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Post by Matt on Jan 1, 2011 23:37:02 GMT
Nice clip from youtube, first with banjo then on the guitar. It's interesting to see the left-handed playing, for example on the guitar doing the alternating bass with her index finger and melody with her thumb. Does anyone recognise the guitar? It sounds nice
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Post by Michael Messer on Jan 2, 2011 10:58:52 GMT
Elizabeth Cotten was a wonderful musician and her repertoire was very influential in the 1950s and 60s. There are a few beautiful films of her playing. I have seen the Aly Bain film before, but not for many years, so it is lovely to see it again.
Watching Elizabeth playing is very confusing unless you turn your TV or computer upside down!
Rural folk musicians have always found their own way of doing things and Elizabeth's playing style is a classic example. Listening to her play, there is no way you would imagine that she is playing upside down guitar. So when we are trying to decode a folk musician's style and there is no film or photos of them playing, we really have no idea about how they actually played their instrument, or about what tools they used.
MORE ELIZABETH COTTEN CLIPS PLEASE!!!
Shine On
Michael.
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Post by Matt on Jan 2, 2011 12:29:01 GMT
Ok, here's a bit of a youtube-harvest
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Post by Matt on Jan 2, 2011 12:39:51 GMT
Rural folk musicians have always found their own way of doing things and Elizabeth's playing style is a classic example. Listening to her play, there is no way you would imagine that she is playing upside down guitar. So when we are trying to decode a folk musician's style and there is no film or photos of them playing, we really have no idea about how they actually played their instrument, or about what tools they used. In Earl Scruggs book on the 5-string banjo he talks about how he came up with the, now dominant in banjo playing, 3-finger 'Scruggs' style while living in the country as a bot, and how if he'd lived somewhere bigger and been exposed to other players he'd most likely never have come up with it, as he'd have learned the 'right' way, not his way. Elizabeth Cotten seems to get lovely soft high notes with the way she's down picking with her thumb, maybe we should all give upside-down string sets a go! |
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Post by oldnick on Jan 3, 2011 19:22:17 GMT
I seem to remember reading many years ago about one of the old blues men who played a 'leftie' strung upside down because this was the way he first picked up a guitar and no-one bothered to correct him. Does anyone remember this or who it was.
Nick
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Post by Matt on Jan 3, 2011 22:06:24 GMT
I'm sure it was more than one
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Post by colinbrooks on Jan 4, 2011 11:31:48 GMT
Doctor Ross Played left handed with the guitar strung right handed.
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Post by blueshome on Jan 4, 2011 17:22:17 GMT
........as well as harmonica (upside down!) and drums....at the same time.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2011 19:00:47 GMT
I wish I had heard and seen Miss Cotten back when I was first learning guitar. Albert King too. I am left-handed and I had to learn on my brother's guitar. I couldn't very well re-string his guitar every time I wanted to play, so I learned to play right-handed. It never occurred to me that I could turn the guitar around and learn to play it upside down, like Elizabeth and Albert.
And I could be wrong, but I believe that is a Martin 00-18 she's playing.
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Post by steverino on Jan 8, 2011 5:40:16 GMT
I attended a boarding grammar school in Berkeley, CA USA in the late 1960s, an interesting time and place to be sure. There was a kid there, a leftie, who had learned to play rock 'n roll on a right-strung guitar "upside down." I sometimes wonder where he is now and whether he still plays that way. I also remember that the kid was diabetic and injected himself with insulin daily, which we all thought was pretty cool at the time. I sure hope that he is still with us.
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