THE ESTEEMED COMPOSER, PERFORMER AND TEACHER ON HIS LONG AND VARIED CAREER
A national treasure on the acoustic scene, Gordon Giltrap has enjoyed a long and varied career – and now he’s embarking on a new project that will see him passing his music on to a new generation of players
Whereas many ladies and gentlemen of a certain age might remember Gordon Giltrap as a lone acoustic guitarist, sitting and playing his hit Heartsong on Top Of The Pops, acoustic players all over the world know him as a composer with an amazing stockpile of wonderful tunes to his credit. A seasoned performer, his solo concerts are a must-see for anyone who loves acoustic music and his collaborations with musicians such as Rick Wakeman and Martin Taylor truly are a wonder to behold. We decided it was high time to catch up with all his latest projects. The first will see him take up the role of teacher on some very special weekend courses.
“This year [2016] I’ve formed the Gordon Giltrap Guitar Academy, along with my friend Gary Burnett who’s the main force behind it. Basically, I decided it would be really nice to devote more time to teaching than I’ve done before. It’s been great being on the road, but it’s time to do other things. It’s basically to promote my music, because I’ve got this body of work that I’ve built up over the last 50 years and I want to share it with other players. Simple as that. We’ve already organised our second guitar weekend; we just have 12 players on it, which is enough. Last year we did it in Buxton and this year it’s in Litchfield, just up the road from where I live. Next year we’re doing it at Robin Hood’s Bay, which is kind of a holiday-cum-guitar weekend.” Do you enjoy teaching? “I’ve always taught, with my columns in magazines and one-to-one tuition, but this seems a bit more adventurous – you know, focus in on certain pieces. Many of my friends have been doing it for years; Clive Carroll’s been doing it for a long time and John Etheridge does the occasional one and Martin Taylor. I’ve kind of shied away from doing it – I didn’t feel I was equipped because I’m not an academic musician. I’m completely self-taught, but it’s really about the tunes. I’m not teaching technique as such, although my pieces do require a degree of technique, but it’s the tunes. It’s the way they’ve come about and the tunings, of course. Good old DADGAD, open C and some of my more obscure tunings like drop D where the top string goes down to C, which I did for a piece called Roots from Fear Of The Dark. So it’s about exploring those tunings to make them work in terms of composition.” What’s the aim of the weekends? “The main aim, as far as I’m concerned as a teacher, is to make the player feel good about themselves and inspire them. It’s as simple as that. One or two people have come to my weekends believing the whole thing might be a bit daunting, but I think they realise within the first 10 minutes that they’re going to be fine because they feel at ease, because it’s not a competition, it’s a sharing. That’s the way I look at it. It’s sharing my knowledge and my experience built up over a period of 50 years.” What sort of problems do people attending the weekends bring to you? “I think a lot of the problem, believe it or not, is their guitars. They turn up with these very nice guitars, but they’re badly set up. My stuff features a lot of left-hand hammering-on and pulling off – the legato thing – so
I say, ‘You’re going to have trouble playing this stuff because the action’s really high – you ought to get the guitar adjusted so it’s easier.’ Once they’ve had the guitar adjusted they then realise that it’s not them, they’ve been fighting the instrument. So that’s one problem that is overcome. The other one is delving into open tunings. They’ll say, ‘I’ve got no point of reference.’ But I say, ‘This is the tuning and this is the piece we’re going to learn and, through learning it, the possibilities will be revealed to you.’”
Do you find people have got problems with actual performance? “I think we all have problems with performance. I’ve been off the gigging circuit for about a year now due to health issues and the idea of getting back on a stage in front of an audience can be daunting. Breathing helps you; concentrating on your breath as you’re playing. I learned that from reading an article by Richard Gilewitz, a fine player. I thought, ‘I’d never thought of that…’ because you just get up there and do it. You can practise, you can work the pieces out and think you’re prepared, but as soon as you walk on stage, different rules apply.”
You were talking about people fighting against the instrument. You’re in a position where you can order a custombuilt guitar to your own specification. So with all the years of experience, can you sum up your ideal instrument? “It’s difficult. My ideal instrument is one that sounds great. There used to be hard and fast rules with me like, ‘Oh, it’s got to be rosewood back and sides and a cedar top.’ But I’ve got my Fylde signature with a rosewood back and sides and Englemann spruce top and it sounds great. Part of my signature series that I’ve got out with JHS [the Vintage GG Series] is a mahogany guitar and it sounds great. And Roger Bucknall, of Fylde Guitars, has recently made me a guitar with mahogany back and sides and a cedar top and it sounds fantastic. It’s how it’s put together. You can’t say, ‘If it’s made from these woods then it’s going to sound great and it’s going to be perfect for me.’ Most of the time I’ll get an instrument and, no matter how superbly it’s set up, I usually tweak it to the way I want it or change the gauge of the strings and I’ll work a bit on the action. I do have problems with guitars that have particularly narrow necks – I like them broad – and I do like ebony as a playing surface, I have to say. It’s got a bit more density to it and it looks great.”
What about pickups? You’ve been associated with the Fishman Rare Earth for a while now, but you’ve just had a K&K fitted to one of your guitars… “Yes, I had K&K fitted on my Fylde signature because I was touring with my quartet last year, Four Parts Guitar, which is John Etheridge, Clive Carroll and Raymond Burley, and John had a
K&K fitted on his Collings and it sounded great. It’s got no preamp, it just works, and I like the idea of having something that’s fairly straightforward. Clive gets the most incredible sound live from his guitar and you think, ‘God, I wish I could get that sound.’ But he’s using one guitar and he’s got his own preamp and he tweaks it to work the way he wants it. It’s a combination of the guitar, the strings, the action, the pickup you choose… But I like the Rare Earth. You can dial in a bit of the microphone, because with the magnetic pickup, it gives you a certain sparkle and evenness to the sound, which I like, so I stick mainly with them.” What about piezo under-saddle pickups? “I’m not crazy about them. There again, you see, Clive uses an under-saddle and it sounds amazing. I think they’re improving. The sound of under-saddle transducers is getting better as the years go by, the sound becomes more natural. Roger Bucknall uses Headway and they sound amazing.” What about outboard gear? “The current choice is the Line 6 Helix, which is absolutely wonderful. It’s got the looper built in, which is what I wanted, and it’s got very, very high-end reverbs and delays, too. The reason I got it is because it’s all in one space and it’s easier to cart around. My old pedalboard weighed a ton! I just can’t be carrying this kind of gear around any more. That’s why I envy people like Clive who just take the one guitar, but because I’ve always experimented with open tunings and different sounds and different effects, I end up taking about five or six guitars and that can be a real pain.” The Line 6 Helix is an interesting choice for an acoustic player… “When I found out about the Helix I thought, ‘I’m going to get one of those.’ It’s a beautifully engineered piece of kit. The thing is, I’ve always used effects pedals that are associated with the electric guitar. It’s just that within those effects pedals they’ve got really good delays, really good reverbs, really good chorus and some very interesting effects. I just make them work for me. So I’m always going to go for that kind of pedal and I’m actually starting to use their onboard amp simulation. I do one piece called The Dodo’s Dream, it’s the only piece I do on electric, but it’s an eightminute piece and it’s a bit of a tour de force. In fact, I’ve probably made a bit of a burden for myself because people are always going to want to hear that, you know.” Do you go DI in to the PA from the Helix? “Yes, straight into the PA. Occasionally, I’ve used a little AER Alpha, which is a beautiful amp. Again, it’s John Etheridge telling me, ‘For goodness sake get yourself one of these, Gordon.’ Clive Carroll uses the same one. I’ve used the Fishman Loudbox as well and that’s a cracking amp, too.” Are there any plans in the future for more signature gear? “I have someone in mind that I’d like to do something with, but I can’t say. He hasn’t decided yet whether he wants to do it. If he does want to do it, it would be wonderful. It would be great for me and I think it would be nice for him. What’s meant to be will be.” What about recording projects? “I’ve got an album that’s waiting in the wings to be finished, based on a series of tunes I wrote 27 years ago called The Brotherhood Suite. Part of it saw the light of day with the album I did with Rick Wakeman, but I wanted to make it more orchestral and I’m working with a wonderful musician and engineer called Paul Ward. He’s got his own studio in Sheffield and he’s a wonderful guy to work with and he’s done some wonderful arrangements. It’s a classical album; just think Vaughan Williams, he says modestly, and you’re getting somewhere close [laughs]. It’s that melodic English thing that is what I’m all about. So we’re hoping to get that finished. Whether it goes with a label, I don’t know. It’s very hard to find a record company these days, so it will probably be a download situation. We’re not sure. If there’s a record company out there reading this, give me a call and let’s talk about it!” Find out more about Gordon Giltrap’s Guitar Academy, visit www.giltrap.co.uk
“Because I’ve always experimented with open tunings and different sounds and effects, I end up taking about five or six guitars on tour and that can be a real pain”