Scarborough Fair cover - Paul Simon guitar arrangement

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by JakeStone

Glenn this is one of my favorites.
Just beautiful on all levels...
Great job!

Thank you Jake!

It's great hearing from you! I'm so glad you like this rendition! I very much appreciate your taking the time to comment here! I hope all is well for you!

- Glenn

[JakeStone]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

Thank you Jake!

It's great hearing from you! I'm so glad you like this rendition! I very much appreciate your taking the time to comment here! I hope all is well for you!

- Glenn

Cool..
Yep I am doing well. Lots going on.
Been performing a bit too.

Hope all is well for you up in the NW!

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by JakeStone

Cool..
Yep I am doing well. Lots going on.
Been performing a bit too.

Hope all is well for you up in the NW!

I'm doing great Jake. It's a beautiful day today here; we're setting high temperature records today! So I couldn't be any better! It's been a long winter!

- Glenn

[JakeStone]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

I'm doing great Jake. It's a beautiful day today here; we're setting high temperature records today! So I couldn't be any better! It's been a long winter!

- Glenn

Nice to hear! Yeah we are all ready for Spring.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by JakeStone

Nice to hear! Yeah we are all ready for Spring.

Very cool! In North Carolina you are probably well ahead of where we are! I'm envious! But once it warms up here in the Northwest it's gorgeous, so I'm glad I'm here!

- Glenn

[62&climbing]

Geez Glen, have you ever put out a dud? That was great. If that slow pace felt slow to you all along, how do you maintain that pace without unknowingly speeding it up? Metronome?
Simple foot tapping?

Your picking was superb. It's embarrassing, but I am just now trying to teach myself to pick chords. I have a long ways to go, but I said that as I was learning chords also. I'll get there.

Now, onto the guitar. It certainly sounded great, but so did your Guild, and any other guitar you've used that I've watched. I always hear people/owners talk about their Olsons and marvel at the sound. How do you feel about the sound of your Olson? Is it as amazing as they claim? What makes you choose that over the Guild or others?

As a little side note, James Olson lives about 4 miles from me. Not that I know him or anything. But it would be fun to get a tour and watch him for a bit.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by 62&climbing

Geez Glen, have you ever put out a dud? That was great. If that slow pace felt slow to you all along, how do you maintain that pace without unknowingly speeding it up? Metronome?
Simple foot tapping?

Your picking was superb. It's embarrassing, but I am just now trying to teach myself to pick chords. I have a long ways to go, but I said that as I was learning chords also. I'll get there.

Now, onto the guitar. It certainly sounded great, but so did your Guild, and any other guitar you've used that I've watched. I always hear people/owners talk about their Olsons and marvel at the sound. How do you feel about the sound of your Olson? Is it as amazing as they claim? What makes you choose that over the Guild or others?

As a little side note, James Olson lives about 4 miles from me. Not that I know him or anything. But it would be fun to get a tour and watch him for a bit.

Hi '62!

Well! It's always fun receiving your comments!

First, yes, I'm sure I have put out some duds! Mostly because they are songs that not enough people know, so nobody listens to them. When I pick something to do that a lot of people recognize, then I usually get a lot of comments and views on my YouTube channel. So people respond to what they already know for the most part.

Regarding the relatively slow pace of my version of "Scarborough Fair," I did not use a metronome for playing this. I just did my best to keep a steady beat. If you listen to Paul Simon play this song at their concert in Central Park below...



... you can hear Paul Simon audibly slow down as Art Garfunkel gets ready to start singing this. And you can hear changes in tempo in the song throughout.

I'm sure that I change tempo during a song also, at least a little, though generally I seem to have a pretty consistent sense of rhythm when I play. My only problem is that I also seem to have a particular tempo that my brain thinks a song should be played at, and I really have trouble overcoming that unless I have some external beat (metronome or drum machine, etc) to take me away from my internal time machine.

I rarely tap my foot and if I do, it's not likely to be in time with anything. My sense of rhythm and timing is internal. It's just there -- I have no idea where it comes from and seem to have little control over this.

I have been picking with my fingers since I started playing at age 16, 55 years ago. So for me, finger picking is almost as natural as breathing. I just started out doing this because finger picking is what I wanted to do. If you are relatively new to playing the guitar, it takes time, however. But you will get there if you want it bad enough. So much about making music is about desire, how bad do you want it?

I like my Olson SJ guitar a great deal. It has a really nice sound, but it's not magic. A person still has to be able to play the guitar. But it has good sustain, good bass, a nice mellow sound combined with some nice sparkle on the treble side of the spectrum. For me it makes a very nice guitar for singing with, just as James Taylor uses his.

The reason I used the Olson SJ for this song was that I experimented around with my various guitars and it turned out that I liked this the best for "Scarborough Fair." I have my 2018 Martin D-45 in the house and at first I thought I would use this guitar. It sounded great on the D-45. So I took it up to my studio and compared it with the Olson SJ and also with my Sheppard GA, all 3 excellent, top-notch guitars. I could have recorded this song on any of them and I'm sure it would have sounded good.

I chose the Olson SJ because the Olson has a bit of a velvety sound up there on the 5th and 6th frets. The cedar top seems to promote that sound, at least, I think it does. It has a little of the treble sparkle combined with that velvety sound that I just thought was appealing.

That is very interesting that Jim Olson lives near you. I wonder if he gives tours or ever has an open house at his shop? I understand he is a very nice guy. I would sure love to meet him some day. I feel like I know a tiny bit about him just from playing one of his guitars for a few years.

I hope I have addressed everything! Thanks so much for listening to my music and for taking the time to comment! It's greatly appreciated!

- Glenn

[Mr Picky]

That is perfect in all regards Glenn. Exactly the type of arrangement I like. Going for a stripped back arrangement does not make it easier to play well, and that was beautifully played.

I could listen to that all day.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Mr Picky

That is perfect in all regards Glenn. Exactly the type of arrangement I like. Going for a stripped back arrangement does not make it easier to play well, and that was beautifully played.

I could listen to that all day.

Hi Mr Picky!

Thanks so much for your thoughts and comments! I really appreciate that this arrangement of the song appeals to you. It is a very English kind of song based, I believe, around a fair that would happen around the Yorkshire town of Scarborough.

It's very generous of you to refer to my performance as "perfect," because, of course, nothing ever is. But if it sounds perfect to you, that is very high praise, and I thank you for that. Getting what was for me an acceptable version of this song took a fair amount of time and effort, so I am grateful for your appreciation.

All the best to you Picky!

- Glenn

[Yrksman]

Loved that Glenn. And the Olson really sings. You should hear the Parlor I got recently.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Yrksman

Loved that Glenn. And the Olson really sings. You should hear the Parlor I got recently.

Thank you Chris!

I'm glad to read that you feel this came out okay!

Regarding your new parlor guitar, yes, I'm sure I would love to hear it! Congratulations on that!

- Glenn

[john57classic]

Glenn, another great job (as usual) on a classic and personal favorite of mine.
And yes you did (as usual) make it LOOK easy. Really enjoyed it.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by john57classic

Glenn, another great job (as usual) on a classic and personal favorite of mine.
And yes you did (as usual) make it LOOK easy. Really enjoyed it.

Thank you John!

I'm so glad you were able to watch this and thought it came out okay! Thanks so much for taking the time to provide comments of support! It's very much appreciated!

- Glenn

[Sax Player Guy]

So, I was reading a thread in the General Acoustic Guitar discussion zone about the value of checking out the other AG forum discussions, such as Show and Tell, and came over to fid this wonderful version of P, S, R & T. I'm so glad to have ventured over here to Show & Tell. This song and arrangement is one of those tunes that, if played well, transports the listener to another place. You've truly captured the vibe of this tune, Glenn. Bravo!

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Sax Player Guy

So, I was reading a thread in the General Acoustic Guitar discussion zone about the value of checking out the other AG forum discussions, such as Show and Tell, and came over to fid this wonderful version of P, S, R & T. I'm so glad to have ventured over here to Show & Tell. This song and arrangement is one of those tunes that, if played well, transports the listener to another place. You've truly captured the vibe of this tune, Glenn. Bravo!

Hi SP Guy!

Thanks so much! I'm so glad you ventured over here to Show & Tell and so glad you had time to watch, listen and then comment here! I'm extremely pleased to read that this performance really grabbed you! You really made my day! Thanks so very much for taking the time to comment here!

- Glenn