Tommy Emmanuel and Michael Hedges (Guitarist Comparison and Analysis)

This time around, I watched videos of Tommy Emmanuel and Michael Hedges playing their guitars, and I was able to make comparisons and contrasts between the two of them. The first video that I watched was of Tommy Emmanuel, and it was of his song “Classical Gas” The first thing I noticed was how energetic he was. This man has real charisma. He moves his entire body wildly while he plays, almost looking as if he’s about to explode. The next thing I noticed is that he uses a thumb pick, probably because it requires maximum mobility to play at the speed that he is playing. The next thing I noticed in this song was how complex his fingerstyle playing is. I am even having a difficult time trying to describe how it sounds because there is just so much to what he is playing. What I can say for sure though is that he has no issue abandoning patterns and just utilizing his guitar in as many ways possible. For instance, he plays bass and higher melodies simultaneously, while imitating percussive snare sounds by slapping his strings, but also utilizing pinch harmonics. While I watched another performance of the song “Halfway Home,” I also noticed that he loves moving up and down the neck of the guitar. Like he will play a short little pattern, and then play it consecutively on every other fret. He even will mess around with his tuners mid song. Tommy Emmanuel can make dozens of different sounds with his guitar, which really allows him to stand out as a guitarist.

The next guitarist that I watched was Michael Hedges. Similarly to Emmanuel, Hedges also possesses an explosive amount of passion during his performances. During his song “Gimmie Shelter,” he would get on his knees, run across the stage, and spin around in circles. Also similarly to Emmanuel, Hedges also makes use of different percussive sounds on his guitar, but utilizes these sounds in quite a different way. During Hedges’s song “Aerial Boundaries,” he would slap different places on his guitar as well as tapping up and down the fretboard. While Emmanuel’s percussive sounds produced a sort of jazz rock sound, Hedges utilization of percussion on his guitar produces more of a sustained, psychedelic effect. I also feel like Hedges is more cautious of where he is hitting his fretboard to hit notes, which are at a much slower tempo. It just seems like Emmanuel just kinda slaps the guitar wherever he wants over and over again at a much faster pace. There is not much sustain. I know that Emmanuel is not as oblivious to what he is playing as I am making it sound like, but I think you understand what I mean. Another difference I noticed during this song was that Hedges would start with a simple melodic pattern, and then build onto that pattern progressively throughout the song, while Emmanuel, again, does not typically stick to lengthy patterns. I also noticed that Michael Hedges does not sound like he uses standard tuning too often, as Emmanuel does. One last comparative comment I will make is that with both of the musicians, it never sounds like just one guitar is just playing. Both of their styles are so complex that it often sounds like there are either multiple guitars playing at once, or there is a drummer or some other instrument accompanying them.

Next, I will briefly comment on the impact that Tommy Emmanuel and Michael Hedges’ guitar playing has on the listener. For starters, because Tommy Emmanuel is such an explosive performer and guitar player, I think that it is safe to say that the impact that it might have on the listener is one that generates energy and intensity. Because he is so entertaining, I think that his performance also has a sort of humorous impact that gives a significant shock value to the listener. It’s just such an intense performance that one can’t help but ask themselves “What the heck is happening here?” or “How can those sounds even come from this seemingly simplistic wooden, box-like instrument?” This was at least my reaction as I was watching his videos. I was so shocked that I literally called my friend in from across the hall to come watch it on my laptop--that’s how insanely impressed I was by what he could do with that guitar. It’s just so complex that I can barely wrap my mind around all of the sounds that he is producing simultaneously. Michael Hedges, on the other hand, generates a bit of a different (yet still pretty awesome) impact with his playing. Like I said before, the sounds he produces are more psychedelic, and can almost mesmerize the listener. It’s not even just his sound either, but also the atmosphere in which he plays, which looks like a big, empty stage that produces even more sustain and echo. In addition, there is actual smoke that is coming out of the headstock of his guitar, which is pretty trippy. At least those are the vibes that I got from “Aerial Boundaries.” The other song, “Gimmie Shelter,” was a bit different than the previous song. It sounded a bit more like the alternative rock that is produced today. I wouldn’t be surprised if many of the modern bands got their inspiration from Hedges. It sounded very familiar to me-- almost like the band Everclear or the Red Hot Chili Peppers. But anyways, Hedges’ music seems to me like it would have a more relaxing, chill impact on the listener. I wouldn’t even call it smooth--just perhaps familiar and relatable especially in the lyrics to that song. Overall, I really enjoyed listening to both guitarists though. The sounds that they could produce with solely a guitar is beyond impressive.