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Miguel de Maria -> A tough gig (Sep. 9 2004 18:11:19)
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Last night I did a 2 hour gig at the Royal Palms, one of Phoenix' many fancy resorts, subbing for Gaetano, a local player. I have played there about 8 times solo, so I knew the drill. There is actually a Mackie mixer which connects to the resort's sound system. Well, I plugged in my newly-electric Vicente Carillo blanca, and got a loud buzzing sound, sort of feedbacky, sort of not. I turned down the volume and lost the buzzing sound, except when I played I got a horrible sound, about half distorted, half clear. I fiddled around with the knobs but couldn't get anything done. As the lounge was completley deserted at 5 pm, I figured I would just go for it acoustic.
As I started playing--I think I started with a solo por tangos, I was surprised by how loud my guitar sounded. I was in a corner and it was good. Things went fine until about 6 pm, when the bar got packed. There were about twenty people in this small lounge, all talking and laughing loudly. The manager walked by several times, and it seemed that he looked first at the sound system, and then at my guitar, but never looked at me! I was inwardly groaning as he no doubt was wondering why i wasn't plugged in.
As I took my 15 minute break, I strolled the lovely grounds of the resort, casitas organied around verdant, flower-laden gardens, letting the flow of fountain water try to soothe my nerves, yet knowing that soon I would be back in the maelstrom, a single flamenco guitar against a mob of loud rich people. I started the 2nd set, started playing and soon realized that only strumming and aggressive thumbwork would possibly stand out agaisnt the crowd. As I played and of course no one could hear me, I thought this was a good time to work on my volume and projection and see what kind of things could aid it. I ruled out tensing my fingers, because I realize that it doesn't work, it just makes your hand tired. as I played, I slowly learned how to push in with a light yet aggressive touch, how and where to hit the guitar on my strums, and maximize my volume. I don't think volume is a matter of muscle, but more of the angle and the attitude of the fingertips and an idea of always accelerating the stroke into the strings.
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