Andy McKee: how's he doin' that?

[kwakatak]

This song of his was tabbed and the video featured on the latest issue of the revived Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine and I HAVE to learn this:

 

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I can see with my own two eyes and I can see the groove happening, but I can't quite put all the pieces together. As if the alternating thumb thing wasn't hard enough, now THIS bug has to bite me?

 

So what's he doing here? What's needed - beside having rhythm I mean? A partial capo? OK, fine. I want one then. Where can I get one though? A baritone guitar? That could be a problem. Would a standard scale dread or OM do? What freaky tuning is he using and will longspread use of that tuning rip the bridge off my guitar? Lastly, do I need to trim my R.H. fingernails? That could be problematic. I need a little bit for the other fingerstyle technique I usually play.

 

What say you all? Am I close?

 

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[larry50]

In the Fingerstyle Guitar magazine article, he mentions that he favors open tunings, some of which even he admits are a bit strange. Sounds like an open tuning in the video too, but which one I am not good enough to say.

[kwakatak]

Too bad, Joe. I kinda like the whole "vibe" thing. It's a nice alternative to TE's "groove." I don't think he's boring at all. I sense a musical direction to some of his pieces that I haven't from Justin King or Erik Mongraine.

[Hudman]

He's playing a baritone guitar in standard baritone tuning (BEADF#B).

 

You will have to tune down 3 1/2 steps or play it in standard (EADGBE) 3 1/2 steps high. Tuning down that much will cause your strings to buzz like crazy. I would play it 3 1/2 steps high.

 

He's mixing in slapping on the two low strings to get the beat.

 

I think he has long nails on his picking hand.

 

Here's a version of him playing it with Don Ross. Ross is using a baritone with a capo at the second fret.

 

[YOUTUBE]ExgqnilG4pU[/YOUTUBE]

[RKO]

You're a hell of a lot closer than I'll ever be, Neil. Although I agree with the other guy that even though Andy McKee has forgotten more about the guitar than I'll ever know, that taqpping/slapping thing gets a little worn to my ears after a while.
But your jazz, I like! Wish I could play like that...

[kwakatak]

He's playing a baritone guitar in standard baritone tuning (BEADF#B). You will have to tune down 3 1/2 steps or play it in standard (EADGBE) 3 1/2 steps high. Tuning down that much will cause your strings to buzz like crazy. I would play it 3 1/2 steps high. He's mixing in slapping on the two low strings to get the beat. I think he has long nails on his picking hand.

 

 

OK, I get you. Even if I were to drop my guitar's tuning down a few frets I'd still have to settle for playing it in a higher key then.

 

FWIW, there's a decent enough tutorial on youtube but still on a baritone:

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Then somebody went and ran a filter on the audio of the original video to tune it up to standard:

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...which IMO sounds like crap on my OM in standard but might sound a little better on my old Tak that I have tuned down a 1/2 step.

[C70man]

Nice job Kwak. Like your version.

I think the micing of Andy's guitar has quite a bit to do with the sound he's getting from his techniques. You can notice that TE also has a ton of micing for all the percussion he uses as well. You can get a lot out of an amp and it allows very little effort to get a "sound" off the strings.

I'm not a big fan of the slapping technique, but Andy certainly is one of the best at it. And like any technique, it takes practice and time. Though I play with open tunings, baritone guitars are somewhere I probably won't go. I have enough trouble learning what I want, on a standard guitar.

[Queequeg]

In the duet that Hud posted, Don Ross (who can slap and tap with the slappenest and tappenest of 'em) manages to smooth this out to the point where I find it enjoyable, but the Andy McKee solo is just too syncopated and percussive for my taste.

Probably a generational thing. (read: Q is too damn old to get it.)

But the baritones rock.

[kwakatak]

Nice job Kwak. Like your version. I think the micing of Andy's guitar has quite a bit to do with the sound he's getting from his techniques. You can notice that TE also has a ton of micing for all the percussion he uses as well. You can get a lot out of an amp and it allows very little effort to get a "sound" off the strings. I'm not a big fan of the slapping technique, but Andy certainly is one of the best at it. And like any technique, it takes practice and time. Though I play with open tunings, baritone guitars are somewhere I probably won't go. I have enough trouble learning what I want, on a standard guitar.

You'd be surprised what the K&K Pure Western can pick up. I swear it picks up people talking in the room!

[kwakatak]

In the duet that Hud posted, Don Ross (who can slap and tap with the slappenest and tappenest of 'em) manages to smooth this out to the point where I find it enjoyable, but the Andy McKee solo is just too syncopated and percussive for my taste. Probably a generational thing. (read: Q is too damn old to get it.) But the baritones rock.

Yeah, it is a bit dull, but his playing is otherwise melodic. As for TE, he varies up his percussion a bit - though as you know he can sometimes go a little too far. That's drummers for ya!

[whereisrandall]

kwakatak, I can set you up with a Short-Cut capo. (alternately, GC is now stocking them standard, or other local stores may be, too.

 

I also teach partial capo techniques. Write me if you'd like the wholesale password to get the Short-Cuts from my site, or codes for free lessons on jamplay.com with partialcapogoodness.

 

Randall (randall at whereisrandall dot com)

[kwakatak]

Sorry to dig this up, but I think I'm starting to get it. The double-slap in the intro was throwing me off. You gotta drop your wrist a little lower to straighten out your fingers and then do the first slap with the left hand's middle finger before hitting the strings with your right hand's thumb. It's tough for me because you have to fret one note while letting the harmonics ring out AND giving your middle finger some space to slap the string.

 

Once you get into the first 1/3 of the song though the beat is as about as easy as in More Than Words; just on the 2 and 4 beats with a couple of odd bass-guitar slaps thrown in here and there.

 

I haven't even attempted the interlude EVH-style tapfest though. I prefer the end of the song where it gets a little funkier.

[kwakatak]

Sorry to kick up an old dustbin topic, but I've been woodshedding hard on this one. I have the first half figured out for the most part. Right up to the tapfest which I'm still trying to figure out. I have full tab but I need to internalize the changes and figure out how to get notes to ring more clearly than I've been able to. I should probably learn the "B" section and the outro though.

 

Below is a link to a recording I made tonight. It's played on my Larriv

[Queequeg]

Sorry to kick up an old dustbin topic, but I've been woodshedding hard on this one. I have the first half figured out for the most part. Right up to the tapfest which I'm still trying to figure out. I have full tab but I need to internalize the changes and figure out how to get notes to ring more clearly than I've been able to. I should probably learn the "B" section and the outro though. Below is a link to a recording I made tonight. It's played on my Larriv

[kwakatak]

Thanks, Q. That's only the first half though. There's that bridge that's all 2-hand tapping that you pretty much need lower string tension for; it sounds like crap on a regular (tenor?) acoustic guitar - all springy-sounding and crap. For this section the harmonics are kicking my ass since I have to somehow let them ring out using my L.H. pinky, fret the bass note with my L.H. index finger and then do 1/2 of the "double-tap" with my L.H. middle finger. It can be done, but only after lots of practice - I hope! I've never woddshed on something so hard, but once the muscle memory kicks in there's actually nothing to it. The "beats" are pretty regular and there are no percussive "fills" so it's pretty much like "More Than Words" - only with harder chords and that tap-happy $hit in the middle.

[kwakatak]

I've been listening to the recording of this, poring over the tab and woodshedding hard on this one and I'm pretty sure my family is sick of it, but I think I've made real progress.

I've tuned my Larriv

[Queequeg]

holy moly, kwak; you are one woodshedding maniac.

that was way cool, and the OM sounds great down there esp with the harmonics. when the heck do you find time to do that?

my hat is off to you.

[kwakatak]

holy moly, kwak; you are one woodshedding maniac. that was way cool, and the OM sounds great down there esp with the harmonics. when the heck do you find time to do that? my hat is off to you.

 

 

Thanks Q. With all this snow I've had a lot of time to woodshed - even with the kids home. It helps pass the time when they want to watch one of their Clifford videos for the umpteenth time.

 

If this weather keeps up I may work on some other ones that have been kicking my butt for the past few years. There are a couple of Pierre Bensusan tunes that I've been really wanting to learn.

 

BTW, I like the baritone tuning a lot. It's just like the standard tuning but about a half-octave lower so that even old songs sound new and fresh. Last night I was playing a few songs that I was tired of and loved them all over again. I even made up a new one that I later tried in standard tuning on my Martin and didn't like nearly as much.

[Queequeg]

There are a number of tunes in my repertoire which I only like on the baritone. Many of the 18th & 19th century patriotic songs, which are mostly old re-worked fiddle tunes and have their roots in the UK I prefer on the baritone.

Another is a tune which I know that you play. "Vincent". Try it down there. Much nicer than standard tuning (in my estimation).

[kwakatak]

Based on some other folks' input and some more practice on the tapping part I decided to record it yet again. This time I tried video and mating the audio from the K&K with another track from my Zoom H2. I chose the high camera angle to get the player's perspective in order to make improvements to my left and right hand technique. The biggest boo boo is that I recorded this around midnight the other night and a nearby toy went off toward the end of the song. It was so loud that I was afraid it along with my playing would wake everybody up so I decided to call it a night.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCvj3ig_Yq8

[DeepEnd]

Definitely coming along. Keep up the good work.