The Foundling Goes Home (classical guitar)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPW4kUJv_z8
 
Some jerk of a man-child came onto my channel under a bunch of fake accounts and gave me 7 thumbs-down on this video and a few others. I just can't win with the interweb.

It's wonderful--the playing, the composition, and the recording quality. How'd you get your guitar to sound so good? Just about every classical guitar recording I've ever heard sounds like the guitar is down the street. You've got some amazing speed! I'd be tempted to play like Al Di Meola all day if I had that kind of speed, but you tempered it very nicely just using it to add spice, which is exactly what great guitar is all about. Very inspiring stuff.

Thanks for the share! I really like it. I think acoustic guitar like this is perhaps the most difficult instrument to play. Your composition is top notch. I read your gear list you used, and I think you got a remarkably clean sound from that equipment.
 
Wish I could play like that!
 
cheers,
-Tom
 
 

Very nice - I'm a big fan of classical guitar (Steve Hackett is my all-time guitar hero) and I play a little (not to anything like your standard) so I wouldn't even begin to try and critique your technique. The sound you achieved in recording the guitar was really very good and yes - I agree - Yamaha did indeed make some very good instruments back in the day. I thought there were shades of Bach in there and actually I loved the fact that the piece kept evolving and changing: melodic arpeggios, then a fast run, then a little bluesy or jazzy progression to switch the mood - terrific stuff. I really, really enjoyed it and - as someone who has tried to make and post a three-part tutorial on how to play Giuliani's Andante in C on YouTube - I know how hard it is to create an effective live video with a good guitar sound.
 
A very good job all round - thanks for sharing and more please. :-) Andy

Thanks guys! This piece was meant to be orchestrated from the beginning. I uploaded it to get an idea as to whether or not it would stand on its own as a solo guitar piece too. I think it does, but I also think that if you heard it with a full orchestra that all the movements would make more sense. I'll get around to it one of these days.

"Playing solo unaccompanied guitar is the summit at the top of the mountain"
 
Hey, if we keep telling them that long enough, maybe they'll believe it. Worked for Hitler! 
 
Thanks for your comments,
 
Bill

Well thank you Steve.

Thanks. I've used a thumbpick since I was knee-high to a stop sign. Hey, it worked for Chet, Merle, Doyle, and Tommy.
 
The one thing I DON'T like and no one has picked up on is that I used a little bit of compression on this recording. You only notice it when I hit the strings hard. It's a harsh sound. This is the one and only time I've tried compression on nylon strings. As good as some nice compression sounds on a steel string acoustic, it just doesn't work on nylon strings. Never again! (If anyone wants to hear the difference, I have a video of me playing the exact same guitar mic'd in the exact same way but without compression here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4lnhh4z8CU)

Bill - this is very nice!  love the playing, the recording is well done.  I think I would back off of the reverb a tad, but other than that, this is excellent!  I love classical guitar and you've done a great job on this!

Thank you gentlemen. I'm no Barrios, but I think I'm improving! Or at least I hide my mistakes better. 

sorry to about hear about the jerk and the thumbs down, but if I were you I wouldn't trouble myself with that, darn world is full of internet jerks, and non internet jerks to.
 
Mostly you should be proud of this no matter what anyone says.
 
this is the first piece I have listened to of yours, and now I know I will listen to more, you are a very good player.
 
did you study formally?  or are you self taught? 
 
tell me more about your background, I am interested, it lends personality to what I listen to.
 
It is obvious that you have spent your 10,000 hours in all the right places.
 
very well played, and with the video you don't hide anything, it's all right there for people to see, but there was nothing to hide.
 
straight up excellent!
 
Jesse Q Screed