Goes2eleven

INTRO: THE INHERENT HEALTH RISKS OF PLAYING GUITAR A couple common themes have emerged with the four guitarists we’ve covered so far. First of all: being a world-renowned guitarist is, without question, bad for your health. Another lesson we can take away from Joe, Paco, and Frank is that good music rarely occurs in a vacuum. What is often considered innovation is usually an artful synthesis of musical influences. Michael Hedges’ 1981 Windham Hill release Breakfast in the Field was a landmark guitar recording full of percussive effects, open tunings, and right hand legato techniques. There’s a third thread that ties all these artists together, and it’s probably my favorite feature of their work. That is that the guitar was a vehicle that served their compositional ideas rather than the other way around.   Recordings: Matthew Cochran, “Cicadas at the Equinox” from Vapor Trail from a Paper Plane Michael Hedges, “Layover” from Breakfast In The Field Commercial Break: Season Sponsor, Strings By Mail Music Bed: St