synchro
There are plenty of classical music fans that don't fit the stereotype. I've been known to listen to classical music from time to time and I know that I don't. There's a lot of humor in some parts of the classical music world. The Boston Pops has done some very tongue in cheek material over the years.

I'd like to think of Mozart as "one of us", a musician that absolutely broke the mold. He was the closest thing to a rock star that you could be in his day and besides being a composer he was the hottest piano player in Austria. He wrote songs with nasty lyrics and he had a bit of a rebelious streak. I get the feeling that were he with us today he'd have kicked a few reverb tanks and done some killer glissandos.

But he used too many notes.

synchro
There are plenty of classical music fans that don't fit the stereotype. I've been known to listen to classical music from time to time and I know that I don't. There's a lot of humor in some parts of the classical music world. The Boston Pops has done some very tongue in cheek material over the years.

I'd like to think of Mozart as "one of us", a musician that absolutely broke the mold. He was the closest thing to a rock star that you could be in his day and besides being a composer he was the hottest piano player in Austria. He wrote songs with nasty lyrics and he had a bit of a rebelious streak. I get the feeling that were he with us today he'd have kicked a few reverb tanks and done some killer glissandos.

Boston Pops = Britney Spears and her ilk.

And Mozart is not "one of us". Presuming you are talking about Surf Guitar 101. Surf music did not break the mold. If Mozart were with us today he'd probably be composing for strings, piano, and orchestra. Probably some really dissonant stuff perhaps with some experimental choir and perhaps electronic instruments such as the ondes martenot. And if he were making something other than classical music it'd probably be synth heavy, ambient, or something like Radiohead's more complex stuff. The man's musical brain was way too large for surf music.

bigtikidude

bigtikidude
but I sometimes see a similarity between Classical, and Surf.
no not exactly the same techniques, but in style.

and no I don't think Jose Feliciano is the Best Classical player, just using his videos as quick examples.

Flight of the Bumble Bee, Jose Feliciano, and Surf Coasters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgIC6KOFySk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukCPOL9A_mA

malaguena by Jose Feliciano the Outterwave
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFvqmIi9Ymc&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7dBAVKqn3M

and Doug,
how you don't see some of Wronski's multiple finger picking , instead of just using a pick for one note at a time, just amazes me.
when I first saw him do that, it reminded me of my very first classical
training pieces.

no reply's to this,
Doug?
hmmmmm?

Not so fast!
Just because he plays a classical guitar doesn't mean the music is classical. Willie Nelson plays a nylon string.

Bumble Bee-Jose is using a pick, that is very similar to the way Surf Coasters and others play it. Damn he is fast. Not surf though, even when the Surf Coasters or Los Twang!Marvels play it.

Malaguena-Very unsurfy. Flamenco all the way and he plays the whole song, unlike Outerwave who is doing the Trashmen version of the song (that everyone does) that changes it from 3/4 to 4/4 and eliminates important sections of the song.

And you know I've carefully studied Wronski and his multiple finger techniques, that's partly why I think he is the best. It is a far cry from classical technique though. He uses his thumb in a most unorthodox way and some of his fingerings are very difficult and even painful--he can drop his thumb a few frets behind the rest of the notes...try it! That is the opposite of classical guitar. He once told me he tried taking some lessons and the guy wanted him to stop using the thumb. Merle Travis used multiple fingers too but that doesn't make it classical technique, where you sit a certain way, hold your thumb against the back of the fretboard, etc.

synchro
I thought that was Bach. I can't stand his music, it sounds like it was written for a swarm of killer bees.

...

synchro

Stormtiger
But he used too many notes.

I thought that was Bach. I can't stand his music, it sounds like it was written for a swarm of killer bees.

Too many notes was a line from Amadeus, a criticism of Mozart's work. Of course, we all know he used exactly the right amount.
You can't stand Bach!? That just negated any other opinions you have. You are a Barbarian sir!

synchro
The more I learn about Mozart (and I don't know all that much about him) the more I see his influence in so much of our music. I'd love to see what he could have done with all of our modern music technology such as Synths, MIDI, multitrack recording, diminished fifths that didn't invite prosecution. Maybe it's just because of that dumb movie, but I feel a real kinship with Mozart, like he was a Rocker trapped in the 18th century. Somehow I could see him standing next to Dick Dale, Chuck Berry or Billy Gibbons and having the time of his life.

You should check out Paganini. He wrote impossible violin parts and then played them. People thought he had a pact with the Devil, a notion he fostered. He wore long black hair and had an unusual stance while performing.
image

I had a friend (who later became my brother-in-law) who studied the double bass in college. He used to practice these "baroque" pieces by Vivaldi. Damn that stuff was cool. And that's all I know about classical music. Sorry if I was off-topic.

Site dude - S3 Agent #202
Need help with the site? SG101 FAQ - Send me a private message - Email me

"It starts... when it begins" -- Ralf Kilauea

JakeDobner
Did you see Amadeus and assume that is what his life was actually like?

I know better than that. The movie itself was bunk, mostly a legend brought to the screen but some of the things in that movie were based upon tales about Mozart that have at least some substantiation. He was a bit of a rebel, he actually wrote a song that was called "Lick Me In the A**", probably nothing that his parents would have been proud about. He was also known as a great piano player and hired for that talent alone at times. I certainly don't think he was the preposterous (though entertaining) character in the movie but he was a bit out there.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

websurfer
Another favorite with classical overtones is Atlantic Waltz by The 'Verb.

Thanks! It is one of my favorites as well.

DuaneEddysMum
100% with that,Syncro,I am not a fan of the of the 'thumb wrapped round the fret board'style.
To the same extent seeing(standing) players having guitars,on a long strap, playing the bloody thing at thigh level ....how do they do it???

I had sloppy technique for the first 10 years I played then I spent a year unlearning old habits. I'd never go back to the old way.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.