Acoustic Nation with Dale Turner: The Celebrated “Harp Harmonics” Technique of Eclectic Guitar Genius Lenny Breau
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Though the late Lenny Breau never achieved popular acclaim like jazz virtuosos Joe Pass and Wes Montgomery, he is a legend among serious guitarists, admired for the wealth of techniques he perfected as well as his musicality.
A master on acoustic (nylon-string) and electric instruments, Breau turned pro at age 14 when he became a guitarist in his parents’ country-and-western band. By the time Breau died, in 1984, at the tragically young age of 43, his style was a seamless blend of jazz, country, flamenco and raga—think Joe Pass, Bill Evans and John Coltrane, mixed with Chet Atkins, Ravi Shankar and Sabicas.
Today, Breau’s influence is still being felt: such renowned players as Tommy Emmanuel, Tuck Andress, Doyle Dykes, Ted Greene, Steve Morse, Eric Johnson and Danny Gatton have all cited him as an influence. Let’s examine some of this guitar legend’s inspirational moves.
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A singer-songwriter/multi-instrumentalist/film composer, Musician's Institute instructor, and author of 50+ transcription/instructional books, Dale Turner is also Guitar World's "Hole Notes"/"Acoustic Nation" columnist, and the former West Coast Editor of Guitar One magazine. Some of Dale’s old, weird, rare, and/or exotic instruments are featured in his score for WEEDS, the first animated short completed within the Filmmakers Co-op at Disney Feature Animation. His most recent CD, Mannerisms Magnified, was praised by Guitar Player magazine for its "Smart pop tunes that are crammed with interesting guitar parts and tones ... Like what the Beach Boys might do if they were on an acid trip that was on the verge of getting out of control. Yeah!"
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