Michael Hedges

Michael Hedges (1953 – 1997) was an American acoustic guitarist.

Related Topics:
1953 - 1997 - Guitarist

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Hedges combined many innovative techniques on the acoustic guitar with wide musical tastes, maturity as a composer, and a strong experimental streak to create guitar music that was different to any that had gone before.

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In terms of guitar technique, he explored alternative tunings more widely than any other guitarist before or since (some tunings include, from bass to treble: CcDGAD on "Aerial Boundaries", BADEAB, CGDGBC on "Rickover's Dream", FADGBE on "Lenono", DADGCE, DACGCE); he used the fingers of his right (picking) hand to slap harmonic "chords" at the 12th or 7th fret; he made use of right hand hammer-ons, particularly on bass notes; he also damped strings with his picking hand to control the length of notes, a method more often used by classical guitarists, but particularly applicable to acoustic guitar. Other facets to his playing were percussive slapping on the guitar body and extensive use of artificial harmonics. He also played guitar-variants like the Harp-Guitar, and the TransTrem Guitar.

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His first albums, Breakfast in the Field and Aerial Boundaries, were milestones for the acoustic guitar, although other instrumentalists were also featured, particularly bassist Michael Manring. He then branched out into songwriting and performing, although he would periodically make a return to more guitar-centred music. Oracle won the 1998 Grammy for Best New Age Album. Hedges was in fact quite a multi-instrumentalist, also playing piano, percussion, tin whistle, harmonica, and flute, among others on his albums.

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Many acoustic guitarists claim a very broad range of influences and will not fit into any genre, but this was truer of Hedges than of any other. His musical education was largely in modern 20th century composition. He listened to Leo Kottke, Martin Carthy, John Martyn, and the Beatles, but his approach to composition owed much to Stravinsky, Varèse, Webern, and experimental composers such as Morton Feldman. He saw himself as a composer who played guitar, rather than a guitarist who composed music. He was often categorized as New Age due to his association with the Windham Hill record label. Somewhat in reaction to this, he would describe his music as "Heavy Mental", or "New Edge", amongst other terms.

Related Topics:
Leo Kottke - Martin Carthy - John Martyn - The Beatles - Stravinsky - Varèse - Webern - Morton Feldman - New Age - Windham Hill

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Hedges was tragically killed in a car accident in 1997. He was 43. His unfinished last recordings were brought to completion in the album Torched, with the help of his friends David Crosby and Graham Nash.

Related Topics:
Car accident - David Crosby - Graham Nash

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