Description

DescriptionMartin Simpson has been called “the finest acoustic guitarist on the planet” (Chicago Tribune) and “one of the finest fingerpickers and slide players of our time” (Guitar Player). Winner of BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards Musician of The Year (2002 and 2004) and Best Album in 2002 (for “The Bramble Briar”), he is a superb interpreter of traditional music from the British Isles and the American South.He has performed with such folk-rock legends as Richard Thompson, Steeleye Span, June Tabor and Fairport Convention, among others. Martin’s synthesis of American blues and English folk music has been featured on more than a dozen recordings for English and American labels. They include “Righteousness & Humidity,” “Leaves of Life,” “A Closer Walk with Thee” and his 2005 release “Kind Letters.” Along with his artistry as a performer, Martin is also a superb teacher who conducts numerous guitar workshops in Europe and the USA each year.Vol. 1Learn Martin Simpson’s most compelling arrangements, along with the guitar techniques that give his playing great distinction and popularity.Martin has pioneered the use of altered tunings to bring out the widest possible harmonic range of the guitar, and each of the songs on this DVD features that special sound. You’ll learn three Scottish airs in dropped-D tuning: Rosie Anderson, The Shearing’s Not for You and Bogie’s Bonnie Belle. Then, on to an altered G tuning for two traditional American tunes, the evocative Pretty Saro and the spectacular Long Steel Rail. For the latter Martin teaches his unique guitar frailing (most commonly used by clawhammer banjo players), combining it with hammer-ons and pull-offs in a stunning display of guitar virtuosity. Finally, you’ll learn one of his powerful original compositions, Santa Cruz.Martin reveals his ideas about guitar musicianship and chord theory; how to get good tone; techniques for moving up and down the neck’ the uses of movable scales and chords, hammers and pulls, harmonics. This DVD will inspire guitarists of all levels and styles.Vol. 2Martin Simpson’s compellingly beautiful music is evidence of his unique understanding of the guitar’s possibilities. His impeccable tone and brilliant arrangements of Celtic, British and American guitar songs and instrumentals are widely admired but rarely mastered. On this powerful and revealing lesson, Martin explains how he arrives at his distinctive settings. He imparts invaluable instruction that will help learning guitarists develop a distinctive sound and build good technique and musicianship.Working in alternate tunings, Martin covers a broad spectrum of songs. He plays, sings, and analyzes Jock O’Hazeldine, a Celtic air in dropped D, showing how to find the basic melody and then fill out the arrangement to make the tune more “elegant.” Banks of the Bann has its melody in the bass, and you’ll learn how to embellish it and then move it into the higher octaves. He finishes with a complex and beautiful carol, In the Bleak Mid-Winter, again played in dropped D tuning.This lesson with one of the acoustic music world’s most expressive guitarists will teach you some gorgeous instrumentals while dramatically expanding your ability to create your own unique arrangements.Vol. 3″His performances elicit powerful emotions and subtle, understated beautya Sheer mastery of the acoustic guitar.”– Guitar Player MagazineGet ready to dig into more of Martin Simpson’s beautiful and compelling guitar arrangements in alternate tunings. He begins his third DVD lesson with Donal Ogg and My Generous Lover, tunes that highlight the richness of ‘G sus.4’ tuning. Betsy The Serving Maid is first sung unaccompanied, then Martin teaches the basic melody on guitar. He gradually adds bass notes, harmonies, chordal structure and percussive beats, finishing with a full performance of the tune.One of Martin’s showstoppers is his spectacular rendition of The Cuckoo Bird, featuring a mountain minor banjo tuning. He slows down this driving Appalachian tune to analyze his unusual and dynamic right hand picking style. This one song is guaranteed to keep you busy for months! Finally, Martin turns his discussion to DADGAD, using the Irish fiddle tune Miss McClouds’s Reel to illustrate how you can build a guitar instrumental using this popular tuning.This lesson, along with the others in this three-DVD set, will open up a world of possibilities for anyone who wants to develop a distinctive solo repertoire, improve technique and create beautiful guitar arrangements.