Friday, June 29, 2012

Rich Osborn, Giving Voice, Guitar Explorations

In the tradition of solo acoustic guitarists like Fahey, Kotke, and the others who flourished in an earlier day, Rich Osborn dedicates himself to making starkly acoustic original music with a improvisational feel but at the same time an attention to form. This is to say what he is up to on his album Giving Voice (Free Range Ranga 0001).

There's an Indian classical influence at times, open tuning musical sonorities, an attention to acoustic sound as sound, some modified picking, and a spacious ambiance.

Since new age has come about after the heyday of Fahey and his cohorts, and the influence of the latter's guitar playing has had an effect on that music, one sometimes wonders about the fine line between something ambient and mellow and yet with artistic integrity, whatever that means, and things that lack that.

But if you listen enough to Osborn's album, you affirm that what's going on is beyond new-age noodling and into the integral zone.

He has a voice and it's a good listen. Nothing more need be said.

2 comments:

  1. It’s easy to find free guitar lessons on the web these day's. There are a lot of websites

    available out there that will teach you beginner to advance guitar techniques for free. And

    if you love to watch videos rather than reading articles, YouTube is absolutely for free.

    However, the problem with free stuff is that most of the time it's low quality and maybe

    that's one of the reason why their giving it for free.
    guitar lessons
    learn guitar

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  2. I am not one to talk because I taught myself the guitar many years ago, then supplemented it with spot instruction guides here and there. But that wasn't the most efficient method. A qualified, in-the-flesh instructor who understands the style of music you want to play is ultimately the best but of course the most expensive option, generally. I am sure the web can give you valuable pointers if you search around a bit. Practice of course is key after that!
    Grego

    ReplyDelete