is pretty much done.
I don't do anything else to it.
I mean, is a song ever reallydone?
I don't know.
I don't have the answer forthat.
But for me, like in concert,the song is done.
(24:32):
I don't really play a songthat's kind of not finished in a
show.
So I play it pretty much thesame way in most shows, unless
I'm like bringing in a chamberensemble or bringing in other
performers.
Then I'll do somethingdifferently.
But if it's just a solo setwith just me, I'll just play the
song as it's meant to be played, which is why I wrote in the
first place like that.
Nick (24:51):
tell us about your guitar .
What guitar are you playing right now?
Diego (24:54):
this is an Ovation nylon guitar.
This is my road road tripguitar so it's easy.
Easy to connect it.
I just need to change my stringis too old.
I did the like five concertswith the string.
I used to do two concerts,every two concerts I change the
strings.
This is a string.
It's a Brazilian brand string.
(25:15):
It's very soft but it doesn'tkeep so long.
So I have ever two concerts.
I tend to the string.
So a lot of guitarists askingme about what string I use.
I like that because it's verysoft to play this.
This string and this is theguitar is an ovation nylon
guitar.
I have some handmade guitarscouple but it's hard to travel
(25:44):
with many guitars on airplanesit's, it's not.
So I have to decide to bringone guitar and most of the time
I plug on live concerts andrecording with mic for sure.
But yeah, we'd have to takesome decisions on the road.
Nick (26:04):
Gwenifer, what are you playing?
What were you playing earlier?
What's your guitar?
Gwenifer (26:08):
This is my waterloo.
This is kind of.
This is my main sort of touringguitar and I, to be honest, I
write mostly on this.
I've got like so many guitarsbut this is always the nearest
one to where I sit, but it'salso my touring guitar as my
waterloo WL 14 L, I like a smallbody guitar.
It's a steel string.
It's yeah, it's pretty.
It's pretty small body becausebecause of my habit of playing
(26:31):
kind of overly aggressive, Ilike I like a smaller body
because I feel like you justkind of catch the, the notes in
the, in the, in the ruckus, alittle bit, a little bit clearer
.
I used to play a lot of them.
When I said I still do a lot ofvintage guitars but for touring
I know these are really nicebecause they um, you know they
(26:51):
kind of have, you know they'reintentionally built to the set
to a similar spec as I can oldpre pre war blues guitar.
But also, you know, if I dosmash it to a thousand pieces on
the plane, it's not like I'mactually destroying a piece of
history, because I've got this,some amazing guitar behind me
which was gifted to me by aHenry Kaiser, which is this
guitar from the, I think it'sfrom 1880, and it's absolutely,
(27:12):
it's absolutely insane guitar toplay on and it's amazing.
But I'm terrified of it becauseit's actually is a piece of
history, so it's kind of youplay.
It's a special occasion to playon that guitar, man.
It's very, very nice.
It's very definitely possessedby something I reckon - some
ancient spirit.
Nick (27:30):
What's the sound on that one versus the the waterloo?
Gwenifer (27:33):
They're not too dissimilar.
I really like the the waterloobecause it can sound as good as
this incredible thing.
I just say it's slightlybigger kind of was like or
warmer warmer.
I know it's kind of got the.
It's kind of got the, thepre-possession of the guitar
that's been around longer thanany living human being, you know
.
I feel like that just has acertain presence to it,
(27:54):
regardless, um, and I changed mystrings every gig, so someone
please sponsor me for strings.
I'm desperate.
Nick (28:02):
Gwenifer
Oh my god.
Gwenifer (28:04):
it's a nightmare man.
It's because I hit them too hard, they don't, they
snap.
So I use Monels, which arereally nice.
That's kind of one of my, Ithink.
Something a lot of people askactually is what strings?
And I use these Martin Monelstrings because they're really
nice, because a they sound good,they last as long as the coated
strings, uh, and they also theydon't take very long to break
(28:25):
in, which is when you have tochange the strings 10 minutes
before going on stage.
That's kind of an importantthing.
So I do, I do sort of recommendnon-corporate sponsored strings
.
Yasmin (28:39):
Uh, so this is a custom made guitar made by Skytop
Guitars.
It's pretty.
It's actually very cool becauseit has very big sound ports on
the side of it, um, instead ofthe Kind of sound hole that's
usually in the middle, um, and Ithink it just projects really
well, gives the player a reallycool kind of like sound, where
(29:01):
the sound is kind of like kindof busts you over the head
really, because the holes arelike directed right to your head
.
Nick (29:08):
Yeah, they're pointing like shaping your face there.
Yasmin (29:11):
Yeah, it's kind of like a stereo effect, which is really
cool.
And this guitar is interestingbecause it has like little
wormholes in it on the front.
Nick (29:21):
Yeah, there's no sound hole.
There's these little, like youcall them wormholes.
Are those natural holes in thewood?
Yasmin (29:26):
Yeah, no, they're like mollusk holes.
They are mollusk burrow intothe wood.
The wood's pretty old, so, yeah, they made these holes.
And Eric Weigeshoff, the guyfrom you know, Skytop guitars is
his, his, uh, his brand.
He repurposes this wood to makeguitar tops, which is really
cool and it's great for me,because the two Side sound ports
(29:48):
kind of get muffled a bit by mystomach when I have laptop
acoustically.
So the little holes in thefront definitely like help push
the sound out to whateveraudience, which is great.
Um, this guitar is my maintouring guitar and just the main
guitar I play in general andwrite on and do everything on.
I love this guitar.
I have a lot of guitars, um,but this is my main one.
(30:09):
I think I have what 18 orsomething.
Nick (30:10):
How do you mic it?
Yasmin (30:10):
I have a pickup in it.
But in the studio usually we uselike four or five mics, like
two behind me to like capturethe like sound port sound, and
then two in the front and thenkind of one just Place somewhere
.
It's typically how we do it.
It's kind of it was a challengeto mic because the sound just
goes all over the place, kind of, but, um, it sounds really
(30:33):
awesome once you dial it in.
Uh yeah, but yeah, this guitaris, I just love it, but it's
just honestly like flying withit still kind of scares me a
little bit because it's worthlike it's just really expensive
and I just I just I love thisguitar and it's just honestly
allows me to play the best I canplay.
Nick (30:49):
So what kind of wood is it?
Yasmin
Yasmin (30:55):
I don't know if y'all can see this, but the back is um
spalted tamarind and thebinding is blood wood.
Gwenifer (31:01):
blood wood?
Yasmin (31:05):
Yeah, I love blood wood .
Gwenifer (31:07):
Man, metal man.
Yasmin (31:07):
I know right but I love it.
It's just so red and so justdope looking.
And the fretboard is ebony orlike an ebony substitute.
Nick (31:23):
Gwenifer
Are you all acoustic when youplay?
Gwenifer (31:26):
I've gone through many stages of microphoning my
guitars.
Nick (31:31):
Some might say a compulsion.
Gwenifer (31:32):
That's a problem.
At the moment I'm justmicrophone.
I've got a little dpa clip- onwhich I I carry around with me
like a little nerd.
Oh sweet Um it sounds reallynice.
Yeah, there's a little clip ondpa man.
It's actually I think it waswhen we were on we played
bristol.
Nick (31:46):
Yasmin
Yasmin (31:48):
Is that what you use then?
Gwenifer (31:49):
It's what the sound tech guy had and he convinced I
actually bought one that eveningbecause it's so nice.
Yasmin (31:56):
Yeah, that sounds it.
Gwenifer (31:58):
It's super nice.
I recommend them definitely.
Nick (32:01):
That's the end of part one .
In part two, our guests discussfirst songs, life changing
songs, favorite tunings andadvice for finding your own
voice on guitar.
You can listen to it at patreondot com Slash acoustic guitar
plus or check the show notes tolearn more.
Welcome to the Acoustic Guitar Podcast.
I'm your host, Nick Grizzle,and that was Gwenifer Raymond
playing her interpretation ofour theme song.
In this episode, you'll hearfrom a distinguished group of
guitarists (00:57):
Diego Figueiredo, Gwenifer Raymond, and Yasmin
Williams, who each share theirunique perspectives on composing
for solo guitar.
We discuss the differencesbetween improvising and refining
a piece, techniques for makingone guitar feel like a full band
, and a whole lot more.
Before we get into it, I'd liketo take a moment to thank
Tonewood Amp for sponsoring thisepisode.
(01:18):
Tonewood Amp is a game-changingmulti-effects device that
attaches to any acoustic guitarGet reverb, delay and more no
amp required.
Learn more at TonewoodAmpcom.
And one more thing while I haveyour attention.
If you've been listening to thisshow for a while, you've
probably noticed the musicplayed at the top of every
episode.
It was composed by AcousticGuitar Magazine's editor, Adam
(01:41):
Perlmutter.
We love hearing theinterpretations by our podcast
guests and we'd like to hearyours too.
You can find the music to playat patreon.
com/acousticguitarplus.
You don't have to be a payingmember to access it.
You'll also see instructionsfor how to submit your own
recording for the chance to befeatured on a future episode.
I'm sure this episode will giveyou some ideas and inspiration
(02:05):
for making the tune your ownAgain.
That site is patreon.
com/acousticguitarplus.
You'll find that link in theshow notes, along with
additional resources related tothis episode, as well as our
guests.
Now, without further ado, let'sbegin with our guests
describing their music, startingwith Gwenifer.
Gwenifer (02:24):
Yeah, I mean, I guess I came from kind of the more, I
guess one of the more commonroots of fingerstyle kind of
that, you know that countryblues into sort of John Faye
sort of style stuff, that Iguess that, whatever you might
call primitive guitar I've beencalling it Welsh primitive
because I am Welsh and yeah,sort of I guess I kind of dig.
I kind of dig a riff as much asanything else.
(02:46):
So I kind of go for the morehooky based, I guess you know
guitar like I like arecognizable tune.
I listen to a lot of you knowsolo instrumental classical
music as well, which I feel likehas got those you know bangin'
riffs essentially.
So yeah, I guess I also comefrom like a punk background so
(03:08):
I'm quite an aggressive player.
So I think my style is kind ofidentified by a fairly
aggressive style but with like ahopefully a fairly strong
melodic throughline, if thatmakes sense.
Again, in that, you know Ithink I pick an alternate and
thumb country blue style.
Diego (03:25):
I am originally from Brazil so I started playing,
since I was six years old, thetraditional Brazilian music the
Samba and the Bossa Nova.
That was my first contact withthe guitar.
My father used it to play thenylon string guitar and he
introduced me the oldtraditional Brazilian music.
That was my first contact withmusic.
(03:48):
Then later I discovered thejazz and the classical music.
So I played finger style withthe right hand technique and I
say I am a mix of Brazilianmusic, jazz and classical music.
So that's my conception ofmusic.
Yasmin (04:06):
I always have such a hard time answering this
question, so bear with me.
Basically just instrumentalguitar with other things added
in, like I play kalimba withguitar too and use tap shoes and
stuff, and I play guitar a lotof the time with it in my lap,
kind of like a lap tapping style, I guess.
So basically I just use a lotof hammer-ons and pull-offs to
(04:30):
tap on the fretboard veryquickly and I use my right hand
to do a lot of percussive stuffon the body of the guitar and
use my left hand for tapping andother stuff and I do regular
finger style stuff too.
So for me it's just making thesound as full as possible.
How can I make one guitar soundlike many?
How can I keep an audienceentertained throughout a show
(04:52):
with just me on stage?
How can I make it fun for meand how can I make these songs
as full and fleshed out aspossible, which is why I add
other instruments sometimes.
So that's the most importantthing and kind of has always
been, I guess.
Nick (05:09):
What are some of the techniques that you do to create
that?
Because, yeah, as sologuitarist I think that is
something that I hear a lot itnever sounds like just a guitar.
It's like, oh, that's a guitarand a bass no, it's just a
guitar, that's a guitar.
And percussion no, that's justa guitar.
That's like six guitars no,that's one guitar.
So what are some of thetechniques?
Maybe, if you want todemonstrate them a little bit, I
(05:30):
don't know, but some of thetechniques you use to actually
fill in, like you said, the band.
Yasmin (05:37):
I mean just being able to play bass lines with a melody
, like I can play a little bit,I guess, so just being able to
play the melody in the bass atthe same time and have kind of
(05:57):
like notes that ring out thatcan provide harmony and whatever
is important, and with kind ofa lap tapping style, I can kind
of do a lot more with bass, andyeah, you can kind of both,
(06:25):
which is great, since that'skind of what a band is.
Anyway, you know, you got thebass dude, you know whoever.
You got the lead player, yougot the rhythm player, you got
the vocalists.
You can kind of do all of thatwith just a guitar.
Nick (06:36):
Gwenifer, how do you find yourself doing that?
Do you have specific techniquesthat you use?
Because I I have a hard timesometimes in your albums that
I've heard, I have a hard timebelieving that's one guitar.
You know it's a lot of soundgoing on there.
Gwenifer (06:51):
Yeah, I never really made a conscious effort.
I mean, I kind of I came tothis just playing these so weird
little blues instrumentalsBecause I was just a solo guitar
player and I don't sing those.
Okay, I'll just make my ownlittle songs and didn't think
anyone ever care right.
And then I just, you know, okay, people, people, some people
kind of dig it.
And then, yeah, people wouldsay, oh, sounds like there's all
(07:13):
these guitars on stage and Inever I really have never
attempted to do that on purpose.
I guess it's just, it's just theway I play.
I mean, do play fast.
I think that comes from.
I do.
I do everything kind of fast,including talk.
But yeah, coming out there kindof punk background, um, I mean,
yeah, I mean it's beyond.
(07:34):
So I kind of like the, the, thetension that lies between
sometimes it's you know reallyreally big, loud shit and then
you sort of turn that into thatnice.
Yeah, it's like the loud, quiet, loud, right.
Yeah, you know it's that thosetwo together is kind of it is
(07:59):
the tension, right and that's.
I guess that's what's.
That's what's interesting Interms of technique.
I just hit it really hard andthat tends seems to work for me.
Nick (08:06):
Yeah, Diego, how about you ?
What are some techniques thatyou use to kind of fill in the
rest of the band, so to speak,when you're playing solo?
Diego (08:17):
Yes, so I I try to mix the balance between the two
hands, like I really love to dothe melody, the harmony together
.
So I explore a lot with thefingers when I play the, the
Brazilian, and so we weretalking about technique and
(09:07):
style, like that kind of feelingof the Brazil, that mix of
Brazilian jazz.
So it's one point that Iexplored a lot and for sure, the
right hand, the balance of theright hand.
But when I, when I explore likemore solos *demonstrates on
(09:30):
guitar* like so I use these twofingers to just solo to use.
Nick (09:48):
There's your index and your middle finger there.
Diego (09:50):
Yeah, exactly, and most of the time, and when accompany
or or when I use the bass lines,for example, when I use a
tremolo to that sounds like a,so it sounds like two guitars
(10:27):
doing one time doing one thingand then.
So there are differenttechniques that I use when I
when I do a full solo concertand and I mix all these
techniques to, so that's acombination of the three styles
that I say the Brazilian jazzand the classical.
Nick (10:47):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, keep the bass line going.
Almost sounds independent fromeverything else you're doing
there.
It's a lot of practice.
Gwenifer (10:55):
I'm sure.
Nick (11:00):
We're talking about storytelling without words a lot
of the time here.
So I mean, how do you like toconvey those emotions, those
ideas, those images in yourcompositions, specifically with
your guitar?
Diego (11:12):
my compositions.
That are a lot of situationsthat inspire me to compose, like
travel.
So is one of the differentplaces and things like that one
of my last latest album lastyear.
It's called the Antarctic.
This album all the songs wasinspired by a trip that I went
in a cruise ship to Antarcticacontinent.
Nick (11:34):
Gwenifer, how about you?
How do you convey thoseemotions, those ideas and those
images In your composition,specifically with your guitar?
Gwenifer (11:44):
One of the things I enjoy about instrumental
instrumental, especially soloinstrumental pieces Is this
ability to convey, I guess, moreabstract ideas.
I think you know part of thepower is you're not, you don't
have to form a coherent sentenceand therefore you kind of able
to represent more abstractconceptual ideas, kind of you
know things a little bit moreabout Some difficult to disclose
(12:08):
Feeling or whatever.
So to me it's sometimes it'salmost like I don't know you
kind of pulling notes out of theether.
Really, it's like it's likevalis speaking, you know,
through the windows and you justcan't.
You just kind of you just Ijust play and then things come
out and they're not.
It's not really until afterwardssometimes that I think, oh,
this really reminds me of thisthing.
(12:28):
I guess this is what thissong's about, because it's kind
of been in place to my brainalready, right, so maybe, so
maybe that piece of music issimply that bit coming out.
I think it's more about.
I like, I'm kind of more of theopposite.
I like to discover what thesong's about rather than try and
write a song about something.
Nick (12:44):
Yeah, yeah, it's been.
How about you?
You know, how do you get those,those images, those ideas?
You know those, those big ideas, those big emotions out
specifically on your guitar?
Yasmin (12:55):
So I relate a lot to what Gwenifer said in terms of
not really coming in with anysort of like set idea or concept
.
I kind of just uh, notes happenand then maybe when a song is
finished, I can kind of figureout what it's about.
If it's about anything.
But I feel like more lately, I'mkind of taking a more like
(13:17):
cinematic approach to how Iwrite things, in terms of, like
the song is kind of like a storyplaying out, whether it's like
related to travels like Isomewhat recently went to a
really picturesque, gorgeouscity and wrote a song about that
or related to how I feel aboutsomething happening like
socially, like, um, when I wrotesongs about the Black Lives
(13:37):
Matter protests that werehappening here.
Now, typically it's kind oflike both, like a song might be
related to something or it mightnot be.
It is what it is.
How I capture an emotion, um, Idon't, I don't really know.
Uh, I don't have like a setformula for writing, writing a
(13:58):
song you know like oh, I wantthis to sound sad, I'll let me
insert some seventh.
I don't know, I don't do that.
Um, it just kind of is what itis, is whatever I guess the
heart wants, and then the mindkind of just comes up with the
correct notes and not correct,but you know, correlating,
correlating notes to bring outwhatever the heart is saying.
Nick (14:19):
So it sounds like a lot of improv is is important in your
composition process.
Yasmin (14:25):
Absolutely.
It's basically all.
A lot of it is improv.
It's rare that I kind of writea melody or something or rhythm
in advance, but sometimes I do.
Nick (14:35):
Do you have those moments where you're maybe out on a walk
or something and you get amelody in your head?
Or is it when you sit down towrite and you're like okay, I'm
writing a song right now.
What's gonna come to me?
Yasmin (14:45):
Definitely, if I'm on a walk or something, I rarely have
ever sit down to write anything.
I will sit down to practicequote-unquote, because I don't
really practice that much, butwhen I do, I like to kind of
like doodle is what I call it,kind of like I don't know if
you're ever in class and gotbored and just started drawing
pictures on something.
That's kind of what I think oflike my compositional process is
(15:08):
.
It's just kind of seeing whatsticks.
Nick (15:11):
Gwenifer, how about you?
Gwenifer (15:12):
Yeah for sure.
No, it's a lot of.
I mean, I don't.
I honestly I don't do the I.
Even if I do think of a melody,it's sort of gone by the time I
sit at my guitar or it turnsinto something completely
different.
I've definitely written a fewsongs trying to play someone
else's song, having no idea howthat song goes, and then writing
some completely different.
That's.
That's kind of happened before.
(15:32):
But no, yeah, it's, it's.
I think sometimes things justmake themselves apparent.
I mean, a lot of it is aboutfinding, as I mentioned before,
I'm I'm a sucker for a reallygood hook and I think I don't
know, maybe, maybe I'veeveryone's brains different, but
I can't think of a good hook.
It's kind of I don't reallywrite the songs, they write
themselves.
I'm like just there to capturethem, you know, or some equally
(15:54):
pretentious nonsense.
Nick (15:57):
Diego, you you've written a lot of songs with other
instruments too.
I mean, a lot of your albumshave have other players on them
too.
They're not just all sologuitar albums for you.
Do you write that stufftogether with those other
players?
Do you have an idea going intoit with them?
Do you have your compositionready to go and you say here's
(16:18):
the chart, play it.
How do you like to work?
Diego (16:21):
So, depends on the situation.
I have a different recordsthat's just original songs and
that I compose thinking aboutthe guitar and about other
instruments, like my latestalbum, now called my word, I
just released a couple days ago.
(16:41):
It's our original songs, so andI compose thinking about
instruments, like I have a triolike playing drums, bass and
guitar, so I compose somethingspecifically thinking about that
combination we have.
I have a couple songs, justguitar and trumpet, with a great
(17:04):
trumpet player, Nicholas Payton.
So and I compose a songspecific specifically for that
situation, like for guitar andtrumpet, other songs with guitar
and clarinet.
So, depends on the situation.
And I have other recordings andduring my concerts that I do
(17:24):
not, original songs,arrangements of jazz standards
and Brazilian music by AntonioCarlos Jobim, by other composers
.
So it's another differentsituation because I like to
arrange or I get that.
I get a song, a well-known song, and I I put my approach on an
(17:45):
arranging, change the chords,change the harmonies.
So it's another thing.
But, for sure, when I play withdifferent instruments, when I
play solo, I am totally free todo whatever I want, to improvise
it, to create other harmonicsituations and anything.
But when I play with the othermusicians like a band or even a
(18:07):
duo.
I have to think more about whatwe'll do together, so that
that's too different.
Two different situations.
Nick (18:15):
Yeah, and when you are writing, you know solo
compositions.
Do you, do you like toimprovise in the moment and and
kind of go with it, or do you,are you more structured?
You write it all out?
Diego (18:27):
Well I am a mix of classical music too.
I just got to the technique,the technique of the right hand
of the classical music and somesongs that I like.
But I never play the same songthe same way.
I always improvise.
So if you see me playing onesong, every time I play this
(18:50):
song I play different because Iput some improvisation in the
middle.
I will start differently.
That's my favorite thing tocreate and to improvise.
So if I play Girl from Ipanema100 times, I play a hundred
times different, with differentprogression, different
improvisations.
So that's that, that's my, I'dsay.
(19:13):
But for sure that are somespecific situation that we have
to follow the rules.
When I play with an orchestra,for example, I have to follow
the structure of the song.
When I play with for arecording, that we have to
follow the structure of the songwe have to follow.
But but when I play solo,totally free.
Nick (19:32):
When you and when you do the solo and it's your song do
you still improvise?
Will you still play it ahundred different ways, a
hundred times, even if it's yourown composition?
Diego (19:44):
Yes, but everything depends on the moment.
Sometimes I really just playthe song, yeah, sometimes, if I
feel it depends.
If I am in a studio or aconcert, that depends the kind
of the audience, the response ofthe audience.
So there are a lot of thingsthat that helps me to decide
(20:07):
which way to go, or just playthe song the way it is.
I never know, I don't know whatI do.
Nick (20:19):
So actually, so depends on the situation, but but most of
the time I'm improvise yeah, andso when you're, you know a lot
of the time people guitaristswill talk about serving the song
.
You know you play what, whatit's gonna serve the song.
And when it's a solocomposition that you wrote and
(20:39):
you're playing the onlyinstrument on it, that might
change.
You know, because if you're ina band you got to lay back and
let someone else solo that kindof thing.
How do you, you know, balancethat serving the song right with
your own composition, with, ifyou want to, you want to shred a
little bit, you want to getflashy with it.
You know how do you balancethose two sides when it is your
(21:01):
own solo composition.
Diego (21:04):
Yeah, it's, it's hard, it's not easy like to take that
decision in the moment.
If I, if I will just play thesong, the regular, or if I'm
improvising something.
So I don't have any like a realdecision if I do that or not,
(21:28):
because I take it, I leave themoment to tell me what to do in
some situations.
But the most important thingfor me it's try to make that
beautiful.
So if the song, if you go to abeautiful way for my taste, of
course, and I try to make thatas beautiful as possible for me
(21:53):
and for the audience.
Nick (21:54):
Gwenifer, how do you I mean, how do you see yourself in
relationship to the song as asolo instrumentalist?
You know, like we talked aboutserving the song, that kind of
thing.
It's your song.
You're the only person playingon it.
How do you interpret that?
Gwenifer (22:08):
To me.
I'm not much of a dramaticimproviser.
You know you might attack acertain phrase slightly
differently from place, you knowfrom show to show, but I kind
of have.
I like this idea of trying todiscover what the best, like
what the perfect form of thatsong is right, and kind of your
(22:29):
first iteration, your firstdraft is probably like writing
it in the first instance andthen recording it in an album at
least it is for me and thenwhen you go, when you tour that
album, when you tour that song,you're playing it a hundred
different sound systems, hundreddifferent microphones, you're
hearing it through from ahundred different angles and you
kind of figure out actuallywhat that song should have been
all along.
So it's less aboutimprovisation or about kind of
chipping away these little bitsand pieces and tying, you know,
(22:52):
until I mean you never reallyget there right.
I mean maybe you'll go too farand you'll, you know, break the
nose off the statue or whatever.
But you're kind of approach,you just try to approach.
You know, approach, perfection,like an exponential curve man,
I don't know, it's that's kindof what I like to do anyway.
Nick (23:07):
So you were, you record it first and then, after you've
played it a whole bunch, youstart to hear the refinements.
Gwenifer (23:16):
Yeah, because I'm really bad at writing songs.
It takes me forever, so Ibetter record this, put an album
out and then, and then I go andtour it go.
Oh, if I recorded this now, itwould be a much better song what
do you mean?
Nick (23:26):
Laughs
I mean, I've heard your songsGwenifer: I'm very slow.
A very slow, very slowsongwriter takes me a long time
well.
Yasmin, how do you see you know yourself in
relationship to the song, again,as a solo, you're the only
person playing the instruments,your, it's your music that you
wrote.
You know how do you serve thesong in that and not just like
(23:47):
shred all over the place.
Yasmin (23:48):
You know for me, I guess serving the song is paramount
and by far the most importantthing and, like all the
different techniques I use andwhatever, all began with the
purpose of serving the song bestand how the best do that.
So for me improvising comes ina lot during the composition
process and when I'm actuallywriting the song, and then I
(24:09):
just go through a lot ofiterations and see what verse is
best, what course is best, whatbridge is best, whatever, and
once the song is done, for methe song is pretty much done.
I don't do anything else to it.
I mean, is a song ever reallydone?
I don't know.
I don't have the answer forthat.
But for me, like in concert,the song is done.
(24:32):
I don't really play a songthat's kind of not finished in a
show.
So I play it pretty much thesame way in most shows, unless
I'm like bringing in a chamberensemble or bringing in other
performers.
Then I'll do somethingdifferently.
But if it's just a solo setwith just me, I'll just play the
song as it's meant to be played, which is why I wrote in the
first place like that.
Nick (24:51):
tell us about your guitar .
What guitar are you playing right now?
Diego (24:54):
this is an Ovation nylon guitar.
This is my road road tripguitar so it's easy.
Easy to connect it.
I just need to change my stringis too old.
I did the like five concertswith the string.
I used to do two concerts,every two concerts I change the
strings.
This is a string.
It's a Brazilian brand string.
(25:15):
It's very soft but it doesn'tkeep so long.
So I have ever two concerts.
I tend to the string.
So a lot of guitarists askingme about what string I use.
I like that because it's verysoft to play this.
This string and this is theguitar is an ovation nylon
guitar.
I have some handmade guitarscouple but it's hard to travel
(25:44):
with many guitars on airplanesit's, it's not.
So I have to decide to bringone guitar and most of the time
I plug on live concerts andrecording with mic for sure.
But yeah, we'd have to takesome decisions on the road.
Nick (26:04):
Gwenifer, what are you playing?
What were you playing earlier?
What's your guitar?
Gwenifer (26:08):
This is my waterloo.
This is kind of.
This is my main sort of touringguitar and I, to be honest, I
write mostly on this.
I've got like so many guitarsbut this is always the nearest
one to where I sit, but it'salso my touring guitar as my
waterloo WL 14 L, I like a smallbody guitar.
It's a steel string.
It's yeah, it's pretty.
It's pretty small body becausebecause of my habit of playing
(26:31):
kind of overly aggressive, Ilike I like a smaller body
because I feel like you justkind of catch the, the notes in
the, in the, in the ruckus, alittle bit, a little bit clearer
.
I used to play a lot of them.
When I said I still do a lot ofvintage guitars but for touring
I know these are really nicebecause they um, you know they
(26:51):
kind of have, you know they'reintentionally built to the set
to a similar spec as I can oldpre pre war blues guitar.
But also, you know, if I dosmash it to a thousand pieces on
the plane, it's not like I'mactually destroying a piece of
history, because I've got this,some amazing guitar behind me
which was gifted to me by aHenry Kaiser, which is this
guitar from the, I think it'sfrom 1880, and it's absolutely,
(27:12):
it's absolutely insane guitar toplay on and it's amazing.
But I'm terrified of it becauseit's actually is a piece of
history, so it's kind of youplay.
It's a special occasion to playon that guitar, man.
It's very, very nice.
It's very definitely possessedby something I reckon - some
ancient spirit.
Nick (27:30):
What's the sound on that one versus the the waterloo?
Gwenifer (27:33):
They're not too dissimilar.
I really like the the waterloobecause it can sound as good as
this incredible thing.
I just say it's slightlybigger kind of was like or
warmer warmer.
I know it's kind of got the.
It's kind of got the, thepre-possession of the guitar
that's been around longer thanany living human being, you know
.
I feel like that just has acertain presence to it,
(27:54):
regardless, um, and I changed mystrings every gig, so someone
please sponsor me for strings.
I'm desperate.
Nick (28:02):
Gwenifer
Oh my god.
Gwenifer (28:04):
it's a nightmare man.
It's because I hit them too hard, they don't, they
snap.
So I use Monels, which arereally nice.
That's kind of one of my, Ithink.
Something a lot of people askactually is what strings?
And I use these Martin Monelstrings because they're really
nice, because a they sound good,they last as long as the coated
strings, uh, and they also theydon't take very long to break
(28:25):
in, which is when you have tochange the strings 10 minutes
before going on stage.
That's kind of an importantthing.
So I do, I do sort of recommendnon-corporate sponsored strings
.
Yasmin (28:39):
Uh, so this is a custom made guitar made by Skytop
Guitars.
It's pretty.
It's actually very cool becauseit has very big sound ports on
the side of it, um, instead ofthe Kind of sound hole that's
usually in the middle, um, and Ithink it just projects really
well, gives the player a reallycool kind of like sound, where
(29:01):
the sound is kind of like kindof busts you over the head
really, because the holes arelike directed right to your head
.
Nick (29:08):
Yeah, they're pointing like shaping your face there.
Yasmin (29:11):
Yeah, it's kind of like a stereo effect, which is really
cool.
And this guitar is interestingbecause it has like little
wormholes in it on the front.
Nick (29:21):
Yeah, there's no sound hole.
There's these little, like youcall them wormholes.
Are those natural holes in thewood?
Yasmin (29:26):
Yeah, no, they're like mollusk holes.
They are mollusk burrow intothe wood.
The wood's pretty old, so, yeah, they made these holes.
And Eric Weigeshoff, the guyfrom you know, Skytop guitars is
his, his, uh, his brand.
He repurposes this wood to makeguitar tops, which is really
cool and it's great for me,because the two Side sound ports
(29:48):
kind of get muffled a bit by mystomach when I have laptop
acoustically.
So the little holes in thefront definitely like help push
the sound out to whateveraudience, which is great.
Um, this guitar is my maintouring guitar and just the main
guitar I play in general andwrite on and do everything on.
I love this guitar.
I have a lot of guitars, um,but this is my main one.
(30:09):
I think I have what 18 orsomething.
Nick (30:10):
How do you mic it?
Yasmin (30:10):
I have a pickup in it.
But in the studio usually we uselike four or five mics, like
two behind me to like capturethe like sound port sound, and
then two in the front and thenkind of one just Place somewhere
.
It's typically how we do it.
It's kind of it was a challengeto mic because the sound just
goes all over the place, kind of, but, um, it sounds really
(30:33):
awesome once you dial it in.
Uh yeah, but yeah, this guitaris, I just love it, but it's
just honestly like flying withit still kind of scares me a
little bit because it's worthlike it's just really expensive
and I just I just I love thisguitar and it's just honestly
allows me to play the best I canplay.
Nick (30:49):
So what kind of wood is it?
Yasmin
Yasmin (30:55):
I don't know if y'all can see this, but the back is um
spalted tamarind and thebinding is blood wood.
Gwenifer (31:01):
blood wood?
Yasmin (31:05):
Yeah, I love blood wood .
Gwenifer (31:07):
Man, metal man.
Yasmin (31:07):
I know right but I love it.
It's just so red and so justdope looking.
And the fretboard is ebony orlike an ebony substitute.
Nick (31:23):
Gwenifer
Are you all acoustic when youplay?
Gwenifer (31:26):
I've gone through many stages of microphoning my
guitars.
Nick (31:31):
Some might say a compulsion.
Gwenifer (31:32):
That's a problem.
At the moment I'm justmicrophone.
I've got a little dpa clip- onwhich I I carry around with me
like a little nerd.
Oh sweet Um it sounds reallynice.
Yeah, there's a little clip ondpa man.
It's actually I think it waswhen we were on we played
bristol.
Nick (31:46):
Yasmin
Yasmin (31:48):
Is that what you use then?
Gwenifer (31:49):
It's what the sound tech guy had and he convinced I
actually bought one that eveningbecause it's so nice.
Yasmin (31:56):
Yeah, that sounds it.
Gwenifer (31:58):
It's super nice.
I recommend them definitely.
Nick (32:01):
That's the end of part one .
In part two, our guests discussfirst songs, life changing
songs, favorite tunings andadvice for finding your own
voice on guitar.
You can listen to it at patreondot com Slash acoustic guitar
plus or check the show notes tolearn more.
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