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For Solid Air Records Web Site / Masa Sumidé
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Tell us how you got started with the guitar and your early influences?
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My memories are a bit fuzzy as to when I first held the guitar to start with, but I do remember that everything started with “The Ventures”.
& I N( A3 q3 v1 F" I/ u. a. c" PIt was around 1967 or 68, I guess.
. O" I2 C$ e; M# H$ sTheir guitar music made a huge impact on me and propelled me into action.; o7 U( w g1 D3 T9 Z) C8 @
I can’t describe the feeling I got when I was first exposed to their music.; E+ }6 O4 A( b
It was so new to my ear and everything was so fresh.
1 w' G* _) f1 b$ I+ ^, y% T( v9 HI wanted to be like Norkie Edwards and often found myself copying his licks on the guitar from morning till night!
i- W7 |0 p& U0 SSo, I can say my roots are firmly set in guitar music.
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After the Ventures I was sucked into hard rock music and got hooked on Deep Purple, Grand Funk Railroad, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and so forth.
_4 m$ ]! h, i0 lI don’t listen to today’s rock music because they sound a bit too overproduced and lack the kind of raw energy the bands from the past had.
( S3 w( D" g# G! EI prefer songs built around nice guitar riffs with simple arrangement.4 t, D3 @( C8 j- @3 m% i
“She’s A Groover” on my collection CD is my humble attempt to recapture the good-old style of rock in shuffle.. l! B6 Y. F3 i# R% c8 X) v
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Do you listen to much guitar these days? What players have influenced you as a maturing artist?
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I listen to heaps of acoustic guitar music and my solo guitar CD collection is getting bigger and bigger.) @/ B! c5 ^5 Y$ B# s
It’s actually nearing the 200 mark!9 k0 l3 ]1 v% X5 c' {4 J
When I listen to other guitarists’ music it’s purely for inspiration these days, but like any other guitar freak, I went through the stage of putting every piece of music under the microscope trying to work out every single move and all the fancy stuff.
; f Q/ N% Y/ N3 Y" c' w) RBut I don’t do that dissecting anymore.- y& `1 L. B# g% [+ v8 E
This doesn’t mean I’ve stopped learning, I’d like to add.3 i# ~$ s% `, o4 S6 C+ g! J5 V' A
It’s just that I’d rather enjoy the music as it comes and listen to the whole picture.. D+ k! A% ~" P8 ?( S0 A+ ]
I’ve come to understand the simple fact that technique alone doesn’t get you anywhere and that it’s what comes from inside that counts most.4 Q/ y+ v1 E7 \! R1 N' `; J
The guitar knows it too, I think.
D; J' o! P5 F0 G, f9 e+ B! Y+ @It detects your state of mind the minute you hit the strings and responds to it accordingly., u% F1 @5 X# z, Y* `1 u
This is what I like about the acoustic guitar because you cannot lie to it.
/ y |8 r2 v$ l7 ~; YI wouldn’t be hurt if someone said that I could use some practice, but if I was told that I didn’t play with feeling it would be a different story.
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' |! A, K2 N/ p" W6 n3 ^$ B9 aThere’re two guitarists who have influenced me in a big way.
q2 _, ^2 f1 b; XJoe Pass and Tuck Andress.
1 m6 a4 W6 N: @I have nothing but respect for these two guitar giants.; f- Z0 a9 ~& k0 z! T' _; M6 |
I’ve learned a lot about chord melodies from Joe Pass’ solo CDs and Tuck’s albums have taught me how to swing and groove with a funky touch.
" _, v" W) q8 B3 T+ B+ h+ II feel very indebted to them and wish to dedicate a tune for each hero on my next CD.7 D. [3 r) e1 Z2 o5 t
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What tunings do you favor and why?5 c! G t0 d }
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3 v+ g# p5 @# M3 f5 q3 zLet me first make a confession…I used to dislike open tunings!
/ K+ L2 J% H+ ]3 x8 mCan’t do without them now, but I used to be locked into thinking that standard tuning was the way to go and that using alternative tunings was as good as cheating!
! X$ w7 l% e% r! O1 L/ ]* QLooking back, I probably saw open tunings as an easy way out, which isn’t the case at all!
5 l. y' L, M* TI put it down to my hard-headedness when I was going through my share of a developing stage.
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Now I’m a big believer in open tunings and mainly use DADGAD, DADGBD and Dropped D tunings.
! h; ~) j3 b/ ]/ [6 U5 II’m not too sure if Dropped D tuning qualifies as an open tuning.- W# p& P9 G0 f! @9 [1 J p
Anyway, those are my kind of tunings.
+ I8 @+ ^$ p# l+ _/ ]! jI haven’t tried lower tunings yet so I don’t know what those tunings have to offer…unknown territories for me.
+ I( T# A9 R2 ~4 k3 f3 hAmong the three tunings I use, DADGBD is my favorite because of its minor 11th feel.
2 s" P: Q! |9 ~1 ~8 K6 \Works pretty well for tunes in a minor key." h; B( m- D( d( y3 E$ W- V
“Blues In The Slow Lane” on “2 Blue 4 Words” is played in this tuning.
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( \6 Q- N/ `$ a+ L$ |8 d" xWhere do your ideas for tunes come from?. K( ]6 l; N: m2 |; r
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Obviously, my creative source is backed up by a hodgepodge of music I’ve listened to up until now and I owe a lot to the players who have taught me all the tricks of the trade through their albums.
' c/ `5 B9 \% a; g; R6 CThey have provided me with something to stand on and I’ve managed to build it up from there.6 v4 d2 D$ x# _" b( m, [- T& w
I’m very thankful for all the forerunners.
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4 W- ]& v- K; t8 }4 B7 tI don’t sit down with the guitar telling myself, “I’m going to write a few tunes today no matter what” or anything like that.
( w* h( P$ A4 bIt doesn’t work that way.# }8 b2 T2 b; [1 g: B- O0 J1 r7 c
I usually look for some melody triggers when practicing the guitar and take it from there.
0 [! w/ g8 `7 hIf nothing hits, so be it.
' |& |3 h+ ^( `2 DOn the other hand, if some chords or notes trigger something inside my head, then I start building a tune around them. Either way, I don’t push myself to compose because the stuff coming out under those kinds of conditions usually sound a bit forced and hurried.2 ?! n: H- C- j6 p3 R( D
In addition, I get easily bored and don’t stand still on one tune, which I think contributes to the pace of my songwriting in a way.; f" r- ?! t, n: ~+ s4 Q6 ?( M
As soon as I finish a tune I start looking for other triggers and then others…I like to think ahead and keep on moving.
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You have an aggressive style of attack.... do you use nails? Give us a
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e) n6 k& E1 ^It’s all nails and flesh.
* k0 A* ]# m# kI don’t use any plectrums because I want to feel the strings on my picking fingers.$ B, T) u5 q$ _6 K3 R- d
This is one of the reasons why I use custom light gauge strings on my guitar instead of heavier sets.% d9 z* W/ t0 Y+ F
You can put more strength in your fingers and there’s less chance of breaking your nails.
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; _( T7 D+ T; |* SAs for playing style, I really like percussive types of playing because I’m into rhythms.: L" L y- \/ v9 y6 o
There are always some percussive sounds happening in my head when I’m practicing and composing." {" n' Z3 x9 {' k- G0 K
It has a lot to do with my past as a multi-instrument player, I guess.1 |" @+ c4 G1 p/ t f% R/ G
I used to play the drums, base and the piano on my demo tapes.+ U0 v9 p$ G" i
I was a total control freak at that time./ N$ L0 s; p( |
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b% `% r* y; ^* QMy approach to recording is quite simple: the sooner I nail a tune the better.0 u$ {; b [3 c$ y
Good tracks are usually recorded in a few takes, so I try not to use more than an hour for a tune otherwise I’d lose the freshness and my focus.7 P8 ~3 \# V; E9 g& E% g
In addition, my hands sweat a lot and the strings die on me in a hurry.* e) ~+ h' ]5 U) n1 Z
I change strings every two songs at recording, depending on their freshness.9 a. }5 q+ y& B, b t/ b! D- B
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Please talk about the strings you prefer and action etc...
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1 A) J. w' K: G5 I$ sI use “Martin SP custom light strings” and they feel just right on my fingers.$ n4 R6 t+ y; o1 u; k) r2 |/ e
They sound warm too.
3 e' T+ z' N0 F% x& k; p0 [You’re probably wondering, “Hey, that’s a thin set of strings…”
( C( t. ?" c3 p" q0 oI don’t blame you, but I can’t handle a heavier gauge than that because my grip isn’t as strong as it should be.; B4 t& f+ K! ]& m+ h" G3 n
Sound-wise, I lose a bit on the bottom end, but I compensate it with added tension in the neck so that it doesn’t affect the whole picture much.3 l6 x$ j ^/ R+ z" x
I shake my head in amazement to those guys putting on medium gauge strings!
1 G. u; f' z& c9 O( R' \However can you handle those???
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, b6 {7 @* X& \, i* Q' X4 ?I’m not too knowledgeable about action…my idea of the right action is that when you play an F and it feels right with no buzz happening, then it should be okay…but I may be wrong.4 }, M+ S' [: ?
Either way, you’d be better off having a guitar tech fine-tune it.
3 @, U2 ?' ~$ g5 a“Don’t mess with something you don’t know” is my pet phrase when it comes to the technical side of things. - Z$ G/ {5 n- r. {$ T) ]
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发表于 2008-2-11 14:08
发表于 2008-2-11 23:31
