Kung Fu And Guitar

[Braden]

Yeah man, 16-second delay is NUTS! I don't even know if I could make it sound cool, I just want it for the nerd value. I love my E-Bow too. You can make wicked noises with it. One of my favorite things to do is: e-bow to guitar to stereo delay; clean signal to chorus to amp#1; delayed signal to harmonist (triple output:+octave,-octave,clean) to phaser to amp#2. Set the delay at something formidable... you start playing and you get first just that single thick note from the chorused e-bow, and then after a couple seconds when the delay kicks in, the harmonist+phaser makes this huge wall of sound that fills it out. Then if you slide up, the wall of sound will follow you after a few seconds of hesitation. VERY cool if you're into obscure noises. :) You can set the harmonist to what key you're playing in and make it raise or lower the added two channels by fifths or seconds or whatever too.

I saw the Ghandarvas play once and the guitarist had a six string e-bow. *drool*

Sam - you bet I'm talking about Aenima! One of my favorite albums. You know they've got a new one coming out? It had better be incredible. "Forty-six and 2" is the "stepping through my shadow/coming out the other side" one; song #5. "Eulogy" is song #2. I'd go for the delay if they got it in, I already have 3 delays though. :) I'm a delay nut. You're absolutely right about the delay filling out your sound, you can sound like a whole band if you do it right. I use alot of octaves droning with the key I'm playing in or it's fifth too, and alot of chorus/reverb/phase effects... so you can bet it's a big beefy sound I'm after.

I can tab out some of the songs if you want. Which ones are you interested in? The bass parts or the guitar parts?

[Sam Wiley]

OH YES! Those are definitely the songs! The main one I'm interested in is "Forty-Six and 2." I had a vision that reminds me of the lyrics to that song after a qigong session one time, and the song has become sort of meaningful. I definitely want the bass, because that's my main instrument, but if you can transcribe the guitar parts as well, I won't say no to them. Actually, any of the songs on the album are cool with me. I've been waiting for their new album for a while as well. A Perfect Circle only partially filled the void. It just wasn't the same. Well, that could be because it wasn't the same band, but either way....

Do they make an e-bow for bass? I heard a band called PubliCastration, where the guitarist used one (as well as the little musical mechanism from a music box, which is pretty wierd) and they are so cool. I tried his e-bow on my bass, and it just wouldn't pick up, and I've never seen one advertised in the musical catalogs I've seen. The delay setup you mentioned sounds like it would be pretty atmospheric. PubliCastration was like that.

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"To enter is to be born, to retreat is to die."
-An Old Taijiquan Saying

[Ky-Fi]

Sam, I don't know if they make a special E-bow for bass, but I just tried mine on my bass with some success. It's definitely easier on the top and bottom strings, though--it's hard to make it pick up on the middle strings.

Braden, if you're really into delay, you should check out a violinist named Ed Alleyne Johnson. I saw him open for New Model Army once and he's really cool. He plays sort of classical/folk electric violin, and he plays one riff, then samples and loops it, and then repeats this a few times until he's got like five or six pieces playing simultaneously and he solos over it all. It sounds like an orchestra playing, and it's just him live, with no pre-recorded stuff or accompanyment.I think his first album was called Electric Purple Violin, or something similar.

[Braden]

Ky-Fi: Thanks! I absolutely love violin, so I'll be sure to check that out. New Model Army, eh? "I love the world" was my favorite song for a while, back in the day. ;)

[Sam Wiley]

Well, maybe I should go to a music store and try one there. There's probably a lot of factors, like pickups, string gauge (probably the main one), etc. I play mostly on the center strings (E, A, and D), though. So if it won't work on them period I guess I'm out of luck, at least until they develop one just for bass.

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"To enter is to be born, to retreat is to die."
-An Old Taijiquan Saying

Well, I found that MA was not good for the guitar playing. I'm not a good guitar player, but because of my kempo training, my knuckles got less supple. It's not good for the guitar playing,But great for hitting people, even on the hard bones ;-)

[HuangKaiVun]

Of course, "Virtuoso" is one of my favorite albums (even among Joe Pass albums).

I play guitar and violin the old-fashioned way: with minimal electronic support. Admittedly, I do use a guitar amplifier (no reverb, no pedals, no distortion, strictly clean channel).

Music - and kung fu - is beautiful enough as it is without having to "add stuff" to it.

[Kung Lek]

Hey fellow axemen.

I also found that learning to play on a standard acoustic guitar made ones playing stronger and clearer and when the move was made to an electrice guitar, ...man I could fly on an electric in comparison to acoustic.

Once again, this stresses the importance of fundamentals.

any of you players like the stylings of Stanley Jordan? He's a true guitar master. I think that if you look up guitar in the encyclopedia brittanica, there is a picture of Stanley Jordan right there at the entry! ha ha, awesome player.

Anyway, I like to play a good mix of stuff from blues to rock to jazz to fusion and funk. so long as it tickles my ear I will try to play it.

I like quite a bit of 60s and 70s folk music too.
oOOO, THAT MAKES ME FEEL OLD!

peace

Kung Lek

[FongSaiYuk]

Yep, learning to play the acoustic guitar greatly improves your clarity, dynamics, dexterity, etc. When you switch back to electric, (assuming your not playing Jazz with 14's on your guitar!) everything comes out easier. This of course is assuming that you treat the acoustic guitar like the completely different entitiy it is. Too many of today's players pick up an acoustic, put super light strings on and play it just like they play an electric.
I always thought of it like (bad analogy, sorry) the baseball player who's on deck warming up with the weight on the bat. When it comes off he's able to bring the bat around quicker. Similar sensation to when you switch from playing your acoustic to electric.

As to the person who said they bashed their knuckles and were unable to play guitar - I have never been one to condition my knuckles by punching hard objects. I truly believe there are many other less damaging and equally effective conditioning methods. I practiced an iron palm method for 1 year that had no effect on my playing. Actually my hands felt a little stronger!
--FSY

[Erasmus Lightstone]

Hi all,

I teach the guitar. I studied KF for 3 years but lost touch when I began to feel cheated. I plan to go back sometime this year. I'm also studying chiropractic(more hand movements). Glad to see that we all have similar passions

[HuangKaiVun]

Stanley Jordan is actually a jazz PIANIST who plays the piano two handed on the guitar.

As in kung fu, the ****genization of world culture has resulted in the standardization of jazz guitar methods and styles.

Modern players (with the exception of the Scofields, Martinos, Wilkinses, and Bensons) all sound uniformly alike due to study and recordings.

Back in the 1st half of the 20th century, guitar masters had no teachers. Each developed completely on his own, thus producing unique and individual styles.

I'm trying to develop my own style myself, though not for the sake of developing it.

As in kung fu, I'm seeking to maximize my inner potential - the mechanics of playing guitar is only a means to the end.

[FongSaiYuk]

"Modern players (with the exception of the Scofields, Martinos, Wilkinses, and Bensons) all sound uniformly alike due to study and recordings. "

Very true. In fact, I don't really listen to any new Jazz guitarists. I always find myself going back to Martino, Pass, Hall, etc... Eventually someone will come along and shake things up.
--FSY-

[Chris McKinley]

I started both the martial arts and the guitar at the same time 26 years ago. My students think I'm weird because I constantly make musical references when I teach Bagua and Kali. I played semi-pro and pro for a coupla years. My favorite analogy is regarding speed. In what seems a bit of a paradox, you cannot develop maximal physiological speed unless you start by slowing down. To get an Yngwie Malmsteen riff down, you first have to practice it as relaxed as possible in slow motion. If you don't do it slowly, you won't get the coordination. If you don't do it relaxed, you won't get the speed