Simon and Garfunkel, the Boxer played by Fred Carter jr.

[acme97]

I think the thing I take away from this is that Simon and Garfunkel worked quite hard on their music...and it shows. Particularly, Bridge Over Troubled Water. What a masterpiece of an album, even on the verge of breaking up. But for all their scrutiny they still have a great musicality and organic feel. I also know Paul Simon has a far more advanced musical mind than I realized in my younger years. If you have NOT seen it before...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjtOa8d_BHU

[es335td]

Thanks for posting - great stuff and now we know how it was played on the record. It's amazing how much attention to detail was given to every song - 7 mics!

Originally Posted by jomaynor

Here is Mr. Carter's account of the recording:


In the magazine Fretboard Journal, Fred Carter, Jr. recounts:

"I had a baby Martin, which is a 000-18, and when we started the record in New York with Roy Halee, the engineer, and Paul [Simon] was playin' his Martin — I think it's a D-18 and he was tuned regular — he didn't have the song totally written lyrically, but he had most of the melody. And so all I was hearin' was bits and pieces while he was doing' his fingerpicking . . . I think he was fingerpicking in an open C. I tried two or three things and then picked up the baby Martin, which was about a third above his guitar, soundwise.

"And I turned down the first string to a D, and tuned up the bass string to a G, which made it an open-G tuning, except for the fifth string, which was standard. Did some counter fingerpicking with him, just did a little backward roll, and Iucked into a lick. And that turned into that little roll, and we cut it, just Paul and I, two guitars. Then we started to experiment with some other ideas and so forth. At the end of the day, we were still on the song. Garfunkel was amblin’ around the studio, hummin’ and havin’ input at various times. They were real scientists. They’d get on a part, and it might be there [unfinished] six weeks later.

On my guitar, they had me miked with about seven mics. They had a near mic, a distant mic, a neck mic, a mic on the hole. They even miked my breathing. They miked the guitar in back. So Roy Halee was a genius at getting around. The first time we were listenin’, they killed the breathing mic. And they had an ambient mic overhead, which picked up the two guitars together, I suppose. And so, I was breathin’, I guess, pretty heavy in rhythm. And they wanted to take out that noise, and they took it out and said, ‘Naw, we gotta leave that in.’ That sounds almost like a rhythm on the record. So they left the breathin’ mic on for the mix. I played Tele on it and a 12-string, three or four guitars on it. I was doing different guitar parts. One was a chord pattern and rhythm pattern. Did the Dobro lick on the regular six-string finger Dobro — not a slide Dobro.

"I never heard the total record until I heard it on the air . . . I thought: That’s the greatest record I heard in my life, especially after the scrutiny and after all the time they spent on it and breakin’ it apart musically and soundwise and all of it. There was some magic in the studio that day, and Roy Halee captured it. Paul and I had really nice groove.“

[elroyjetsn]

I read that they asked the studio to upgrade to 16 tracks from 8 in order to record this tune. The studio complied as we can see.

[Earthworm]

Interesting thread with thoughtful comments. Thanks!

[jimpryts]

I was getting tired of playing that little intro wrong, so I isolated a sample, and slowed it way down, then learned it note by note that way. Fred played The Boxer in Drop D tuning, and used several variations in the original recording.

[hairpuller]

This song would be a whole lot easier with a Chordelia Guitar Machine!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...ry&term=guitar


scott

[Lkristians]

https://www.shutupandplay.ca/the-boxer--acoustic.html

Here's another really good tutorial. I swear by this guy.
LarryK.

[Yrksman]

The Boxer made me want to buy a Hohner Bass Harmonica.

Charlie McCoy knocks those 2 verses out of the box.

HE[/QUOTE]

He has said in interviews that Paul Simon told him exactly what he had to play, and he was right.

[Yrksman]

Originally Posted by Notguildy

I really doubt Paul is not playing one or two guitars himself.

I think there's a Nashville tuning guitar.

I’m sure you are right.

[Pitar]

I play it a lot, including the intro, as one of many period songs that will never get old. And, it's true that bits of the intro are spread out into the melody.

[hairpuller]

Originally Posted by Lkristians

https://www.shutupandplay.ca/the-boxer--acoustic.html

Here's another really good tutorial. I swear by this guy.
LarryK.

He is the best! Sometimes I just put the headphones on and listen to his demo of "Heroes." Mindblowingly good!!
scott

[Lkristians]

I appreciate how exacting he is in duplicating note for note. He also instructs in a way that can be understood. Glad you agree!
LarryK.

[Racerbob]

A classic example of why playing so many songs "live" never will really match that special something in the recording that first got one's interest. Not even for the original recording artist.

[HAPPYDAN]

Originally Posted by Racerbob

A classic example of why playing so many songs "live" never will really match that special something in the recording that first got one's interest. Not even for the original recording artist.

If you can find their version done live in NYC in Central Park, it's obvious Paul did some re-arranging to make it work live.