A Postcard from Portugal

It’s been a little while since I said hi – I’m just back from some travels and I want to share something:
I listened to a lot of Fado singers in Lisbon over the course of five days or so. Each singer was invariably accompanied by a Portuguese guitar (six pairs of double strings, teardrop shaped body like a bouzouki, almost) and a nylon string guitar.

Fado singing
Fado singing in Clube de Fado, Lisbon
Portuguese GUitar
A Portuguese Gutar


First of all, the singing , and the music in general, was outstanding in almost all cases.
One guitarist stood out, however, and here’s why:
The guitar’s role in this setting is purely rhythmic – most of the melodic embellishment coming from the Portuguese guitar. I watched this guitar player doing his job within the trio, and it was a joy to watch.
His eyes hardly ever left the other player, and his own rhythm was driven by an almost full-body involvement: every accent and downbeat came from a slight clenching of the lower abdomen, causing him to “bounce” slightly in his seat. He was clearly feeling,  and utilizing his “feeling” sensitivity to lock himself in and be a part of the trio as a whole. His playing was a huge part in making this trio sound like one single minded engine. The take away here is that, once you have the stuff under your fingers, remember your guitar is something you hug right up to your torso, where you feel the vibrations. Few enough instruments allow that sort of sensitivity, and it’s a part of your playing.
Anyway, how about we talk about something a bit more “nuts and bolts”: the guys at The Guitar Journal blog recently posted a quick video I did about an Irish ballad, and playing the melody inside the chord shape, which I hope you find useful. You can see that mini guitar lesson here.

And I hope you all have a happy picking time until we meet again.