Official Luthiers Forum!

BBC 2 ran an hour special on guitar legend Davy Graham which they have kindly placed online here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio2/documentaries/

Don't try either that crazy Maajun arrangement or the psycho-active substances.

Warmest Regards,
Terence
www.goodacoustics.com

Terrence,

Thanks for posting this. It was a good education for me, who barely knew the name Davy Graham, and had no real sense of his importance in the development of "world music" and the DADGAD tuning. (I know, I know, another ill-informed American.)

He was one hell of an innovative player in his day, and it was sad to hear what drugs, booze, neglect and time have done to him.

Anyway, thanks for the post.

Dennis

Edit: I edited the title only of my post, to make sure that anyone searching for Davy Graham would find this thread.DennisLeahy38585.5660300926

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Dennis Leahy
Duluth, MN, USA
7th Sense Multimedia

Hi Dennis,

I'm glad you liked it. I really liked the way they spent 10-20 mins just talking about Anji which is an incredible song and then hitting you with Maajun (a taste of tangiers) which is just a genius bit of songwriting.

I'm lucky to be in London over the last few years- I get a lot of insight and first hand experience of the whole DADGAD/folk scene.

Warmest Regards,
Terence
www.goodacoustics.com

Terence, thanks for the link, I'll get my wife to do a download onto my computer at home so I can listen to it at leisure when I get home.

Davy Graham is THE guitar legend, he along with Bert Jansch and Martin Carthy, was my real inspiration. I always finish each gig we play at clubs with my version of Anji. Being able to play Anji was the demarcation between people who just played the guitar and 'guitarists', it was seen as a kind of right of passage to an elite group of musicians. Everyone plays it slightly differently (even spell it differently), I slow it down slightly as I find the themes of the music, rather than just the intricacy of the fingering, come out rather better. I've recorded it and plan to put it on the OLF MP3 library eventually. I also play a lot in DADGad which Davy started, but of course Anji his most famous piece is in good old standard tuning in Am.

Just as Hendrix showed people the possibilities of the electric guitar, Davy Graham showed that the acoustic was a far more exciting and versatile instrument than had previously been thought.

I used to hear him play a lot in the late sixties early seventies in the clubs in London, especially at the Troubadour, which was a regular haunt of the top UK players. The Troubadour is where Martin Carthy taught Paul Simon his version of the 300 year old tune Scarborough Fair, including the chord progressions which Paul Simon then went back to America and Copyrighted Martin's version exactly! UK folkies have never taken any notice of the copyright nor have we bought Paul's records!

Isn't nostalgia wonderful!

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Hi Colin,

Anji is the tune which really inspired me to improve my skills and looks into the older folk-blues styles.

I've been trying to puzzle out Maajun as well, I have the score but don't read music so I've been been doing it long hard way and figuring out the notes individually.

Interestingly, the Troubador still has great live acts; I saw 2 harpguitarists there earlier this year.

We should really meet up when we're back in blighty.

Warmest Regards,
Terence
www.goodacoustics.com

Terence,

I know the Troubadour reopened a few years back, it was closed for a long time. I must go back and see the old place.

I think your sort of going about learning the Graham pieces the right way. No one actually plays his stuff the way he does, even Bert. I've never tried to copy exactly his notes. With Davy it's more trying to capture the essence of his piece, but it's your music and should always be your interpretation of it. I've got all the guitar tabs and music for Robert Johnson, but I still play them all my way, because I'm not Robert Johnson.

Play the 'spirit' of Maajun or Anji, not the notes.

We build guitars, but they are just collections of expensive kindling until we put the soul into them with our music.

Colin

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

Colin,

I totally agree. It look me a good year to 'get' Anji- before that , I was just hitting the notes- I just couldn't sort it out in my head.... now I don't tend play the whole thing but merge it with another tune. I lost the tab for several of the runs and breaks, but I've managed to find them again, so I may well finish Anji off.

Maajun is proving easier for me, the percussive feel and slightly odd time signature is right up my street.

Warmest Regards,
Terence

Terence, mixing Anji up with a second tune is fine, even Bert often puts a bit of something else in the middle, usually "worksong". But I feel Bert always tries to impress too hard with his dexterity, and plays it quite quickly. Martin Carthy always says that Bert plays it wrong, but of course he doesn't, all players that have the technique have their own Anji, that's what Davy wanted. I learnt it from Bert, so I guess Martin would think I play it wrong as well. Anji isn't about the notes, it's about the feel of the piece. I play it differently now than I did in the seventies. Less flash, more music.

When you've got it down, then there is no better guitar feeling. A small tip, always play Davy Graham on a mahogany bodied guitar, Rosewood can make it sound a bit muddy, you need that woody, strong fundamental sound.

It's the sound that matters.

Colin

Colin S38585.4739236111

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I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.

I've always been grateful for Scarborough Fair; it reminds me of the herbs to use in my turkey stuffing. Since I've never particularly liked Paul Simon anyway, I'll be relieved of the burden of thinking it was his.

Thanks for the insight.

That is some amazing music BTW. Colin, I look forward to hearing your version of Anji.

Hello all
           Still have my LP "Folk blues and beyond" by Davy Graham its all bit battered now,I think brought it at Dobells in London in 64.
Thinck dig it out have another listen!
      Best wishes   Rick Sellens UK

[QUOTE=rick218] Hello all
             Still have my LP "Folk blues and beyond" by Davy Graham its all bit battered now,I think brought it at Dobells in London in 64.
Thinck dig it out have another listen!
      Best wishes   Rick Sellens UK[/QUOTE]

Nostalgia Nostalia! Dobells! Take it out listen to it, become completely depressed that you'll never play as good as that! It always does that to me

Colin

_________________
I don't believe in anything, I simply make use of a set of reasonable working hypotheses.