# Truly awesome acoustic guitar performance. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 11, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386 "2009-02-11T16:59:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![George\_Kaplin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3e96dc/32.png) [@George\_Kaplin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/George_Kaplin)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/1 "2009-02-11T16:59:44Z")
Man, I really fucking LOVE Youtube! Check [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VAkOhXIsI0) out. I’m gonna learn to play this if it kills me, which it may very well do 🙂 Nothing more to add, really. Hope you like it as much as I did! ---
**Author:** ![Karyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/fbc32d/32.png) [@Karyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karyn)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/2 "2009-02-11T17:21:39Z")
I think he’s amazing too. I heard about him from an Australian friend but most people (my age, at least) here don’t seem to know who he is. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/3 "2009-02-11T17:26:45Z")
> [@George\_Kaplin](#): > > Man, I really fucking LOVE Youtube! Check [this](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VAkOhXIsI0) out. I’m gonna learn to play this if it kills me, which it may very well do 🙂 > > Nothing more to add, really. Hope you like it as much as I did! Solid Player - can work his way around a 12-string, which ain’t easy when you do complex finger-picking. He knows how to use an alternate tuning and capo to voice the guitar differently, but from what I saw of his technique, there isn’t anything that a practiced guitar player couldn’t do. It is basically a more sophisticated version of Led Zep’s Over the Hills and Far Away, which is a pretty standard pull-off-based folky riff… Good stuff - thanks for sharing. You might have the mods move this to Cafe Society… ---
**Author:** ![Redfrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@Redfrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redfrost)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/4 "2009-02-11T17:39:46Z")
Okay, who are we talking about here? I’m at work and can’t link to YouTube. I’m guessing you’re talking about John Butler, who I have mentioned a few times in here, and only guessing that because of the Australia reference. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/5 "2009-02-11T17:46:32Z")
> [@Redfrost](#): > > Okay, who are we talking about here? I’m at work and can’t link to YouTube. I’m guessing you’re talking about John Butler, who I have mentioned a few times in here, and only guessing that because of the Australia reference. Yup - playing a song called Ocean. He’s wearing Blunnie’s so the Aussie part was a bit of a giveaway… ---
**Author:** ![Redfrost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9fc29f/32.png) [@Redfrost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Redfrost)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/6 "2009-02-11T18:00:48Z")
Thanks **WordMan**. A very talented person. I think I have all of his albums. His latest “Grand National” is the “poppiest” so far and the most likely to spring a hit in the U.S. ---
**Author:** ![Convict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ad7895/32.png) [@Convict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Convict)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/7 "2009-02-11T18:24:59Z")
Why does he remove the second G on his 12 string? I noticed it on a few of the videos and it’s mentioned on his wiki page with no explanation. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/8 "2009-02-11T18:47:50Z")
> [@Convict](#): > > Why does he remove the second G on his 12 string? I noticed it on a few of the videos and it’s mentioned on his wiki page with no explanation. No clue. All cuteness about “G-Strings” aside, they are tricky - whether they are wound or not, how high the pickup pole pieces are to that string vs. all the other strings (typically higher for the G) - etc. He probably gets what he needs from a single G and having a pair of unison-tuned G’s is too loud… just a WAG. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/9 "2009-02-11T19:15:35Z")
I adore JBT. Thanks for the link. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/10 "2009-02-12T06:46:49Z")
I’m sure its on YouTube also (at work) but the late great **Stevie Ray Vaughn** appeared on MTV’s **Unplugged** and gave a fantastic acoustic performance. I’m not a musician so maybe its a dumb thing to say, but he smoked an acoustic guitar just like his electric! ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2009, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/11 "2009-02-12T20:19:22Z")
Very nice - thank you! ---
**Author:** ![George\_Kaplin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3e96dc/32.png) [@George\_Kaplin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/George_Kaplin)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/12 "2009-03-27T15:47:13Z")
Learnt it 🙂 Also, so my update has some modicum of relevance to someone other than myself, check out another truly awesome performance [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQZY87PDsnQ) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/13 "2009-03-27T15:56:06Z")
> [@George\_Kaplin](#): > > Learnt it 🙂 > > Also, so my update has some modicum of relevance to someone other than myself, check out another truly awesome performance [here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQZY87PDsnQ) Ah, \*\*Stanley Jordan \*\*- the Georges Seurat of jazz guitar. - Amazing, talented player (as was Seurat as a painter) - Truly musical - transcends his whiz-bang technique to deliver quality music (Seurat’s paintings are truly great paintings, over and above being painted in a technically demanding style) - But kind of a dead end because so few followers (unlike, say, EVH who was also a revolutionary guitarist with unorthodox techniques - but EVH’s style took over guitar for 15 - 20 years, whereas Jordan? Everybody points, shakes their head, gives much respect, but don’t take on his style…just like Seurat’s pointillism was deeply respected but not much emulated…well, until pixels were invented ;)) ---
**Author:** ![RiverRunner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/977dab/32.png) [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/14 "2009-03-27T15:57:43Z")
YouTube isn’t working for me at this precise moment, so I’ll have to check it out later. I did want to mention, though, that there are some incredible clips of Jose Feliciano from a few decades ago on YouTube. If you’re into acoustic guitar magic, try hunting those down. RR ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/15 "2009-03-27T16:36:15Z")
“That? THAT? Pfft. I could play that with my TEETH!!” /Yngwie ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/16 "2009-03-27T17:03:53Z")
> [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > “That? THAT? Pfft. I could play that with my TEETH!!” > > /Yngwie _snort_ - but this can’t be considered a legit Yngwie quote since it doesn’t contain the phrase “unleash the fury”! ;)😃 (note: Yngwie apparently got into an argument on a flight and threatened to “unleash the fury”…on a flight attendant, IIRC :rolleyes: - since then, he has been mocked roundly for it - and I think he’s tried to take the phrase back over and maybe even named a CD or song after it??) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/17 "2009-03-27T17:33:12Z")
Hijack… I took guitar lessons when I was a kid from a dude who had long fingernails. I see that this John Butler guy has them too. How does it help? Seems to me that it’d be a hindrance… ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/18 "2009-03-27T17:40:53Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > Hijack… > > I took guitar lessons when I was a kid from a dude who had long fingernails. I see that this John Butler guy has them too. How does it help? Seems to me that it’d be a hindrance… Arlen Roth, an amazing player and teacher who has, like decades of vid clips and is Gibson’s Tip of the Day instructor, also had long-ish nails. On your fingering/fretting hand, I just don’t get it - although for him, the only long nail on that hand is his thumb (ew…). But for the picking hand - well, if you fingerpick and use some of your nail as part of your attack, then it makes sense. I don’t fingerpick, per se, but I hybrid pick - i.e., hold a flatpick with my thumb and forefinger, then use my middle and ring finger to finger-pick strings as well, but not in a finger-picky pattern. I mostly use the flesh of my fingertips, but having a slight nail (you wouldn’t think they were long at all) is good so I can put a little bite into the string with it when I am really trying to get the note to pop… ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/19 "2009-03-27T18:16:49Z")
Yeah, the nails thing is most commonly seen in classical or flamenco guitar. As for the piece itself, it’s beautifully performed, but it doesn’t seem like it’d be that difficult to learn. ---
**Author:** ![Ogre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ecb155/32.png) [@Ogre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ogre)\ **Post date:** [March 27, 2009, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386/20 "2009-03-27T18:17:49Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > _snort_ - but this can’t be considered a legit Yngwie quote since it doesn’t contain the phrase “unleash the fury”! ;)😃 > > (note: Yngwie apparently got into an argument on a flight and threatened to “unleash the fury”…on a flight attendant, IIRC :rolleyes: - since then, he has been mocked roundly for it - and I think he’s tried to take the phrase back over and maybe even named a CD or song after it??) Ahem. I believe the quote was “unleash the fookin’ fury.” You can see how the expletive is important. 😃 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/truly-awesome-acoustic-guitar-performance/485386.md?page=2)