Will Fly's Acoustic Guitar Page

Hope ya do. Be well and play lots!

Hey Will. Really miss you over on the Magazine Reader's Forum. I ran into your video of Tennessee Blues sort of randomly. One of my favorite tunes, and I really enjoyed your version. Hope you come back to the reader's forum. Miss your input and tunes.

Hiya will hows the sussex scene?

Man, you hit it on the head. Duck's improv is what really blows me away, all while playing these odd Monk type rhythmic patterns - on the beat, off the beat - just amazing, and like you said, not necessarily just what around the chord he happens to be playing. What you say about him intellectually, I imagine he'd be a cool guy just to get to know, period.

I have small hands to begin with, so I have to use barre chords for bass notes anyway, even on a simple bass line tune like Anjie. A lot of fingerstyle players do the "thumb-thing" to an extent, but Duck, to quote Kottke talking about Hedges, "has a left hand like an octopus". I have that instructional video of his and it's more like sci-fi than documentary.

I wonder what model/who made his nylon? Did it have built in electronics? Most steel strings are designed with electronics in mind, where classicals aren't. Also consider Byrd played ONLY classical, which has a very different attack and physical considerations (nail shape, rest/free stroke, first digit tension, etc.) while Duck plays both. Most steel players that "dabble" on nylon aren't as subtle as they could be, but it's because they're used to muscling through on steel with fingerpicks. Not making excuses, though. Should Duck be more subtle on nylon? Most certainly. I guess I just appreciate the effort to get a warmer sound and try something different.

Wow! I've never seen Duck live. He and Renbourn are my two favorite fingerstyle players. And, as an amateur classical player, I love that Duck plays nylon, especially his cd Spinning Songs. The arrangements are so complex harmonically it's more like listening to a classical guitar performance of 20th century repertoire than a jazz fingerstyle cd. Which there's nothing wrong with, but there's a lot fewer of the former than the latter and it gives the program a unique feel, as opposed to Duck's other cds like Fingerstyle Jazz, where he plays primarily steel-string.

That's cool he played your guitars! I'd never wash them again ;-)

So did you pick up any pointers during your conversation? As a pro yourself, I'm sure you skip the "Gee, how to you keep your thumb moving like that?" question. When I chat with "name" guitarists I try to avoid any student or technical-type questions and usually just talk about their guitars or the pieces they chose to play and why.

Nice sound. I like the Martin. I have an OMC15E and it's great for fingerstyle as I can imagine yours is. I enjoyed your playing.

Thanks for sharing your musc, Will. I enjoyed watching your videos. Wonderful, precise technique. Your right hand position looks like you might have a little classical background.

Welcome back to you!

I feel pretty out of place being a flute player here in guitar land, but want to learn more.....

Cheers