I came across this article by folk musician Harvey Reid during some recreational internet surfing today.
Advice for Musicians Making a Recording
As someone who has made a living essentially playing folk and “unpopular” music, I am inclined to listen to what he has to say. Its interesting reading this stuff now that i have just finished making a recording. I definitely agree with the first tip, you have to figure out what you are, and what you are best at. I love alot of different types of music, dabble in various styles, but have always felt my best music is arranging celtic tunes for guitar. Who knows what direction i may take in the future, but thats where i am for now.
I still need to do the high five guitar recording i mentioned below. I realized that to replace my sixth string with a high first string and tune it up to G i would need a super light string. It would be easier if i had a railroad spike or a Third Hand Capo that would allow me to capo a single string. I think if i get a super light string, perhaps an electric guitar string, it should work. I hope so, i would really like to record the tune for folks to hear.
Comments 2
Hi Anton,
Really looking forward to hearing the High Five version of Lord Mayo.
I’ve done some experimenting with clawhammer guitar (I play clawhammer banjo as well as fingerstyle guitar), and even put a railroad spike at the 5th fret of the 6th string, so I could use a .013, tune to D, and capo at 5 to get a high G. If I were you, and had a .012 – well, you could easily tune it up to an F, or MAYBE an F#, and then just tune your other strings down accordingly. I think Alec Stone Sweet just tunes on up to G!
Good luck!
Alan
Hi Alan,
Yea, sorry for the delay on the tune. I got a super light string, like .08, replaced my sixth string with it, and tuned it up to G. After about 10 minutes of enthusiastic playing it snapped, so much for that idea.
Steve Baughman has railroad spikes on his guitar, I’ve thought about getting some for mine, but i dont know. I think i am just going to order a Third Hand Capo today, which lets you capo individual strings. I can just swap out my sixth string for a regular B string, and put the Third Hand up at the 8th fret. That way it gets the string to G and is not in my way for playing the tune.
Cool to hear you play clawhammer banjo too. I picked up an old Lyon and Healy a few months ago and have been messing around on it. I only know a handful of tunes at the moment. I find the clawhammer style very satisfying and relaxing to play. I initially arranged Lord Mayo on the banjo, but it sounds better on the guitar, where you have more sustain.
Ill get that tune up soon.
Anton