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Anders Eliasson -> RE: manuel reyes guitar (Feb. 3 2013 8:00:57)
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Prominent Critic | RE: manuel reyes guitar (in reply to Anders Eliasson)
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But the interview with Manuel Reyes is a most extraordinary interview, in which Reyes, far from being a simple artisan, proves to be exceptionally erudite and articulate, a cross between a philosopher and a poet.
To give just one example – when asked “What qualities must a great guitarrero possess,” his answer is not something about wood, etc. His answer is “Morality. Integrity. Realism. Humility. Clear Vision. Imagination.”
Isn´t this just something universal? The way we should all be. The goal for all of us? Being luthiers, bankiers, politicians, fishermen, preachers, whatever?
The only thing exceptionally erudite etc that I see in this is that very few people act this way and that its exactly one of the biggest problems of mankind.
Yes, that's the way we should all be. But the point I was making was that if you ask a luthier what qualities a great luthier must have, you would expect an answer something like "a good feel for wood," or something else to do with the various aspects of construction. You would not expect the answer he gave.
As for his being erudite and articulate - read the interview.
Ramon
Actually I'd expect an answer like that if the person answering the question has depth. The question is what the luthier must have. The qualities he listed give rise to all things such as a good feel for the wood or whatever minutia that is part of the endeavor a person embarks on. Those are things he listed, you either have or don't, the rest can be learned. It's a very good answer and very much points to the artistic nature of Reyes, who is definitely more than just another craftsman.
I think that very few good luthiers are just another craftsman. Building instruments is not about craft only. Its not enough to just build a box with a stick and some strings following whatever plan. There are so many other things you have to learn. Some can be taught if you have a very long and very close connection to a luthier which is more than just a craftsman, but the rest you have to find out yourself.
The Luthier mostly work alone. Day after day and extremely important part of being a good luthier is to accept and funcion under loneliness. Accept, that you are just you and that you have to find your way of managing everything.
After years of being alone for many hours a day, maybe just with the radio as a collegue, most of us devellop a kind of filosofical nature, maybe even poetic or artistic. Some are better to put words on that than others, which is exactly what poetry is about, but most of the good luthiers I´ve met, have their own very personal vision of everything. Some just keep it to themselves so they might look more ordinaty than others when they are being presented in books, interviews etc.
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