Rhythm Technique Melody Harmony Repertoire Improvisation Shop Rhythm Technique Melody Harmony Repertoire Improvisation Performance CONTACT TUITION PUBLICATIONS RECORDINGS PERFORMANCES SITE MAP Acts Peter Inglis - BIOGRAPHY Home Page Search Bookings Acts Bio
John Williams interviewed


Australian Guitar Journal 1990 - John Williams cover John Williams. String Selection, the Segovia Significance and Superlative Solos

From the "Australian Guitar Journal" interview by Austin Prichard-Levy
(early 1990's).

John Williams needs no introduction to classical guitarists, or indeed fine music lovers the world over; since his debut at the Wigmore Hall in 1958, he has attained enormous popularity with his voluminous recordings in both the classical repertoire and with his rock group, Sky.

John was in Australia touring with the Australian Chamber Orchestra for performances of Rodrigo's Aranjuez Concerto and Nourlangie, a new work for guitar, strings and percussion by Peter Sculthorpe. During this visit, Austin Prichard-Levy talked at length to John on topics of particular relevance and interest to classical guitarists, such as string selection, his known dislike of guitar competitions, his ambivalent relationship with Segovia, the impact of his technical prowess on a generation of young players, his views on guitar pedagogy, and his love of the Bach Chaconne, which many regard as his signature piece, such is the authority he has stamped on it with superlative concert performances and recordings.

AP-L: John, to begin with a prosaic, nonetheless very interesting question for a lot of guitarists, what strings do you currently use on your Smallman?

JW: At the moment, I'm using D'Addario trebles and basses, although the top string is a little heavier than the standard top string they make - I got them to thicken it up a bit. The biggest problem I find is getting the basses right; I often find that with Augustine Reds, for example, the 5th string is a little bit thin, whereas the D'Addario has more body without the brittleness that comes from going up to a higher tension string.

Australian Guitar Journal 1990 - John Williams

John Williams, from the "Australian Guitar Journal" interview by Austin Prichard-Levy - 1990

Another problem is squeaks - no matter how you rationalize it, they're always there although they can be minimized by both the player and the string manufacturer. I like D'Addario's polished and semi-polished strings, although I haven't tried the ones put out by LaBella. The polished string is a flat wound string, but the secret is in the winding and there seems to be a number of new approaches around to this.








READ ON






Back to John Williams - John Williams

CLICK HERE TO ENQUIRE ABOUT ADVERTISING IN THIS SPACE
'Guitar Playing and How it Works' - The 3rd Edition of this acclaimed book opens doors to musical performance for guitarists of all styles - Click here to read excerpts and order your copy.

'Guitar Playing and how it works' - This is the book you need to GET THE BASICS right for ANY style of guitar playing. Work out the best approaches to mastering any style of music. Open the doors to your own personal style - click here to read excerpts and see videos.



Content of "The Whole Guitarist" website www.thewholeguitarist.com is copyright © 1997 - 2008 by Peter Inglis, Sydney Australia. All rights reserved.