Book contents
- The Cambridge Companion to the Electric Guitar
- Cambridge Companions to Music
- The Cambridge Companion to the Electric Guitar
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- 1 Introduction
- Part I History
- Part II Technology and Timbre
- Part III Musical Style and Technique
- Personal Take III: Samantha Bennett
- 8 Technique vs Virtuosity in the Instrumental Gesture: From Classical to Rock and from Rock to Contemporary Creation
- 9 The Bass Guitar in Popular Music
- 10 Thumping, Glitch, and Butterfly Tapping: Innovations in Guitar Technique in the New Millennium
- 11 Rhythm Changes: Rhythm Guitar from Jazz to Funk
- Part IV The Electric Guitar in Society
- Part V The Global Instrument
- Index
- References
8 - Technique vs Virtuosity in the Instrumental Gesture: From Classical to Rock and from Rock to Contemporary Creation
from Part III - Musical Style and Technique
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 08 November 2024
- The Cambridge Companion to the Electric Guitar
- Cambridge Companions to Music
- The Cambridge Companion to the Electric Guitar
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Contributors
- 1 Introduction
- Part I History
- Part II Technology and Timbre
- Part III Musical Style and Technique
- Personal Take III: Samantha Bennett
- 8 Technique vs Virtuosity in the Instrumental Gesture: From Classical to Rock and from Rock to Contemporary Creation
- 9 The Bass Guitar in Popular Music
- 10 Thumping, Glitch, and Butterfly Tapping: Innovations in Guitar Technique in the New Millennium
- 11 Rhythm Changes: Rhythm Guitar from Jazz to Funk
- Part IV The Electric Guitar in Society
- Part V The Global Instrument
- Index
- References
Summary
In The Segovia Technique (1972), Vladimir Bobri describes what a guitarist’s hand gesture must be to lean toward virtuosity. This search for the perfection of the “classical” gesture was, however, called into question by another virtuosity: that of rock music. The greatest guitarists of this genre never ceased to break the rules of this ideal gesture. In the first part of the chapter, this study briefly covers the electrification of the guitar and its consequences on guitar manufacturing and the development of the effects dedicated to guitar playing. I will then focus on the possible range of crossbreeding the classically inspired instrumental gesture before addressing Eddie Van Halen’s contribution. Finally, I will consider the influence that the rock virtuosos’ legacy, from Jimi Hendrix to Van Halen, brought to the instrumental gesture, and the tones used by composers of contemporary repertoire whose knowing use of technique has furthered the hybridization of genres.
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- Information
- The Cambridge Companion to the Electric Guitar , pp. 134 - 149Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024