Ahead of the release of his brand-new live album, Live in Boston, we're excited to bring you the exclusive premiere of a new live video from Venezuelan guitarist Felix Martin. Watch a live performance of "The Triangle Tune" below.
Martin — a Berklee graduate — plays a 14-string guitar he invented himself, which features two left-handed 7-string guitars on one neck.
Wanna know how it's done? Check out the live video below, and then scroll down to read a description from Felix on his unique approach to the guitar.
Live In Boston is available as a physical release today and is out June 5 via Prosthetic Records as a digital release. You can pre-order the album now at this location.
And for all of you scratching your heads out there right now, Felix was nice enough to send along a quick description of how to play this track.
"This song is divided into three parts. There are two reasons why I called this song 'The Triangle Tune.' One is because of the main chord on Part I. It is basically a minor 7 chord with every tension on it, having a triangular chord shape on each neck/hand. I call this chord the 'Triangle Chord,' and it’s played as lead distorted tone instead of clean/arpeggiated on this song.
"First Neck/Right Hand: R, 5th, 3rd (Triangle Shape) and an extra finger for the 13th. Second Neck/Left Hand: 9th, 11th, 7th(Triangle Shape) and an extra finger for the 11th.
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"The second reason it’s because the method that I’m using on Part II. Here I’m using three chords only (D-7#11, A-7#11,G-7#11) but I’m featuring three inversions of each one of them, making some sort of 'Triangle Cycle.' This is played using standard guitar technique.
"Part I (0:00) this is probably one of the most difficult sections that I ever played on the 14-string guitar. It features very fast leads and complex runs, very often using odd meters like 15/16 and 5/8. It is also hard to keep the resistance through the whole Part, because it doesn’t have many breaks and it features 16th and 32nd notes only.
"Part II (2:03) For this part, I wanted the song to breath a lot, making it softer, prettier, jazzier and having some sort of complexity at the same time. It keeps growing the intensity through each section until the solo improvisation at 03:39.
"Part III (5:55) This part is based on a repeating theme from Part I, having constant changes on the rhythm."
Felix will be hitting the road this summer in Europe, and you can check out his full tour itinerary below:
Tour Dates:
- May 24 – FNAC Vasco da Gama – Lisboa, PORTUGAL
- May 24 - Molhobico – Évora, Portugal
- May 25 - FNAC Viseu - Viseu
- May 25 – ACERT – Tondela, PORTUGAL
- May 26 – Jazz Ao Norte – Porto, PORTUGAL
- May 27 - FNAC Colombo – Lisboa, PORTUGAL
- May 31 – Excalibur Metal – Madrid, SPAIN
- June 02 – The Lounge Bar – Torrevieja, SPAIN
- June 05 – Le Baiser Salé – Paris, FRANCE
- June 08 – JO Bar - Bassano Del Grappa, ITALY
- June 09 - Terminal – Padova, ITALY
- June 10 – Black Mirror Studio – Udine, ITALY
- June 13 – Vadvirag – Budapest, HUNGARY
- June 15 – Fair Café – Schortens, GERMANY
- June 16 – Die Palette – Stuttgart, GERMANY
- June 18 - Skuret - Oslo, NORWAY
- June 20 – Piec Art – Krakow, POLAND
- June 23 – Jazz Time – Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC
- June 24 - Immerhin - Wurzburg, GERMANY
- June 26 – Gyngen – Arhus, DENMARK
- June 28 – Mukkes – Leeuwarden, HOLLAND
- June 29 – De Pit – Terneuzen, HOLLAND
- July 04 – The Dublin Castle – London, UK
- July 06 – Live Music – Faro, PORTUGAL
- July 06 – Bafo de Baco – Loule, PORTUGAL
- July 07 – FNAC Algarve – Guia, PORTUGAL
- July 07 – Assoc. Músicos de Faro – Faro, PORTUGAL