Narvaez: Fantasia played by two guitarists

Here's one of my favorite pieces, by my favorite composer, played by two of my favorite guitarists. Enjoy!

First, Pablo Marquez.

Next, Kevin Gallagher.

Matt Palmer

My wife and I drove four hours each way yesterday to see Matt Palmer perform in Kansas City, MO. My conclusion: it was well worth it! Matt's making a name for himself based on his impressive technique, but his tone, phrasing, and timing are wonderfully tasteful.

If you live anywhere near Kansas City and are not aware of the Kansas City Guitar Society, you should make a point of connecting with them.

New book by Jean-Francois Desrosby

I just read "Guitarists: Unlock your potential" by Jean-Francois Desrosby. I'm still digesting the information, but it's a very succinct book which looks at guitar technique from a physiological perspective. It did give me some new ideas to think about, but most of what I have gotten from it so far are explanations as to why some things which seem most logical don't work (usually because that logic is based on incomplete or mistaken information).

The main principal of his book is to use each muscle in the manner for which it was designed. A good example is giving the task of shifting positions to the large shoulder and arm muscles, rather than driving it from the hand, so the hand can stay relaxed. You may say, "how can the hand move without the help of the arm and shoulder, anyway?" I suppose it can't, but on the flip side, many guitarists create tension in their hand while shifting when in fact the hand should be able to stay relaxed. The key is to figure out what is actually going on whenever you do something, and remove all the elements that are unnecessary.

Here's a video of Mr. Desrosby: