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For Solid Air Records Web Site / Masa Sumidé% z' n7 n, O) l: j0 @$ w
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& K: ]9 G. I0 D& B }, p! t: YTell us how you got started with the guitar and your early influences?; K5 R0 ^( B0 I c; A% Y% {8 v. @7 F
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" Z9 Y' e( y5 @/ QMy 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”.
9 Z+ `% x9 L' ]& {6 N: V. P4 BIt was around 1967 or 68, I guess.
' v0 m. c8 w, lTheir guitar music made a huge impact on me and propelled me into action.
o" P6 i! }# t# e. S3 mI can’t describe the feeling I got when I was first exposed to their music.
' v2 P+ }6 m8 D3 f tIt was so new to my ear and everything was so fresh. ]2 A" c2 s$ g1 [
I wanted to be like Norkie Edwards and often found myself copying his licks on the guitar from morning till night!
' |. I0 N' q) {) x; i( G, K* hSo, I can say my roots are firmly set in guitar music.
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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.& M2 Z7 _% { G+ @, b( U8 n$ D
I 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.6 Q7 E3 ~. P: c1 H# |2 p
I prefer songs built around nice guitar riffs with simple arrangement.
" J3 Y& V& ]) [. a5 l$ y“She’s A Groover” on my collection CD is my humble attempt to recapture the good-old style of rock in shuffle.
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Do you listen to much guitar these days? What players have influenced you as a maturing artist? / |' \5 P8 Q4 g0 V" G7 Y& j& r$ W! H0 Z
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I listen to heaps of acoustic guitar music and my solo guitar CD collection is getting bigger and bigger.
H" b6 \0 ~7 I' r: S3 U8 W" JIt’s actually nearing the 200 mark!
) a# }1 u3 v- q1 T" |& X, o: vWhen 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.
7 k8 }( h, m1 w8 ^# R9 KBut I don’t do that dissecting anymore.
6 I: t6 r3 f7 H2 [. CThis doesn’t mean I’ve stopped learning, I’d like to add.
/ ^+ D7 [4 \: ^* J# R7 R% ]It’s just that I’d rather enjoy the music as it comes and listen to the whole picture.( u3 p" p7 t! T# q, d e( G* c; m
I’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.! [( M& S: F" z2 M9 I2 f
The guitar knows it too, I think.9 Z8 a+ e8 M/ h9 x
It detects your state of mind the minute you hit the strings and responds to it accordingly.
9 |+ ?7 n$ T% A$ WThis is what I like about the acoustic guitar because you cannot lie to it. R a2 Y! h" s# o
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. $ f( ^1 S( U* `; p
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There’re two guitarists who have influenced me in a big way.
; h" p% l. @5 g$ h$ J0 q4 u$ f# aJoe Pass and Tuck Andress.+ I9 l+ |! l) u
I have nothing but respect for these two guitar giants.
: ]* M0 b: q: v! e! x: S7 X/ }3 SI’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.# D& z9 p' ^; `8 i
I feel very indebted to them and wish to dedicate a tune for each hero on my next CD.
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What tunings do you favor and why?' h2 _3 ?& P) N. H$ {* k3 z4 w
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" j1 @, v! r0 [9 ~2 M& ^Let me first make a confession…I used to dislike open tunings!
; A2 O! @" \; n! T8 b$ q2 w" y+ ~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!+ z4 J# ^; U1 }6 S+ M
Looking back, I probably saw open tunings as an easy way out, which isn’t the case at all!6 j3 b) S- p2 m# q( f8 S
I put it down to my hard-headedness when I was going through my share of a developing stage. 8 {; @* W: M7 T& `8 j' d
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Now I’m a big believer in open tunings and mainly use DADGAD, DADGBD and Dropped D tunings." E7 c% X+ M) w' U0 }
I’m not too sure if Dropped D tuning qualifies as an open tuning.
, w* A/ R9 r' Q1 eAnyway, those are my kind of tunings.
% {4 Z, _, g8 y6 ~- A4 F! }) ^; OI haven’t tried lower tunings yet so I don’t know what those tunings have to offer…unknown territories for me.
9 z5 Q! n% X g* E& X" E; HAmong the three tunings I use, DADGBD is my favorite because of its minor 11th feel., T3 J* Z0 Y( p. d% U" m1 a
Works pretty well for tunes in a minor key.
! ]5 A" e1 x! j“Blues In The Slow Lane” on “2 Blue 4 Words” is played in this tuning.( w U7 D: q& }0 y- L
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|) j' H& Z4 ~" SWhere do your ideas for tunes come from?
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' M1 y( P# L: V5 }) B; DObviously, 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.3 \" g+ h2 a# `9 ^
They have provided me with something to stand on and I’ve managed to build it up from there.
$ l* s0 M5 Q( }- x$ hI’m very thankful for all the forerunners.# I9 _$ M; P, s2 x1 D' {: a
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+ \& r/ Y" v" j/ Y% I( ZI 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.3 K% n! w: v3 a6 n6 }
It doesn’t work that way.
% W+ x5 j8 ^. w5 ~2 d7 gI usually look for some melody triggers when practicing the guitar and take it from there.
2 i% A# M6 C' ^7 h$ U2 ?If nothing hits, so be it. n% D( \, r" b2 B4 F3 X
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.' M4 ` S" d' B h+ d
In 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.
% J% C; L0 C( NAs soon as I finish a tune I start looking for other triggers and then others…I like to think ahead and keep on moving.% v; f3 o9 K& t/ i' E6 z! b6 V
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. }) m% a/ {, t' x6 QYou have an aggressive style of attack.... do you use nails? Give us a, C7 q* d( t% F$ ]1 o$ s7 a
technical breakdown of your approach to playing AND recording.. M& r: p8 s+ x9 X% E3 Y! B
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It’s all nails and flesh.! ], g0 z8 |6 l
I don’t use any plectrums because I want to feel the strings on my picking fingers., i8 u" _& e. U7 A" M3 v0 V+ h, @( C
This is one of the reasons why I use custom light gauge strings on my guitar instead of heavier sets.
4 H$ o+ J1 y1 i! F; O6 RYou can put more strength in your fingers and there’s less chance of breaking your nails.
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As for playing style, I really like percussive types of playing because I’m into rhythms.
# b4 `+ `, S- h0 b/ F! E& O4 cThere are always some percussive sounds happening in my head when I’m practicing and composing.8 C( p2 e. E# {2 E7 N
It has a lot to do with my past as a multi-instrument player, I guess.
y( }6 J [' ]0 K% L2 O$ FI used to play the drums, base and the piano on my demo tapes.+ f) S& Q8 S; `3 ?+ K+ H
I 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.* D; W6 [0 X( Y5 y; d( ]
Good 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.
$ w# N. K& ?' O- s$ f% V9 C% {, o. zIn addition, my hands sweat a lot and the strings die on me in a hurry.
6 L8 l2 X" p8 L* NI change strings every two songs at recording, depending on their freshness." q# z; _( d% J5 G: a4 ]) v
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Please talk about the strings you prefer and action etc...
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I use “Martin SP custom light strings” and they feel just right on my fingers.* s# q4 H8 j. |% v( a
They sound warm too.
' T" f! ?- \0 R0 `/ ~# V q- X8 cYou’re probably wondering, “Hey, that’s a thin set of strings…”
. G* V- f, v& b' ~5 o8 yI 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.
* ]7 ^; v' W6 j; \3 [6 u! jSound-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.
$ \9 w1 D# E& Y& C( c' PI shake my head in amazement to those guys putting on medium gauge strings!
, y, x, F# d. A+ P7 }However can you handle those??? , X! O& Y: r( s* q( B; h
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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 y& K% B8 M' h GEither way, you’d be better off having a guitar tech fine-tune it.5 l2 O1 r- c6 _! t# N& |6 w
“Don’t mess with something you don’t know” is my pet phrase when it comes to the technical side of things. + r( r; E, W4 Q1 S, r0 C
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发表于 2008-2-11 14:08
发表于 2008-2-11 23:31
