OK folks.
As a keen fan of slide guitar music, I thought I’d talk you through the art of making your own bottleneck.
But first, a brief history. (more…)
March 28, 2014
Merchandise
Soon you will be able to buy all kinds of Billi Stryng merchandise, from T shirts to plectrums and everything in between.
Watch this space!
March 18, 2013
Players
Some of my favorite players, and therefore some of my influences, are not technically very good!! There, I’ve said it.
They are not technically proficient so they compensate for lack of technique by being CREATIVE. And that’s my kind of player.
For example, I’m a big fan of Marc Bolan. Now, nobody would put him up there with all the great guitar gods, but just check out tracks like “Elemental Child” or “Mambo Sun”. Really great guitar music.
Marc Bolan
And what about some of the old blues players we look up to? Many of them had no formal training and were not particularly proficient players. So what made them GREAT players? I think it was “feel”. They didn’t need to play a flurry of notes in order to make a statement. If 2 notes did the trick, that was good enough for those guys.
And in the field of folk music, often “simple” is best.
On the other hand, I’ve seen players who are unbelievably fast, have all the music theory, know all the tough chords etc, who leave me cold because there’s no passion in their playing.
What do you think? What is it about your favorite guitarist that sends a shiver down your spine? Let us know.
March 18, 2013
Equipment
One of my favourite pieces of gear is my old Ebow. These days it comes in 2 varieties.
The name Ebow is a shortened form of Electronic Bow. It’s inventor, Greg Heet, wanted it to enable guitarists to create unlimited sustain. I’ve used mine on countless recordings. Once, on a German session, I was able to create the sound of an orchestra by doing a vast amount of harmonised overdubs.
It can be used in all sorts of ways. Soon I’ll be posting a video of great Ebow techniques. In the meantime, here is the official Ebow website.
March 18, 2013
Back in the Day.
Did you know modern guitar has very ancient roots? There are 3000 year old stone carvings showing stringed instruments that can be seen as the ancestors of the Strat and Martin, but the origins could be older than that. And many different cultures have contributed to the story.
Greece, Persia, North Africa, India, Scandinavia, Germany, Spain. All of these countries and civilisations have used stringed instruments not dissimilar to the guitar to make music. (more…)
March 18, 2013
My beautiful Blade Guitar.
Over the years, a lot of people have asked me about my Blade guitar. It’s a black Levinson Blade R3. One of the first ones that came into the UK. I’ve used it on hundreds of gigs and recording sessions.
I don’t like changing guitars through a live performance. My old Blade guitar gives me lots of different sounds at the flick of a switch. Apart from the 3 pickups (2 standard Levinson single coils plus a Seymour Duncan Hot Rail), there’s an onboard pre-amp with different settings. So I can flick a switch to get an acoustic guitar sound, then flick it the other way to get brilliant overdrive. And it plays beautifully! Gary Levinson is an American living in Switzerland where he constructs his growing range of guitars. Check out Blade guitars here. I’d love to know what you play and why you chose that guitar.
March 18, 2013
Favourite guitar moment?
Can you remember what it was that inspired you to start playing guitar? Was it something you heard on CD or YouTube? Did you see a great guitarist in full flow and say to yourself , “That’s what I want to do”?
A great inspirational moment for me was quite recent. I saw Tinariwen play at a festival. They are Tuareg musicians from North Africa.
The guitar playing was very simple. No big show off solos. Everything the guitarists did was stripped down to bare minimum. And I know that has had an impact on my playing.
And if you want to know which guitarist I most wanted to play like when I was starting off….it was the great Peter Green.
Peter Green with his Gold Top Les Paul.
So what about you? Who inspired you?
Posted by admin in Discussion, Guitars, Uncategorized and tagged as guitar, history, lessons
March 15, 2013
So You Wanna Be A Guitar God?
You’ve come to the right place!! Do you want learn to play guitar from scratch or improve your existing skills? Maybe you’d like to have a go at some new styles of playing. Billi will teach you. I intend to create 10 teaching courses for players of different abilities, from absolute beginner to advanced level. I’ll also be putting up specialist courses in folk and blues etc. Each course will consist of 10 lessons, with course material you can download and a quiz to see just how much you’ve learned!.
Do you want to check out guitars and equipment? It’s all here ! You might even get to win something amazing in one of my competitions.
Want to find out about some great guitar heroes? Check them out here?
Looking for great video clips and interesting artists. Go to my treasure section.
Want to discuss all things guitar with like minded friends? Speak up here.
And, of course, you can follow me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.
You can contact me here if you have any questions or if you want to say anything about the site.
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