Wednesday, May 18, 2011

When You Wish Upon a Star

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By an older Chet Atkins, from his instructional video titled 'The Guitar of Chet Atkins' from 1986.


He plays a ton of harmonics in the tune. A harmonic on a guitar is payed by just touching the string above the 12th fret (octave) with a finger on the left hand and plucking the string with the right hand. To play a harmonic on a different note, you press the string down on the note you want, say the 2nd fret, then using two fingers on your playing hand, touch the string at the 14th fret (12 above the note you are playing in this example) and pluck the string with another finger. In this tune, Chet uses his thumb and third finger to pluck strings with and his index and second finger to touch the string above the proper position. In the video, as he describes playing it he says it's simple, just needs a little practice.




And he played the heck out of it earlier as in this recording.
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13 comments :

  1. Hey Kid - amazing and relaxing music. What a fabulous artist. I'm good - My new job runs me 12 hours plus a day and my days off I work OT - so I'm very tired these days. Thanks for checking in!

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  2. DeanO, Nothing like working hard, but that sounds a bit extra hard.
    I hope it is working out well for you.
    But yes, what a body of work by Chet over 50+ years.

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  3. By your title I was not sure if you were posting about music or galaxies/nebulae. I love some good Chet!

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  4. Opus, That's why I did it that way :)
    I am devious.

    More Chet to come.

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  5. With some practice harmonics can be played on any string any fret by plucking the string at the sound hole using a acoustic or over the pickups on an electric. With the pick or thumb nail and another fingernail. And also pulling the left hand finger at the desired fret- by touching the string just right-right after pulling off. A lot of players strum to hard and squeeze the strings to hard at the fret. The guitar has to be touched with just enough pressure to resonate the note at the fret- mostly in the middle of the fret with the correct straight down point of touch. Not at an angle unless a simi bar when you want to hold down a couple of strings. If you get good at pressing the straight down pressure-then you can move up or down in the same fret and can hear some sharp or flat without moving to the sharp or flat next fret. But it takes some practice...
    I hardly use a pick anymore. I don't use any finger picking technique style (Travis or any other name). Just play what I feel with what ever finger is there when needed.
    When I play for some, their response is a look and ask, man, you don't use a pick? I reply, I haven't used a pick in so long I can't hardly hold one.

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  6. I want this guitar. It has three plugs-two for midi and one for regular amp.
    Two Roland Midi foot peddles with a A-B pass through foot switch and you can have a whole orchestra.
    You can assign each string to play a different instrument. You can plug to a piano midi for loops - every possibility.From Heavy metal crunch to acoustic. With the press of your foot. A real one man band. Or, have a percussion player and a female vocalist.

    See this Guitar

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  7. They say, You got it man! I sure wish I had time to practice. I love the sound of a deep throated guitar.

    Part II - Man, that is a fantastic guitar! Thanks for the link !!
    Maybe I'll buy one someday when I'm too old to play :)

    I have a Larrivee acoustic.
    LINK

    It is an L-03 with a D-05 neck and is 100% mahogany. I can't find a picture of it on their site. I bought it 10 years ago from a smallish guitar shop and the guy told me that they had run out of L3 necks so they'd put a D5 neck on it and as it happened it is all mahogany. Very nice looking and sounding.
    Maybe I'll make a YouTube of me playing a G chord sometime. hahaa.
    I paid 700 for it, and by the look of it - it has increased in value.

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  8. They Say, PS - Nothing like a Female Vocalist !

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  9. Christopher, I'm am glad you liked it.

    More to come.

    I really enjoy the single guitar play/player with no other instruments. Chet is the man for that, (and Tommy Emmanuel too).

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  10. Here is the link for this guitar.

    Several styles to chose from

    I like the first one made also -a nylon string classical NS1.

    I would like to have the NS1 and SH275, or SH65, or HF2S.
    The 4 above the NS1 are all right but the body style of the ones below the NS1 are more likeable to me.

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  11. They Say, Thanks Again! I knew nothing of these guitars.

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  12. They Say, btw, I'd take any of them.

    Interesting no tremelo though like the PRS guitars.

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