Along with approaching guitar solely (for the most part) as a lead instrument, I want to express myself on the instrument in a variety of fashions. I can’t two-hand tap all the time. Although I come damn close to it.
Prepared guitar is the practice of altering the instrument’s timbre by manipulating its strings with various objects. This is definitely avant-garde shit you won’t hear on the radio. An unorthodox approach that can yield abrasive and haunting soundscapes.
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I had zero reservations about doing this despite my lack of experience. Playing guitar is something I’m able to do with relatively little thought or effort. And it’s one of the few things I excel at being spontaneous with. I’m otherwise a highly structured and organized individual who hates surprises.
I titled this piece “Blades In The Dark” after the 1983 Italian horror film A Blade In The Dark. This is because I used multiple knives to manipulate the guitar strings and pickups in various ways. It later evolved into my song “Disco After Death” that’s streaming everywhere.
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My song “Contamination” is a similar instrumental showcasing prepared guitar throughout. The abrasive textures, repetitive assembly line rhythm, and dialogue samples evoking the early days of industrial music.
And I don’t restrict prepared guitar to my more experimental pieces. My more mainstream (by my standards) song “Slash Up The Night” features prepared guitar trading off with two-hand tapping during its epic guitar solo. A guitar duel with myself, if you will. The unnerving soundscape effectively compliments the slasher flick-themed lyrics.
For all my prepared guitar performances to date, I’ve used my metallic emerald green Ibanez guitar. Some of its hardware components are worn from age (it’s over thirty years old) which causes the instrument to go out of tune easily. But those tuning issues contribute to the chaotic and surrealist atmosphere of prepared guitar.
But enough about me. Let’s hear what you can do. No one is stopping you except you. Message me or tag me on social media with your prepared guitar experimentations.