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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”.
% N: u# k+ x3 B; hIt was around 1967 or 68, I guess.2 S3 s) |. e) r+ L- v1 |0 ]: j' K
Their guitar music made a huge impact on me and propelled me into action.; }% p9 s9 S1 U W! r) M; p
I can’t describe the feeling I got when I was first exposed to their music.6 p# M0 k, W$ Y' z* Z+ n& v: S3 D4 d' l
It was so new to my ear and everything was so fresh.
! {/ l" h, e8 z, s; k. XI wanted to be like Norkie Edwards and often found myself copying his licks on the guitar from morning till night!
r0 t. q' d3 X% nSo, 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.. D. i# m/ R- u' C/ t4 L, h- @
I 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.
1 h& C! {$ o. p/ GI prefer songs built around nice guitar riffs with simple arrangement.
/ F0 Z2 y6 E$ G* N) A“She’s A Groover” on my collection CD is my humble attempt to recapture the good-old style of rock in shuffle.
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& ~- Q0 |. J4 X! U: \' e2 I) `' t5 {5 RDo you listen to much guitar these days? What players have influenced you as a maturing artist? ) e; S2 g8 S2 g) w5 B( i# ^1 L
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* n' o4 M* U; X( h, } G# ]I listen to heaps of acoustic guitar music and my solo guitar CD collection is getting bigger and bigger.8 K' K P0 {+ d2 @* K% Y z0 K5 }
It’s actually nearing the 200 mark!8 d) Z. L# h1 G3 x1 K" y, Q+ ]
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.
+ G/ ] S7 ^5 S% `4 _But I don’t do that dissecting anymore.
, z; p7 p7 C/ z7 Y4 j, }This doesn’t mean I’ve stopped learning, I’d like to add.* z% z3 h1 c% `/ Y$ |1 u
It’s just that I’d rather enjoy the music as it comes and listen to the whole picture.$ s# E! n" l3 o6 l
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.* k, \3 Q1 e$ d
The guitar knows it too, I think.
, e( u7 c* R3 j8 I. NIt detects your state of mind the minute you hit the strings and responds to it accordingly.
7 C/ N& ?( |. o' \3 K9 [; t+ SThis is what I like about the acoustic guitar because you cannot lie to it.+ A b; ]' g9 B" k
I 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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There’re two guitarists who have influenced me in a big way.
/ _& v/ i, W7 }Joe Pass and Tuck Andress.5 x& i! [3 E; G, g
I have nothing but respect for these two guitar giants.) v" d* R- T7 O7 e. z- t
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.6 H" m+ S' p3 e- M
I feel very indebted to them and wish to dedicate a tune for each hero on my next CD.
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# s! F- [$ y6 I5 X, D; q/ [( BWhat tunings do you favor and why?
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Let me first make a confession…I used to dislike open tunings!
) e; k" f9 h8 {, e' ~& i' bCan’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!
. {" r3 p8 m6 q3 |" jLooking back, I probably saw open tunings as an easy way out, which isn’t the case at all!9 o; z- _7 X8 Z
I 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.
& ]- A# Y% D& H% UI’m not too sure if Dropped D tuning qualifies as an open tuning.
' t" A3 D* L& P+ s* eAnyway, those are my kind of tunings.
/ c& t5 [9 C8 G- J- S9 iI haven’t tried lower tunings yet so I don’t know what those tunings have to offer…unknown territories for me.9 b' G5 q: a' C/ Z6 w
Among the three tunings I use, DADGBD is my favorite because of its minor 11th feel.
}: Z9 p/ E0 MWorks pretty well for tunes in a minor key.
) X5 S8 F5 j1 m# l0 Z- u$ e“Blues In The Slow Lane” on “2 Blue 4 Words” is played in this tuning. r9 T3 U# p& d* u
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Where do your ideas for tunes come from?
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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.4 _6 g! `$ i! |# d4 j2 g7 e& a
They have provided me with something to stand on and I’ve managed to build it up from there.7 h! a/ C# O: A0 i
I’m very thankful for all the forerunners.
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f k* _' X& z5 I. rI 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.
1 n9 _# w, @% a/ `/ MIt doesn’t work that way.
" n% O i0 x) K0 o6 J" u/ _; H% m" hI usually look for some melody triggers when practicing the guitar and take it from there.4 z% ?2 m0 f1 c6 H) S& e; Q
If nothing hits, so be it.
2 g$ |4 k! V5 Q! J. A3 ~' ^On 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.5 @* n# _9 s# f( @6 M8 x: | K
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.% t6 W% v/ D8 u: ?% [; G
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+ E$ x. W: E: V% L2 }. ` ?0 P
technical breakdown of your approach to playing AND recording.
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It’s all nails and flesh.9 {! ]. \4 }- z! n. j5 R
I don’t use any plectrums because I want to feel the strings on my picking fingers." p- I6 O; T8 Z8 G M, n
This is one of the reasons why I use custom light gauge strings on my guitar instead of heavier sets.( i5 g6 l7 }( o1 O+ {+ i, a6 K2 s) s
You can put more strength in your fingers and there’s less chance of breaking your nails.
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: H% M9 A; @/ ?4 B3 A, TAs for playing style, I really like percussive types of playing because I’m into rhythms.* C2 D6 j9 G- j! E
There are always some percussive sounds happening in my head when I’m practicing and composing.
' Q5 y2 A7 b( d, L; P6 FIt has a lot to do with my past as a multi-instrument player, I guess.3 p' k& q$ [! U3 f( Y1 @- x
I used to play the drums, base and the piano on my demo tapes.4 E6 e4 L8 v5 |% @
I was a total control freak at that time.4 a$ H# X+ R# s7 X% V
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My approach to recording is quite simple: the sooner I nail a tune the better.
2 l- K3 r+ F+ m" Z# yGood 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 M, H) u# r- I4 {: \In addition, my hands sweat a lot and the strings die on me in a hurry.
" H% l$ D. i0 XI change strings every two songs at recording, depending on their freshness.
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# N9 s6 T' }2 I$ z9 tPlease talk about the strings you prefer and action etc...* E/ J4 v0 k" l9 N9 |% t$ k# K
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I use “Martin SP custom light strings” and they feel just right on my fingers.; ]" Q% m, g1 x. }$ f3 Q0 a
They sound warm too.1 G/ y( v6 p; j; @% i" ~/ c
You’re probably wondering, “Hey, that’s a thin set of strings…”
, c0 f. k7 x9 o1 t( o4 CI 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./ y) ]4 ~) `+ j, Z
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.
7 e" \$ e7 {- D/ } s( B8 ^I shake my head in amazement to those guys putting on medium gauge strings!
% e. g" \" Y" c4 QHowever can you handle those??? ) p" Q3 P5 F" R" v% ~$ U8 c' d0 Z
`5 U4 p( K/ SI’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.. T) o) C* {' D7 q
Either way, you’d be better off having a guitar tech fine-tune it.* z6 F2 |7 b* s% ]8 s& G
“Don’t mess with something you don’t know” is my pet phrase when it comes to the technical side of things. 4 ]$ A, X3 Y! ]% b; m9 _/ E" N8 g
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发表于 2008-2-11 14:08
发表于 2008-2-11 23:31
