So, I recently announced to the world (via this blog) my intent to become the “Online Troubadour“.  All well and good. A fine ambition but now to turn intent into reality!

In this post, I want to say some more about my reasons for going down this path and also share a little about what is involved – the challenges, the inspirations and so forth

There are really two aspects to this journey and I will write about each in turn.  First there is a change in musical style towards being more of  a solo, acoustic performer. Then there is this whole “online”  aspect – sharing both the journey and end products very openly and interactively.

There are both aesthetic and practical motivations behind my intent to go down the solo, acoustic path. I confess to having wide and varied musical tastes- both as a listener and a performer. I enjoy rock, blues, jazz, country, soul, classical etc etc etc.   A downside of this is that I may overlook a particular genre for a while. Such was the case with the music of solo singer-songwriters. Now that is a very broad church I grant you.  Many artists you might put in this category actually produce music in a range of styles. It isn’t all about somebody strumming on an acoustic guitar singing about lost love!  Suffice to say my interest in singer-songwriters and in acoustic music has been revitalised.   There is a simple majesty about a good song being delivered by a solo performer or small group, with minimal instrumentation and production. The beauty of a melody or harmonic progression is allowed to shine through. There is a stronger focus on the lyrics.  The qualities of the vocals, whether they be sweet, raucous, plaintive etc. are more strongly evident – as is the emotion in the delivery.

From a practical standpoint, for a singer and musician, the solo, acoustic route has definite attractions. You can be a nice, portable, self-contained songwriting and performing package!  You have the potential to play live at venues that could not accommodate a band.  Rehearsals are just you, your voice and your instrument – no need to find a studio and get the band together.  Recording your material becomes so much easier.  You also have, assuming you are not contracted to a label,  total artistic control over what you play and how you play it.  I could list more but you get the general idea. The artist has got a lot of freedom and flexibility provided they have the ability and confidence to perform solo.

Now, I can sing and I can play the guitar.  I also write songs.  However, generally, I have tended to perform as the front-man of a band. Even in my incarnation as a solo vocalist, I have had others providing the backing. I stand at the front, sing, throw in some solo guitar and generally get the glory while others do the hard work!   The building blocks are there for me to become a true solo performer. However, there is groundwork I am doing that is necessary before I can launch myself in this guise upon a listening public. That’s both for your sake and mine!

One key element is to select and rehearse a suitable repertoire. I want to perform a good mix of covers and self-penned material.  In terms of covers, there is a rich vein of “obvious” material I can tap into. By which I mean the songs of well-know, guitar-based singer songwriters like Dylan, Neil Young, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Gordon Lightfoot et al.  There is also a whole catalogue of  folk, country, “folksy”-rock and county blues that I can raid.  All good stuff – but I fully intend to venture further than this.  For example, I would like to see if I could do effective treatments of some of the Great American Songbook. A good song is a good song and I mean to look across genre boundaries for material that inspires me  and that I feel I can do justice to.

I will be writing new material and I will also revisit some of my older songs to see how they adapt to the new format.

Another, equally-important aspect is getting the sound right.  For me that means re-acquainting myself with the acoustic guitar and the fingerstyle technique of playing.  So, I have taken my trusty Ovation out of its case (sorry guitar geeks, I can’t remember which model it is), put some nice new Martin strings on it and begun practicing those arpeggio patterns again. I love developing my playing and taking it in new directions, so this is a pleasure for me.  I’m also listening again to guitarists that haven’t been on my playlist for a while, including folk and country artists.  Bert Jansch, John Renbourn, Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, Tommy Emmanuel, Earl Klugh and Martin Taylor are a few names of those I have been listening too.  They are frighteningly proficient players every one of them!  However, I’m hopeful that a little pixie dust may make its way through to my playing such that I can add some colour and interest to my self-accompaniment. I want to try and keep the performance pared down to being just my voice and my guitar as much as I can.  I may make some very limited use backing tracks and loops (e.g. some percussion). However, I want to limit that for practical as well as aesthetic reasons.  Synchronising your performance with a backing track is just one more element that could go wrong.  Playing solo also gives you freedom to play with rhythm and tempo should you wish. The need to sync with a backing takes that freedom away.

I will close this post at this point for fear of rambling on.  I will post again soon and write about the other aspect of all this – the “online” bit – the thinking behind it, the challenges it is bringing etc.

Right, I’m off to grab the Ovation and work on my fingerstyle!  I hope to share some of my “new” music with you in the near future.

All the best,

Martin