July 2026 Challenge – Richard G

[Richard G]

I tried to bear in mind this was a ‘Silence Challenge’ however I ended up playing a simple one chord E Blues. I went for a simple call & response with a monotonic bass but probably didn’t achieve the silence bit that Brian had in mind.

So, here it is, not so silent, but now looking to be inspired by your postings and perhaps discovering what I should have done instead.

Richard

[Werner]

I’m really glad you didn’t follow the “silence” path so strictly. This piece with just one chord is great. Very inspiring and not boring at all. Great!

Thank you very much, Werner

[Mike W]

I think the spaces should only be in the melody, so it doesn’t include the bass line. So what you came up with fits the bill perfectly. I’ve never thought about doing a piece with just one chord – what you came up with was really quite amazing.

[Ben C]

I wish I could play like you! This is brilliant and looked completely effortless

[wannaplayblues]

Very smooth acoustic blues – loved it

"I hear you talkin' son, but you 'aint sayin' nothin'" - Will McFarlane quoting Muddy Waters hearing a really fast guitar player

[charjo]

When you’ve got so many fingers working expertly like that, how can you leave space? To be fair, you’re holding down the rhythm AND the lead.
I don’t want space from you, Richard, I just want to hear your music every second of the video.
John

[JoeD1]

It’s always a pleasure to hear you play Richard.

Joe

The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
Or the strength of an Oak with roots deep in the ground.
--Graeme Edge

[AndréM]

You are the rebel this month but it don’t mather That was an awesome blues.

AndréM

AndréM

[James B]

Love this one, Richard. Plenty of space here. Great licks and the quick brushes with the back of the fingers and the thumping bass all add up to some fine finger style guitar picking.

James

[Alan L]

On topic or not, that was awesome! But I do think there is breathing room in between each phrase of call and response, I think you actually nailed it.

[Denise]

That’s a fantastic call & response Blues in E! Love these slides and percussive strums.
Tight rhythm, drone bass, double stops….I could listen for hours. Great clear and crisp tone with a bit reverb.
I am glad you are joining again this month.
Hope all is well.

PS: we’ve booked for Pembrokeshire again for next year in May.

More Blues!

[Michael L]

Wonderful picking as always Richard. I’m hearing distinct rhythm parts and melodic parts in this. There’s definitely space between the melodic phrases, so that counts. When you’re doing both parts by yourself it’s hard to find places for strict silence, but melodic breaks work very well.

[sunjamr]

Excellent session, Richard! The truth is, in most examples of space, it’s not like there is zero sound. There is almost always some kind of background sound – a drum beat, a bass line, a vocal choir holding a chord – and it’s the solo that pauses to give the feeling of space. But if you are playing a fingerstyle solo and you just pause, there is no background sound, just silence. Unless maybe you could keep the drone bass going by itself. Not sure how that would sound.

Sunjamr Steve

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