No video from me this time, but this is a tune I got around recording recently to contribute to the show last weekend. It is the classic song made famous by The Animals, but with a bit of a twist.
https://soundcloud.com/steevc/house-of-the-rising-harmonics
It started when I saw this video with some seriously impressive playing. I was taken in by his use of harmonics at the start and looked to see how much of the tune I could play that way. I certainly cannot play like him.
If you do not know what harmonics are, it is when you just touch a string at some fraction of the string length when you pluck. It produces a very pure sound as it has less of the overtones you get when playing normally. I played some of the notes in the regular way as there were no convenient harmonics available.
I messed around with this for a while and decided I needed to record it. I used my Taylor acoustic guitar into Ardour. I only played the verse once, using a metronome, and then copied it several times to cover the rest of the song. I struggled to play it even once and there are a few fluffed notes that keep coming back around. I just had to tweak the last note to get an ending. The Taylor also played the solo.
I really think I should have played it a bit quicker, but I just wanted to get it done. It is really an experiment. I may try performing it live some time, but I am not sure I can sing it as I play.
Rock on!