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For Solid Air Records Web Site / Masa Sumidé% ~# C5 k8 D, u! u- G9 Z3 W
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Tell us how you got started with the guitar and your early influences?9 C& G9 L1 m' @$ T, u
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4 y9 K6 [6 _" d, S. k8 Z: wMy memories are a bit fuzzy as to when I first held the guitar to start with, but I do remember that everything started with “The Ventures”.
- |$ e. ?, n1 y5 Z7 ? sIt was around 1967 or 68, I guess.
0 \. x9 ^! ^* v! {5 q8 I& sTheir guitar music made a huge impact on me and propelled me into action.0 F! I+ N/ b7 X5 w8 c% I, m0 v
I can’t describe the feeling I got when I was first exposed to their music.$ s7 w+ ^5 a' W" n) D" s
It was so new to my ear and everything was so fresh.
% \, e' }; N$ X5 u0 T" EI wanted to be like Norkie Edwards and often found myself copying his licks on the guitar from morning till night!
7 |% U' [* s$ m4 j. SSo, I can say my roots are firmly set in guitar music.: p( I+ a% q" f, n# `5 q+ m7 O s
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After the Ventures I was sucked into hard rock music and got hooked on Deep Purple, Grand Funk Railroad, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and so forth.
; v b. m( E4 J9 wI don’t listen to today’s rock music because they sound a bit too overproduced and lack the kind of raw energy the bands from the past had.
C2 ^$ O' [2 rI prefer songs built around nice guitar riffs with simple arrangement.
! p5 N u- r8 |“She’s A Groover” on my collection CD is my humble attempt to recapture the good-old style of rock in shuffle. g, t" u2 S* V& Z0 G; A6 u
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0 y8 l* M# f0 dDo you listen to much guitar these days? What players have influenced you as a maturing artist?
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I listen to heaps of acoustic guitar music and my solo guitar CD collection is getting bigger and bigger.( N$ y$ Z, Y; S5 N# q. `
It’s actually nearing the 200 mark!/ ~0 f; X% n# D* |4 B
When I listen to other guitarists’ music it’s purely for inspiration these days, but like any other guitar freak, I went through the stage of putting every piece of music under the microscope trying to work out every single move and all the fancy stuff." _5 z* Y8 J" u9 a5 o
But I don’t do that dissecting anymore.
: W& a# P; V5 s. I* z+ u: J5 B8 AThis doesn’t mean I’ve stopped learning, I’d like to add.
4 e) P7 Y1 P) E& p% kIt’s just that I’d rather enjoy the music as it comes and listen to the whole picture.
- c! n8 y' ?* p/ H" i8 XI’ve come to understand the simple fact that technique alone doesn’t get you anywhere and that it’s what comes from inside that counts most." ~+ q/ ]0 w {- d" }. [. ^
The guitar knows it too, I think.
: k- `" x+ c& Y& D7 JIt detects your state of mind the minute you hit the strings and responds to it accordingly.
4 ?* n+ R* _( I$ X1 uThis is what I like about the acoustic guitar because you cannot lie to it.( O* l$ s2 Z9 H/ @1 Y) N
I wouldn’t be hurt if someone said that I could use some practice, but if I was told that I didn’t play with feeling it would be a different story.
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There’re two guitarists who have influenced me in a big way.
, J4 k$ Q0 S( B5 JJoe Pass and Tuck Andress.
; {" [5 u) z. N# x: r4 @( L uI have nothing but respect for these two guitar giants.5 i2 I0 z, X0 ?
I’ve learned a lot about chord melodies from Joe Pass’ solo CDs and Tuck’s albums have taught me how to swing and groove with a funky touch.+ x8 ~2 D; m5 ]% B8 V5 @3 H9 c: f* k
I feel very indebted to them and wish to dedicate a tune for each hero on my next CD.
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8 W+ }+ U' W+ C; JWhat tunings do you favor and why?
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Let me first make a confession…I used to dislike open tunings!# l% u. x1 I4 G7 S
Can’t do without them now, but I used to be locked into thinking that standard tuning was the way to go and that using alternative tunings was as good as cheating!
8 R* z; k, x U0 u8 x! uLooking back, I probably saw open tunings as an easy way out, which isn’t the case at all!4 ?+ Q9 Q. X9 V7 I
I put it down to my hard-headedness when I was going through my share of a developing stage. + ~; R/ x4 C) t5 ^
% R- i4 Q& ]: J( T; d1 D$ fNow I’m a big believer in open tunings and mainly use DADGAD, DADGBD and Dropped D tunings.
7 ~+ n5 {/ }& \7 s3 M, {% {I’m not too sure if Dropped D tuning qualifies as an open tuning.
! C1 p5 C3 i: w' K' PAnyway, those are my kind of tunings.
l6 }, M' S, Z" eI haven’t tried lower tunings yet so I don’t know what those tunings have to offer…unknown territories for me./ n* q1 D' i* y1 J( K, J% S
Among the three tunings I use, DADGBD is my favorite because of its minor 11th feel.
4 \0 v+ j: ^# e9 O- KWorks pretty well for tunes in a minor key.
' C! k0 o+ x* D0 @* }: \+ u2 z“Blues In The Slow Lane” on “2 Blue 4 Words” is played in this tuning./ G: v/ z. {( h; e* W; O
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Where do your ideas for tunes come from?0 r) \( `! ?- q$ d5 x/ I2 l
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Obviously, my creative source is backed up by a hodgepodge of music I’ve listened to up until now and I owe a lot to the players who have taught me all the tricks of the trade through their albums.
, Y$ R# ~; p8 f# Y$ c# q- nThey have provided me with something to stand on and I’ve managed to build it up from there.- h: k# x+ ~% B/ r
I’m very thankful for all the forerunners.
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( u9 n5 Y) D) \( C% P/ w5 UI don’t sit down with the guitar telling myself, “I’m going to write a few tunes today no matter what” or anything like that.0 ^+ V U9 M/ @
It doesn’t work that way.2 F2 r. x+ T/ e
I usually look for some melody triggers when practicing the guitar and take it from there." B. K* o# R/ v- e
If nothing hits, so be it.
( R1 A8 m8 V, a( f; P' U8 ~On the other hand, if some chords or notes trigger something inside my head, then I start building a tune around them. Either way, I don’t push myself to compose because the stuff coming out under those kinds of conditions usually sound a bit forced and hurried.
5 {* r) j' I( J7 zIn addition, I get easily bored and don’t stand still on one tune, which I think contributes to the pace of my songwriting in a way.
5 O% ]+ s, i6 H( B6 q, BAs soon as I finish a tune I start looking for other triggers and then others…I like to think ahead and keep on moving.) P) m. K% C3 j8 a9 w1 _
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You have an aggressive style of attack.... do you use nails? Give us a- ^) r% B' X4 E, o# u- C! H
technical breakdown of your approach to playing AND recording.
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8 M& N" o7 {! e4 H( O+ QIt’s all nails and flesh.
5 E ?( u2 D( u& PI don’t use any plectrums because I want to feel the strings on my picking fingers.8 { U6 u8 Q: ^1 z8 a8 C9 B1 G$ c
This is one of the reasons why I use custom light gauge strings on my guitar instead of heavier sets.* l- t' x r, A9 o# b+ ]4 P/ m
You can put more strength in your fingers and there’s less chance of breaking your nails.
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4 c1 H" Y& j$ F( RAs for playing style, I really like percussive types of playing because I’m into rhythms.
4 t8 y. v) F- ]$ hThere are always some percussive sounds happening in my head when I’m practicing and composing.) H& i) b. X' O& i; Y* q
It has a lot to do with my past as a multi-instrument player, I guess.8 S& K6 d' c1 N+ k% }
I used to play the drums, base and the piano on my demo tapes.
" C% z5 P, r8 k# ^ ]9 SI was a total control freak at that time.
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My approach to recording is quite simple: the sooner I nail a tune the better.
7 l3 h+ H4 ]& U$ w3 M* aGood tracks are usually recorded in a few takes, so I try not to use more than an hour for a tune otherwise I’d lose the freshness and my focus.
; Y2 V2 }. h1 j" Q5 L7 w( zIn addition, my hands sweat a lot and the strings die on me in a hurry.6 q( {8 r7 k1 U. o' p& ^$ c2 _
I change strings every two songs at recording, depending on their freshness.* ^% _, A" W- |# c( T
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Please talk about the strings you prefer and action etc...+ ^: \' T1 W( A5 S
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I use “Martin SP custom light strings” and they feel just right on my fingers.- h7 E( X& a( J4 b; D2 Q* g) U
They sound warm too.
9 y/ \2 S. k4 L2 Y5 p' y* n+ w" _You’re probably wondering, “Hey, that’s a thin set of strings…”
$ F* j c# |7 P1 M3 r2 B TI don’t blame you, but I can’t handle a heavier gauge than that because my grip isn’t as strong as it should be., S, V) k+ k* A4 i! N
Sound-wise, I lose a bit on the bottom end, but I compensate it with added tension in the neck so that it doesn’t affect the whole picture much.
+ r$ v! C) }* R* T! o" e3 B' `I shake my head in amazement to those guys putting on medium gauge strings!. y3 q6 f5 Z% g2 d4 O0 U( t
However can you handle those??? 7 y$ O) |$ C, ]% y4 t3 d
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I’m not too knowledgeable about action…my idea of the right action is that when you play an F and it feels right with no buzz happening, then it should be okay…but I may be wrong.
3 `' U8 h: r. Q* s: |Either way, you’d be better off having a guitar tech fine-tune it.' J0 p2 s6 e5 S% I
“Don’t mess with something you don’t know” is my pet phrase when it comes to the technical side of things.
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发表于 2008-2-11 14:08
发表于 2008-2-11 23:31
