Could Randy Have Made a Hit Song on Classical Guitar

Six_Strung_Out · Post by **Six_Strung_Out** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 3:10 am

I discovered the following link on YouTube that has Mason Williams doing two versions of his 60's instrumental hit Classical Gas. The second version is solo Classical Guitar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6_VP51brH4

After hearing this I instantly thought about how Randy may have developed his professionalism into this dynamite genre. Of course instrumental hit songs have been off the chart for decades. Nevertheless, a great song cannot be stopped. What do you think about this question. Especially directed to Matthew from London

Cpt Matt Sparrow · Post by **Cpt Matt Sparrow** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 6:47 am

Hi

That is a good question. My quick answer is yes LOL. Here is why...

Around the early 80's Classical Guitar applications at Universities were relatively high. Classical Guitar music was also selling in shops off the back of The Deer Hunter theme

An example is in London all the major conservatoires (The Royal Colleges, Guildhall, Trinity and The London College) at this time were taking on sometimes twenty pupils to study as a first year undergraduates.

By the mid 1990's that had fallen to between one and four people!
Today the Royal College has around twelve people studying Classical Guitar in the entire insttitute; from undergraduate to Masters level.

Now going back to the early 80's and Randy would have had a large number of fans that even if they didn't like his new path, would have supported him!
Who knows what would have happened in the time continueum!

Now the doom aspect of today...

The world we live in now calls 'Classical' music by Andrew Lloyd Weber, 'Popera' divas sing pop songs in quasi operatic voices, pass as modern day Opera; and the same old pieces are just performed week in week out to try and maintain an audience (Pachabel's Canon, Beethoven's 5th, The Four Seasons etc etc). The world is a very different place now (sigh)

The statistics in 2003 were that Classical music made for one percent of all CD sales...and the most shocking...
one percent of that one percent was music written in the last twenty years.

It may be different (over 50's often make up audience figures) but on the whole, younger people are only in the audience if they happen to play the Classical Guitar too. It is just players playing for players.

Sorry about my long answer. I wanted to answer the best I could.

Matt

NicDots · Post by **NicDots** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 8:41 am

Matthew wrote: The statistics in 2003 were that Classical music made for one percent of all CD sales...and the most shocking...
one percent of that one percent was music written in the last twenty years.

I don't think that's all that strange. I imagine classical music lovers don't feel the need to own the CDs from all their favorite composers say in the same fashion a 15 year old girl needs every piece of plastic that has Justin Timberlake's face/voice. Classical music junkies can listen to the radio (which has got a few classical stations left) or listen to them streaming online. I myself have inherited my Dad's vinyl collection (which has lots of Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Scarlatti, etc) and I don't really feel the need to replace these vinyls with CDs (although sometimes I do.)
I don't know how it is in Europe, but most classical concerts here in my area do very well. I have been the opera a few times in 2008 and the place (a large place mind you) was packed. The local symphony does a concert series "Under the stars" in the amphitheaters here, playing whichever long deceased composer, and the place is packed as well.

Cpt Matt Sparrow · Post by **Cpt Matt Sparrow** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 12:30 pm

NicDots wrote:
Matthew wrote: The statistics in 2003 were that Classical music made for one percent of all CD sales...and the most shocking...
one percent of that one percent was music written in the last twenty years.
I don't think that's all that strange. I imagine classical music lovers don't feel the need to own the CDs from all their favorite composers say in the same fashion a 15 year old girl needs every piece of plastic that has Justin Timberlake's face/voice. Classical music junkies can listen to the radio (which has got a few classical stations left) or listen to them streaming online. I myself have inherited my Dad's vinyl collection (which has lots of Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Scarlatti, etc) and I don't really feel the need to replace these vinyls with CDs (although sometimes I do.)
I don't know how it is in Europe, but most classical concerts here in my area do very well. I have been the opera a few times in 2008 and the place (a large place mind you) was packed. The local symphony does a concert series "Under the stars" in the amphitheaters here, playing whichever long deceased composer, and the place is packed as well.

With orchestras playing all the over played old chest nuts, yes they are busy especially with tourists.

With recitals; a resounding no.

Logan would be an interesting person to comment as he has played extensively in the US as a soloist and a part of various ensembles. If I may speak for him until he comments, the same problem has exsited for him as a performer and an audience member.
An example several years back Julian Bream, arguablly the biggest Classical Guitarist of the 20th century performs in New York. He played to a very empty concert hall of bout 100 people!!!

The problem with classical musics appeal is the composers you have mentioned ie Beethoven Mozart etc etc, are the ones every one latches onto. This means that the concerts, to make money, and keep audiences happy, have to keep playing year in and year out all the pieces that appear on Classical music compilations and keep people happy.

There are hundreds of years of music after Beethoven from the Romantic period right through to music being written now. The issue is how do you get people to let go of their Mozart Beethoven security blanket and explore the other stuff?

I appreciate what you are saying Nicole about the market being very different for Classical music, and yes the majority of the listeners and purchasers statistically tend to be older, however for it to thrive like it did 40-50 years ago, I think newer music needs to be promoted more.

With all genres of music many young people are so used to picking the 'best bits' when downloading an album they are missing the experience of listening to an album in it's entirety, all movements from symphony etc.

I have noticed in 10 yeras of teaching music that I have to work harder to make a pupil sit down and just listen to a piece of music.

Matt

NicDots · Post by **NicDots** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 5:27 pm

I think there are still some composers that have yet to be properly discovered and pimped out. As the story goes...a composer dies, people forget, but then remember 200 years later. I know Vivaldi wasn't discovered till 1920 or 1930.

Yeah, I remember you saying that about Bream.

How sad!
But I think guitar just might be one of those unlucky instruments that doesn't appeal to so many people (like a piano or violin) because the young see it as a non electric guitar, thus boring. And older people may see it as a "just a guitar" which may not have the repertoire of a piano. Not to mention classical guitar only started to really click with the public when Segovia came to down. ..all the other instruments had hundreds of years worth of a head start.
Anyway, I don't see classical guitar being so ignored in the coming years. The teacher I go to right now, who teaches solely classical has about 20 students. At my university, there's several dozen students in the program.

I do wanna hear what Logan has to say, as I can only really speak of one, tiny, little area in the US.

And I think Randy DID write a "hit classical song." DEE! All the rock guitarists that I know, if they play anything classical, it's always Dee.

Cpt Matt Sparrow · Post by **Cpt Matt Sparrow** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 6:34 pm

NicDots wrote: Yeah, I remember you saying that about Bream. How sad!
But I think guitar just might be one of those unlucky instruments that doesn't appeal to so many people (like a piano or violin) because the young see it as a non electric guitar, thus boring. And older people may see it as a "just a guitar" which may not have the repertoire of a piano.

Damn good point

Matt

wareagle · Post by **wareagle** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 7:40 pm

didnt he? dee, revelation, doam...

Cpt Matt Sparrow · Post by **Cpt Matt Sparrow** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 9:02 pm

wareagle wrote:didnt he? dee, revelation, doam...

Hi Wareagle

Revelation and Diary are Classically influenced hard rock pieces but not really Classical Guitar pieces

Matt

wareagle · Post by **wareagle** » Mon Jan 12, 2009 9:03 pm

NicDots · Post by **NicDots** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 1:05 am

I know that beginning part of Diary of a Madman was taken from a classical guitar piece. The name of the composer is slipping my mind.

wareagle · Post by **wareagle** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 1:07 am

NicDots · Post by **NicDots** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 1:09 am

Yes! That's the guy. Thanks Elliot.

Six_Strung_Out · Post by **Six_Strung_Out** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:35 am

Matthew wrote:
NicDots wrote: Yeah, I remember you saying that about Bream. How sad!
But I think guitar just might be one of those unlucky instruments that doesn't appeal to so many people (like a piano or violin) because the young see it as a non electric guitar, thus boring. And older people may see it as a "just a guitar" which may not have the repertoire of a piano.
Damn good point

Matt

Dammit! that is a damn good point.

Yes, you shall never see a classical guitar controller in Guitar Hero

All kidding aside. When Randy wrote a guitar line for electric it probably
would not have worked as well in his original pieces for classical like Dee. What would Dee have sounded like played through a stack of Marshalls?

Yes, Revelation Mother Earth could have been rearranged for a classical guitar. Randy wanted to break away from the rock-riffs for a bit and see if he could compose his own classical guitar repertoire.

wareagle · Post by **wareagle** » Tue Jan 13, 2009 4:22 am

rhoadsscholar · Post by **rhoadsscholar** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 5:32 am

Most of the time (7 out of 10 times, for real), I walk into a guitar center, and always go to the acoustic room, within the acoustic room , there is a classical guitar section at the Detroit store (where I live). Within that room, I like to go into it (as it is two levels deep, away from the marshall stacks), etc., when I enter, if someone is playing classical guitar, it is most often DEE. I equate this to when I was studying with Randy, you could aways hear someone playing Stairway to Heaven if you walked into the acoustic room. I have met folks from 11 years old, to their 30's . I humbly intoduce myself as someone who studied with Randy, and share with them my experiences. I love the Wayne's World clip where they say

NO STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

I can almost see this happening (if the store you go to has a classical guitar section). It does make me feel BLESSED to have studied with Randy Rhoads and puts a smile on my face every time this happens.

Believe it or not, I believe DEE will surpass most current classical guitar composers just from my personal obervatations. I LOVE Classical guitar music (Christopher Parkening, Andrew York, L.A. Guitar Quartet). I think Randy was on to something and ahead of his time. He would have become a Joe Satriani, Steve Vai kind of guitar hero if only given the opporutnity. He would have come from a classical standpoint and I believe, would have had a similar classical influence to Rock Music as Steve Howe did with Yes (this is my opinion, but I believe this would have happened).

Recently, I aquired a 1983 Takamine Hirade Model Eight Classical that reminded me of the time I studied with Randy and how important the Classical Guitar influence was to him. Although we only have DEE to look at, it provides us a foundation of the possibilities Randy would have provided us if he were given the opportunity. The classical guitar has a sound all its own and Randy left the world with the insight of the possibilities that exist when applying classical guitar theory to hard rock. I wish there was more, but we are blessed to have heard Randy interpret his musical knowledge using a Nylon stringed instrument. I know it continues to inspire me and others to study classical guitar.l