TWO HEADS ARE BETTER THAN ONE

Have you ever heard a belch move from one corner of the room to the other, then retrace it´s tracks? That´s possible, ..on the spooktacular long-playing record;

“Spike Jones in Stereo” (1959), which also presents tv-broadcasting from the famous scientist´s experiment, creating new lifeforms .... in the show This Is Your Death.
Speaker: ...“Two perfect feet……Two perfect hands……Two perfect HEADS!!... WHAT A MONSTER!!” The two headed beatnik monster then harmonize, ...one head in each loudspeaker, a song by Stephen Foster.

If I mentioned THE BELCH (in astonishing Stereo)...well, it´s also possible to hear it on the bus from this town (Halmstad) to the even smaller places, Laholm and Hyltebruk. Young promising men back in the bus can do the belch suddenly, if you are lucky, almost at the same time. One in each corner of the backseat. But they are small punks in black, on the record it´s the adult Dracula with his strong after-dinner-drink.

From here it´s natural for me to talk about two guitars, duets. What´s the point? Two guitars offers possibilities to almost all music, in minature, of course. Still the individuality of one guitar is very present. It is not possible to hide somewhere in a small ensembleform, it´s intimate. Already early European pioneers of guitar composition noticed the charms of guitarduo, about or more than two hundred years ago. (Carulli, Giuliani, Diabelli, Sor and others).

Later on, while pianists/composers created larger harmony, two guitars had been the natural way to follow, but it didn´t happen. Guitarists tried to do everything on one fretboard, it was of course impossible. The compromising attitude (in harmony) on the fretboard was a coming fact. The guitar historys most important renewer, in art of arranging and composing for sologuitar about hundred years ago, many agree with that, was the spaniard Fransisco Tarrega.

But, meanwhile and already before that, the guitar established it´s role, more and more in popular music, almost all over the world. Often it was involved, not only in polyphonic structures (many voices), but also in polyrhythmic (many rhythms). Guitars expansion into popular music was remarkable in the Americas, especially the southern regions.

Nowdays it´s possible to hear pure guitarduo now and then, live or on record, but I have a strong feeling that much more could be done. Try it! In the traditional Spanish flamenco music the guitar in musical practise have a close relationship with a dancer or a singer. In South Americas guitar often feels comfort, with other guitars, or a whole rhythmsection. When it comes to electric, Yeahjeezh (Scottish accent)…, well, the guitar was soon in all groups...

So, my , twenty years old , scientific investigation show; For a guitarist; Two heads are better than one, when it comes to popularity outside your private chamber.

Gimme, gimme, gimme a noble price after midnight!

For Betty Blue; drivemyguitars little airport is ready, the red carpet is rolled out. I´m waiting in the control tower to get contact with the heiress of the latin planet! The question is; what, which, two or more latin influenced records shall I buy when I get paid? You have the answers---please!

I saw you had crazily much comments, one of them... by the famous actor Ed Harris? Is it true? He writes nice words to you in Spanish?....wow In that case this blog is Pluto, the small cold planet, far away, not seen in all weather conditions. This is not the same league....is it true. ...Anyway, if you get Harris to visit my blog…it´s sensational. Maybe he´s a guitarplayer and wants to know something about G major 9 in strange positions?

As a mother of fact – I lately found out that there are two Betty Blue´s in the blogplanetsystem,…. as I said two heads are better than one.
Who´s gonna submerge my record-buying budget first?

bonnajazz@spray.se