[Harp-L] Re: Doing the impossible

[James Thurgood <jthurgood@xxxxxxxxx>]

The same story is told of Lenny Breau and Chet Atkins; in fact, I believe Chet Atkins has been recorded telling it - when they first met, Breau told Atkins how long it had taken him to learn to play a certain piece off an Atkins recording, which he then proceeded to play note-perfect - both guitar parts simultaneously, which Atkins had recorded separately (on separate tracks).

- thurg


> 
> ------------------------------
> 
> Message: 6
> Date: Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:10:36 -0500
> From: "ndavid.coulson@xxxxxxxxx"
> <ndavid.coulson@xxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [Harp-L] Re: Harp-L Digest, Vol 78, Issue 39
> To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
> Message-ID: <B15DF1F7-09D0-4E8A-A81F-4B4D11A21FCF@xxxxxxxxx>
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> 
> I seem to recall Carl Perkins saying something very similar
> about his  
> learning of guitar (but I could be wrong).
> 
> David
> 
> 
> 
> On Feb 11, 2010, at 5:42 PM, harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx
> wrote:
> 
> > nope - this guy was from the south - Georgia or the
> Carolinas in  
> > the radio
> > interview
> >
> >
> > In a message dated 2/11/2010 9:30:56 A.M. Eastern
> Standard Time,
> > turtlehill@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> writes:
> >
> > <  Interesting story I heard on NPR about an
> amazing acoustic  
> > guitarist  -
> > <unfortunately, I can't remember his name. The
> story goes that as  a
> > <youngster, he was taken by a guitar recording
> (maybe on a 45  
> > record)  and
> > it
> > <inspired him to learn it off the record, even
> though it sounded  very
> > <complicated. Well, he eventually worked it out and
> it was a basis   
> > for his
> > <techniques. It was later that he learned that, on
> the original   
> > record, it
> > <was actually TWO guitar players playing. Since he
> didn't  know  
> > this at
> > first,
> > <he didn't realize that it was impossible to
> play  what two guitar  
> > players
> > <played on one guitar, therefore, he figured
> out  a way to do it - in
> > essence,
> > <doing the impossible, because no one told 
> him it was....
> >
> > The guitarist is Boston-based Guy van Duser--he told
> me  this story  
> > once
> > upon a time.  The record he copied was by Les
> Paul, and  it wasn't two
> > guitarists playing, it was Les with an echo.  Van
> Duser  thought  
> > Les was
> > double-picking, and that's the way he learned it.
> >
> > Regards, Richard Hunter
>