January 10, 2024
There’s a familiarity in solo guitar. Partial feelings of anemoia, defined as “Nostalgia for a time or a place one has never known.” But to me it goes father and differentiates itself, creating a different effect. Almost like you can hear lyrics that aren’t there, or in the majority of cases, lyrics that don’t even exist. This probably has a proper term, but I’m not privy to it. I believe it stems from the fact that the acoustic guitar has been so engrained into our brains to be played and sang along with, that the brain is trying to compensate for the lack of vocalization. This creates a wild effect. The brain being in a way thrown off and out of one normal cycle while also being stimulated by a familiarity. It’s what makes John Fahey especially fantastic. He “covers” many old songs that are traditionally accompanied by very well known lyrics and this gets a listener to begin hearing it in all of his songs. The Acoustic guitar, and it’s many many forms, can truly sing in more ways than one.