Comment of the Moment: Neil Young's Solo Guitar Technique

Neil Young 

@ White River Amphitheatre, Auburn, WA - July 20, 2023 
Photo by Alan in Seattle    (Click photo to enlarge) 

Our Comment of the Moment is from post  Neil Young Solo @ Oxbow River Stage, Napa, CA - July 23, 2023 by lonesome me:

I wonder if anyone has thoughts about Neil's performance these days as an acoustic guitar player?

I am so pleased with his voice now, I think he really hits the notes beautifully this summer. Seems like he got some new fresh strength, like going ten years back. 

Maybe the big pause has been a good thing. 

When it comes to the strings on his acoustic, he hits and strum them not like I like him to do. I think a lot of this subject. 

Maybe its a long journey that had its start many years ago. If you go back to the young Neil, he would mostly sit on a chair while playing his Martin(s). I guess Neil in this position would then have a more natural access to his typical palm muting/damping technicue. This is something that must me done near to the bridge, because of the angle of the arm and wrist, it is almost impossible to do this on the other side of the sound hole into the neck. 

When you stand you can also do it, but its like more inspiring when you sit. You are in more tight control of your instrument, and you get the urge to bang those palm muted bass notes out of the guitar body. When you stand you feel more of letting the instrument to cling out in the air, use the sustain. If its your dog, you like to let it run into the woods. 

Well, if we go a long way back, listen to the early demos of Neil, like the first demo of Sugar Mountain, you can hear that he has not developed the combination of playing whole strumming chords and hit notes on one or two strings. The next version of Sugar Mountain four years later, he does. This time Neil take a step away from Bob and becomes himself on the acoustic.

Years later when you hear Cowgirl.. on 4 way street, its accomplished. He is the only one in the world when Harvest is released that can play with his palm The needle.. like he does, and one million guys like me try to copy it. 

But slowly Neil has left his trademark. I think you even on Harvest Moon from 92, you can hear that he like the strings to more let loose, but he still has the great Neil touch, fantastic on a song like Natural Beauty. 

Jump to this summer great performance, he has overall more sacrificed the «palm hand» to the loose strumming on the other side of the sound hole, up on the neck.

I think he loves how the instrument sounds with this gentle touch on the strings. The playing reminds me much more now back to the demoes from the sixties. 

More like Dylan. But I am afraid I think it gets too loose, sometimes its a little out of the swing, and kind of random if he manage to hit the single notes on the bass strings, the small riffs I like him to give me, is often sloppy delivered. But when he picks up White falcon and gives us Ohio, you know that he is able to do it. It is as cool as ever. 

He sat on the solo tour in 2014. Take a listen to Southern Man from Carnegie Hall. I love it. 

So, I hope he will take interest once more to sit down and use his palm like only Neil is able to. 

But I know, he loves the freedom of singing through the harmonica holder microphones, wander around the stage in all directions. He has not any pledge to a fool like me, who can jump into 100 ours on YouTube to listen any time I want to his live demostration on palm muting. 

So I guess, let love rule.
On earth :)

Thanks much for the comment Lonesome Me.  And thanks for the seminar on Neil's acoustic palm technique for all of our guitar players out there.

More on Neil Young's Guitar Techniques:

• Why Neil Young Is Intentionally Out Of Tune? | Thoughts by Kenny Vaughan

 
Neil Young’s ‘Old Black’ Guitar

Anatomy of Neil Young’s ‘Old Black’ Guitar 

 

Now that the NEIL YOUNG 2023 COASTAL TOUR (see concert reviews) has ended, we look back as we look ahead.

NEIL YOUNG 2023 COASTAL TOUR Concert Reviews

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