Interview with Duo 19

Here we are folks, back again with part two of my interview with Dan McKay and Antony Field of Duo 19. In case you missed it last week, check out the first part of the interview here.

Duo 19 – yes named after a tram line! (Photo credit: Rantz)

On with Part Deux!

Guitarists they most admire

Dan and Antony are both massive fans of Pavel Steidl. Antony, in fact, rates him as probably the top player on the circuit performing today. They both also rate their former teacher, Canberra-based Tim Kain. Antony rates him in particular for “his sound, his phrasing, just the warmth and sincerity of his music-making is hard to find elsewhere. It’s a kind of rarity in a way, I think.”

Interestingly Antony has a bit of a love-hate relationship with the playing of John Williams, finding his playing very absent sometimes (a view that I may have a tendancy to agree with), but feels he’s gotten better in that regard as he’s gotten older. However, he can’t go past Segovia “some of the way he phrases things was so unique. It really worked sometimes….like wow, that’s special. It just comes from a place where Segovia was at as a person.”

Dan’s has two all-time favourite guitarists, with Alirio Diaz and Julian Bream vying for the top spot, and Pavel Steidl his favourite actively performing guitarist (and lucky Australian’s can check him out on tour this month and March with Karin Schaupp by the way).

Of Bream Dan had to say that “the Nocturnal, the first recording that Bream did was just great. I can’t imagine hearing better music.” Similarly with Segovia’s playing on some of the Castelnuovo-Tedescso works, “it was of a different age, a different kind of attention to different details in the playing I suppose. But the sound was just fantastic.”

The duo also share much love for local chaps Harold Gretton and Aleksandr Tsiboulski, as well as US guitarist Ben Verderey and Chinese star Xuefei Yang.

Some tips for you, dear readers!

I asked Dan and Antony’s to share their top tips for those currently studying guitar, or thinking about picking up the guitar for the first time…..Some wise words from the maestri:

Listen to the sound you make. This one is for students at any level – stop and say “is that the sound you want to make? “This is something that everyone can do fairly early on”, says Dan, “Even if you’re just learing to play your first notes on the third string or whatever, you can try to make it sound good you know, from the very start”.

It’s really important to not be thinking too far ahead. If you’re doing things that are too difficult for you, or comparing yourself to others and thinking that you should be really learning such-and-such piece – stop! Don’t worry about any of that. Antony advises to “just work with the material you’re working on with your teacher, getting that music to a point where you’re able to listen to it…..If it’s too difficult you’re probably not listening to yourself…..Stick with appreciating the sound and listening to the sound…”

Adopt an attitude of “what else”? Atune your ear, listen and think about what else you can get out of a particular phrase or piece. Think about what else is in the music other that what you’re playing at that moment. “That’s what keeps you alive and curious about music, to me anyway” says Antony.

Become familiar with the repertoire of the instrument. Go to concerts and recitals, listen to recordings, become familiar with the various pieces, the different styles. Listen and find those pieces that make you say “I feel like I just have to play this music” says Dan.

Always follow-up on what you were working on between lessons with your teacher. Write down what you’ve done in the lesson, but then also write down or remember and discuss with your teacher what you were working on away from the lesson. You spend more time practicing and playing away from the teacher (hopefully!) than you do with them. So there’s a lot of time and a lot of thinking and a lot of self-teaching going on. Dan advises on maximising your efforts by going through your own learnings during the week with your teacher.

Both guitarists feel the same that these principles apply to whatever level of guitarist you may be – whether you’re just picking up the guitar for the first time, you’re in your first year of learning, a tertiary student, or professional guitarist. The only separation between these is the levels of complexity involved. Antony says he stills applies these principles in his playing and adopts the very grounded attitude of “never feel like you’re above being reminded of that sound you’re creating….Or Oh what’s going on with the rhythm there…..we’re all human beings.”

Wise words indeed! Thanks for the interview guys and really looking forward to the next recording from Duo 19!

Ooh, and head here to check out Duo 19’s playing in action or purchase your very own copy of Fluid Lines: http://www.australianmusiccentre.com.au/product/fluid-lines