May 2023 Challenge Response – Manfred M – Less is More

[Manfred M]

Hi AM folks,
„Less is more“ – this is a great motto for this month‘s challenge. Thanks David for coming up with this idea.
After looking around i decided to base my contribution on ML075 – Playing lead with just 3 fretted notes. I think more less is hardly possible, especially because I also refrained from using the three tones one octave higher. I used only 2 or 3 licks, that Brian played in this lesson. The rest of it, i have come up with myself. Playing just three notes, i tried to concentrate on how i play them and how to do the timing. It took some time, til i have got the right feel for it. Ok… i think it‘s no stroke of genius, but i‘m not dissatisfied with it.
On Sunday I will leave for my trip to Greece. But i will surely watch all your contributions, if not this weekend, then in the course of next week. I’m curious to see what you’ve done with that topic.
Greetings to you all!

Take the chance to meet your AM friends on Zoom
The next Meetup will be at the beginning of next year 2026

A detailed announcement will be posted here in the forum in good time.

I look forward to meet you.
Manfred

[Garry]

We took a similar approach Manfred and you’ve executed it very well. It’s amazing what we can do with few notes. Your playing is expressive and bends spot on. Very enjoyable, a great groove. Keep on pickin’ and all the best! 🥸🎸🥸

[Guido]

Yeah, I agree with Garry, it’s amazing how melodic can be a piece with a handful of notes. And the timing and expressiveness is very important to achieve a very good result and you focused very well on these aspects, with a very enjoyable to listen to and melodic playing, Manfred! Happy holidays in the beautiful Greece!

Guido

[Vincent K]

Wonderful performance Manfred
Very expressive playing

Good performance

Have a great trip to Greece

🎸 Vincent 🎶 🇳🇱

[WBlues]

Very appealing blues with a great sound, Manfred. You meticulously stuck to a few notes while serving it up with a nice groove and expressiveness. Well done.

Play guitar just like you live; don't get bogged down in theory, it's just a tool without feeling.

Wilfried

[JoeD1]

I’m amazed at how melodic and expressive you played this piece. It was simply great!

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

[Phil B]

Spellbinding performance which exemplifies everything Brian was trying to get people to achieve. Just got back myself from a week in Greece. We were in Cephalonia at the northern end of the island in Fiscardo. It’s a beautiful place. We were lucky with the weather because in the weeks before it had not been so good. Hope you have a great time Manfred.

[Manfred M]

Thanks Phil, i am just sitting at the gate at airport Franfurt for my flight to Athen, tomorrow i will continue to take a flight to Kythira. I also know Cephalonia from a trip a few years ago. We stayed in Sami then. We also visited Fiscardo then, what a beautiful village. I can imagine you have had a good time there. Greetings and i hope you have also a good time back in Britain.

Take the chance to meet your AM friends on Zoom
The next Meetup will be at the beginning of next year 2026

A detailed announcement will be posted here in the forum in good time.

I look forward to meet you.
Manfred

[Gary W]

Real groovy Manfred! I love it! Atmosphere ++ and you made me forget you were using just three notes. Fantastic.

Gary

[Andy N]

Oh yes, Manfred. This is excellent. You extracted every last gram of expression out of that handful of notes. Really compelling sound, I’ve been listening while working and you had me humming along with you. Have a great holiday.

[James B]

Very nice, Manfred. You got your money’s worth out of those three notes but kept my attention throughout the piece with your embellishment.

James

[Pap]

Manfred, you nailed it. You really were super expressive with the few notes you used and I like whay you did with the beat to help accent the notes….boop boop boop … nice! Have fun in Greece my friend. I hope to get a full report on your trip and some pics on next months submission. Cheers. Pap

[Catherine Arsenault]

Well played Manfred😊 loved it 😊

[Michael L]

You’ve created a great minor blues feel with this one Manfred. It’s tough to limit yourself to just those 3 fretted notes, but you created melodies and mood.

[David H]

You approached this the right way. Work those notes till they sound just right. Way to go.

[Paul S.]

It is true that such a minimalist approach forces you to pay attention to the little elements like slides and bends and vibrato — all of which you employed effectively and musically.

Have a great time in Greece. My two favorite things in Athens were the changing of the guard and a walk through the central market… and the Greek coffee. (Okay, that’s three things.)

[Mike W]

That’s amazing Manfred – 3 notes to come up with such a great piece of music. Well done – you’ve earned your trip to Greece – hope you enjoy it.

[Laurel C]

Well, I think it was a stroke of genius. To have the attention of 3 fretted notes is something, sounded sophisticated, expressive and interesting. Although, you could have been tempted to go to another octave with the 3 tones, you did not need to. Super work.

[AndréM]

Excellent submission.
You did very well using only 3 notes, not an easy task.

AndréM

AndréM

[sunjamr]

Excellent composition, Manfred. Simple, yet very expressive. I like it a lot.

Sunjamr Steve

[Liam Innes]

Fantastic Manfred.

Quite brilliant how you managed to be so expressive with such sparse notes.

Very relaxed and melodic feel to the piece.

I could happily listen to that all day.

Well done.

Liam.

“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams. “

[Martyn in France]

This Manfred is really minimal and all the better for that. It just goes to show what can be achieved with just a few notes. I especially like that as the solo develops you introduce extra elements, but not too much. A very enjoyable listen. Thank you.
Martyn

[JoLa]

I love it, Manfred! The repetitive motif has a hypnotic quality and sort of drills into the brain in a nice way, every little nuance and variation then adds to the experience. And how you played it matters too, with much feel and expression. You played 3 notes but to my ears, it sounded like a full song! Perfect Less Is More example and well played!

🎸JoLa

[Tom D]

Awesome piece Manfred. You pull a whole lot of expression from those three notes, and do so with confidence and purpose. This lesson requires both a disciplined playing approach and a variety of playing techniques. You’ve got both and created a great blues performance. Bon voyage Manfred. Enjoy your holiday in Greece.

Cheers, Tom

[Werner]

Manfred, you really managed to get a sweet, serene guitar expression out of this 3 notes. Very well done

Erlebnisreiche Tage in Griechenland und gute Reise

Werner

[John H]

Manfred,
Your passion for playing is contagious. Nicely done with so few fretted notes. You are cutting a very cool groove here. Your lead play is tasty and compliments the rhythm track well.

John

[Bob Utberg]

Great Bends and space between ideas Manfred! BB once told Eric Clapton in his early days, “Son, you play too many noted!”
Less can be A LOT more! Well done. B

Bob U. (aka Bobby Ut)

[Richard G]

I just loved this Manfred, it had that late night ‘after hours’ feel about it where just us blues lovers are still awake and listening to those soft blues vibes.

Richard

[Martin W]

Hi manfred , nice choice of backing track this one almost forces the hand to keep things simple as you so demonstrated, I like the repeating motif works well over the two chords.

Martin

[Livio M]

Hi Manfred
Excellent result, I really liked it. Of course it’s always a useful thing and a great satisfaction to add something of your own, managing to adapt it to the mood of the piece as you did.
I too presented this piece to a challenge thinking of doing something not very demanding, in reality I found it very difficult to use bending extensively.
Happy holiday.

Livio

[David G]

Nicely done Manfred. You nailed it and stuck right with the challenge. I love You extracted a lot of melody and expression out of those 3 notes!

[Serena C]

I think your submission fits perfectly this challenge: few notes but played so soulfully! Great submission!

If I wasn't making mistakes I wouldn't be the kind of player I want to be. Perfection is dangerous.
It's all about taking risks, sometimes you get to some place, sometimes you get to a different place. (Brian May)

[cloughie]

Nice relaxing vibe on the butterscotch Tele. Cool.

Be kind to yourself (especially when you're trying to play this instrument!)
Brian Clough

“Got a lotta sinful ideas but they seem kinda sensible” Jim Casy the ex-preacher in The Grapes Of Wrath

[Author]

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