YOUNG GUITARIST OF THE YEAR 2020: JUHO RANTA-MAUNUS
AS THE SAYING GOES, some people are just born with it. Such appears to be the case with 14-year-old Finnish prodigy Juho RantaMaunus, whose preternatural skills allowed him to edge out the other exceptionally talented entrants in the hotly contested Young Guitarist of the Year 2020 competition.
“It’s amazing and unbelievable at the same time,”
Juho says. “I feel grateful that so many people viewed my playing and voted for me. I received lots of positive feedback and messages. I want to thank everybody who travelled on this journey with me. I also feel very honored that top celebrity players appreciated my playing. I’ll definitely continue to work hard on my guitar playing and music making.”
Juho worked for three months creating the prizewinning video of his progtinged original composition, “Diversity.” As he explains, “Because of the three-minute time limit for the competition, I tried to include the most compelling and technical parts of the song.” That he did; along with showcasing his keen sense of melody, the video is a brilliant display of the guitarist’s fluid sweeps, tasteful phrasing, impeccable tone and masterful vibrato. (Anyone who wants to check out the full version of “Diversity” can do so on Juho’s YouTube channel, and it’s also available on Spotify, iTunes and other platforms.)
Juho, who lives in the western Finland city of Seinäjoki, was inspired to take up the guitar at age 8. “I fell in love with the guitar immediately, from the first touch,” he says. After a few lessons at his local music store, he enrolled at the South Ostrobothnia Music Institute in Seinäjoki, where he studies electric guitar along with band, composition and piano. “Antti Honkanen has been my electric guitar teacher this whole time, and he’s awesome.”
At first, Juho played along to music from bands like Europe, Metallica, Bon Jovi and Megadeth. He cites John Petrucci as his biggest influence (“I discovered progressive metal because of him”) and has also become enamored of Plini and Kiko Loureiro. “I really like Plini’s prog-djent style and the exotic chords he plays, and I love Kiko’s melodies.”
His main guitar is a PRS SE Custom 24 M-SB Limited through a Blackstar HT20RH MKII amp.
Making his own YouTube videos has sharpened Juho’s producing chops – he cuts tracks on Garage Band and edits clips using either Final Cut Pro X or iMovie. As for the immediate future, he says that he’ll continue to study with Honkanen, but once he leaves college, he dreams of turning pro.
“I want to play in a band and tour,” he says. “I express my emotions through the guitar, and I think my voice on the instrument has grown over the years because of all the hard work I put into it.”