Nathan B. Hannah, attorney


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A video worth watching. 05/08/2010
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I try to not spend too much time on Youtube.  Most of the video I have seen there isn't worth the time.  Last week, while wasting time looking for video of actual performances (it seems like most of what you find is music illustrated with lame homemade visuals) I stumbled onto this video of Steve Howe's "The Clap" and was immediately taken with it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KN2qvtosmM&a=0gLNgufmelQ&playnext_from=ML
The first thing I noticed in this performance is that a lot of notes are played using the fouth and fifth fingers of the left hand.  Anyone who has played a stringed instrument knows how difficult it is to make the two weakest fingers of your left hand move like that.
The second thing I noticed is how quiet the performer's movements are.  There is not a bit of wasted motion in the entire performance.  That's another thing that anyone who has tried it will recognize as both very difficult, and very necessary for a performance like this one.
One last thing is the way the video is shot.  I don't think I have ever seen video of a guitarist with two separate frames, each showing a close-up shot of one of the performer's hands.  The format makes it possible to watch the two hands independently as well as together.
There are posted videos of other Steve Howe solo guitar pieces, apparently from the same source.  I have not watched all of them yet, but the ones I have watched so far are also both captivating and instructive.
 


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