Bill Frisell - The Greatest Guitarist Ever!

Bill Frisell has been one of my biggest inspirations for years. He has definitely influenced my personal style more than any other player. Frisell continues to push the musical envelope by transcending genres and melding his experiences together into one of the most unique, original guitar styles since Jimi Hendrix, Wes Montgomery, and Jim Hall.

His own guitar style is so different, so abstract that it requires your full attention in order to fully understand it. At a passing listen, one may think he is a little "out there" for their tastes, but a closer examination will reveal that he has one of the most beautiful approaches to the gutiar in history of the instrument.

Bill's guitar playing is comprised of swelled notes, neck bends, open-string cascades, unusual chord voicings, crying upper notes, and rhythm loops that can distort and change in pitch. In the case of Frisell's own compositions, less is definitely more. His use of space is just one of his many trademarks.

Frisell has made so many good recordings that I couldn't list them all, but here are what I think are some essential recordings:

Have A Little Faith - 1993 Nonesuch/Elektra Musician

Where In The World? - 1991 Nonesuch/Elektra Musician

This Land - 1994 Nonesuch/Elektra Musician

Lookout For Hope - 1988 ECM Records

Good Dog, Happy Man - 1999 Nonesuch

Gone, Just Like A Train - 1998 Nonesuch

Go West: Music For The Films Of Buster Keaton - 1995 Nonesuch

Paul Motian - I Have The Room Above Her - 2005 ECM Records

Paul Motian - On Broadway, Vol. 1 - 1989 Winter & Winter

Paul Motian - On Broadway, Vol. 2 - 1993 Winter & Winter

Kenny Wheeler - Angel Song - 1997 ECM Records

Jan Garbarek - Paths, Prints - 1982 ECM Records

Ginger Baker Trio - Going Back Home - 1994 Atlantic Records

Marc Johnson's Bass Desires - 1985 ECM Records

Marc Johnson's Bass Desires - Second Sight - 1987 ECM Records

The Art Of Textural Guitar, Part 1

The Art of Textural Guitar - Part 1 of 5: Building A Foundation


Thank you for reading “The Art of Textural Guitar.” Part one of a five part series, which explores how to create textural sounds with the guitar, explores theory, and how to build a foundation for creating your own music.


Creating music has been one of the most rewarding and challenging hobbies I have done. Learning how to play the guitar without certain guidelines, music books, or theory would have been impossible. After 18 years of playing guitar, I look back on the methods I adopted through those years, and what it actually took to learn guitar.



One of the first things I did was select a pick that was comfortable in my hand, learn how to hold your pick, and how to pick each string properly. Select a pick that is stiff, but somewhat flexible, like the Jim Dunlop Jazz III pick. It’s small, fits in your fingers with ease, and provides me with the proper feel and articulation I need for creating textural sounds on guitar. After selecting your pick, begin picking and strumming the strings to get your feel and develop your own style or method that feels right to you. Being comfortable and relaxed while playing is very important. Don’t worry about your left hand right now, just practice with your right hand. Guitar players are not the only ones with practicing problems. Trumpet players have a similar problem with their mouthpiece. Beginner horn players usually start by holding the mouthpiece to their lips and practice to develop a lip blowing technique limiting the amount of air that passes on the both sides of their mouth while pushing the air through the center hole in the mouthpiece. This is why practicing guitar, with your right hand first, is so important for developing your own feel and style without creating unwanted noise from the guitar and strings other than your picking or strumming.



One of the most important parts of music is harmony. My first nine years playing guitar was strictly a rhythm method, learning nothing but technique and chords. The most crucial part of music is chords. I urge you to learn everything there is to know about them before moving on. You can purchase chord books at any music store where instruments are sold. One of the best books for me was “Chord Chemistry” by Ted Greene. This book not only covers chords, but ways to revoice them in various positions on the fretboard. You will find that learning chords, how to finger and position your fingers on the fretboard, and learning how to make changes within a rhythm to keep a melody flowing takes a great deal of practice time, but most of all, self discipline.


The technical end of playing guitar is important too. Once you learn how to navigate through the fretboard you will remember and create your own sounds that come to mind. This is why a well applied knowledge of chords, chord technique, a sense of rhythm, and good practice habits make great instrument players. So listen to music and what inspires you. It’s just as important as practicing and will help you fuel your fire for playing great guitar.


Next month’s column will explore amplification and how to obtain good sound from you amplifier. So tune in and read next month’s column. And hey, let’s keep having fun playing and practicing. After all, that’s what it is all about, having fun, right?