Re: Intro and question

[Per Boysen <perboysen@gmail.com>]

> Lately, I've been mesmerized by the recordings of cello-looper Zoe  
> Keating.
>
> Are there any other fingerstyle acoustic guitarists here who can  
> share their experiences and approach?  Are there any recorded  
> examples available to study?

Hi Jeff,

A good initial advice on looping fingerstyle guitar is to use long  
loops and play the parts, just layering overdubs into an arrangement  
- and maybe "orchestration" if you manage to change the sound of your  
playing, break up parts into different note registers etc. What is  
good with fingerpicking guitar is that you're able to lay down a  
basic rhythm even with the first loop you create. Cello doesn't let  
you do that as easily; I've seen Zoe creating rhythm by adding an  
extra round for overdubbing plying "drumstick" with the bow on the  
instrument's body. But as said, the great thing with guitar, and  
fingerpicking in particular, is that you can advance faster towards a  
complex arrangement. Good for the showmanship side of it ;-)

I don't play fingerpincking myself. Actually I do quite the opposite  
when using guitar, mostly playing long sustained notes on a fretless  
guitar. Then a rhythmic aspect of the loop is more difficult to  
achieve. I have two favorite ways; either I make some rhythm on my  
first layer, before starting to play tonal material, or I start with  
a few loops with no rhythm and then using quantized punch-in/overdub,  
or pitch/rate shift, to mark the beat. Or I simply stick with "no  
beat" music and play with the rhythm I hear inside ;-)

Welcome to this cosy list and I hope my post made sense.

Greetings from Sweden

Per Boysen
www.ilike.com/artist/Per+Boysen