FGH-0021: Interview with English Fingerstyle Guitarist Richard Smith

Fingerstyle Guitar Hangout Podcast with Adam Rafferty

Summary, Episode 21:

Richard started playing the guitar at age 5 and has never looked back. Focusing early on with the fingerstyle guitar of Chet Atkins and Jerry Reed, he began transcribing classical music, Jazz, the gypsy style of Django Reinhardt, bluegrass, ragtime and the blues to Sousa marches.

https://vimeo.com/501236690

Richard is a seasoned performer with thousands of performances worldwide to his credit – he’s performed in five continents – North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia solo and alongside Tommy Emmanuel, Eric Clapton, Albert Lee, Dave Peacock, Martin Taylor, Brent Mason, Gary Brooker, Stuart Duncan, Bryan Sutton, Joe Brown, Ralph McTell and many others.

(Timestamps are for audio version of the podcast.)

• 01:34 Welcome Richard!
• 02:33 Richard talks about Networking and Booking
• 07:43 Air Travelling with guitars – cases and backup guitars
• 18:35 Youtube and the entertainer video
• 20:24 CDs, t-shirts and packing lightly
• 22:53 troublesome touring stories – “going commando” and the beatles
• 26:53 Early influences of richard – Bert Weedon’s Play in a Day book
• 30:12 Learning songs correctly, listening more deeply and try to make your playing sound like the record
• 37:50 Richard Smiths Version of Scott Joplins “The Entertainer”
• 42:30 Having a musical homebase, your fist influence and how it affects everything you do – and the flexability of Antoine Boyer
• 49:42 “The One Thing” The Importance of keeping focused on the thing that sets you apart from others, but also try out new things to srtech as a player
• 59:07 The code of Spotify and how to get into playlists
• 1:03:39 Music “The Streets of Laredo”
• 1:06:36 The number one thing you would tell all young musicians to do differently – being honest with yourself and Big Jim Sullivan’s advice
• 1:16:57 The time, the tone and the groove – and the metronome
• 1:24:15 How technique influences the phrasing and the pocket
• 1:31:28 Ending credits & podcast contact info

Richard’s Links:

• Richard’s Website: https://richardsmithmusic.com/
• Richard on Facebook
• Richard on Youtube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Peh5zIoxaME

Richard Smith plays “The Entertainer”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41BB_56z5RM

Richard Smith plays “Struttin” by Jerry Reed

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