Feature: John McLaughlin plays Cherokee

Someone in a forum wrote this:

Jason_Ong wrote:
It is easier to bend on steel strings then it is on a nylon string. That's why most people substitute bend notes with slide notes when using nylon stringed guitars.

Reply:
so true, 1 reason why i dislike playing classical guitars

Hmm… maybe he should check this video out. He might just change his mind…



John McLaughlin plays Cherokee!


Wow that was fast! Just how did he pick so fast on a nylon guitar? I suspect the key lies not with applying more strength but rather picking lightly at the right angle. Notice how his fingers are not clasped up? That shows he's applying minimal force on his index & thumb to hold his pick. He's using quite a small pick so that helps alot too. Try one & you'll see what I mean...

His approach to soloing is really one of improvisation. From the video we can see that he was playing in a rather scalic fashion. At that kind of speed I think it's really quite difficult to think about harmony. I think he was feeling the harmony through getting feedback from his ears as can be heard from some of the notes that he was readjusting to harmonise with the underlying chords.

Anyway John’s one of my favourite guitar hero. He can play and has played all types of contemporary guitar conceivable. Amazing! I think nowsadays he's more into guitar education. His new dvd instructional set called "This is the Way I Do It" looks real tempting until I consider the price... heh

God bless.