THE BEST IN THE WORLD RIGHT NOW
Clive Carroll
The Guthrie Govan of acoustic guitar
Clive Carroll is arguably themost accomplished fingerstylist in the world today – not a statement we make lightly. Our pals on Guitar Techniquesmagazine even call him the ‘acoustic Guthrie Govan’, which gives you some idea of the Essex-born virtuoso’s incredible skills.
Where countless acoustic players adopt a percussive approach, by eschewing tippy-tappy body-beating antics, Clive is able to focus more on complex melodic lines throughout the bass, midrange and treble. Traditional Irish pieces, John Dowland compositions and the occasional blues tune all get the Carroll treatment, but the majority of his music is self-penned.
With such virtuosity on display, it ought to be impossible to distill Clive’s genius into practical, bite-sized advice, but there is a key fact you should know. Clive often writes straight to manuscript without a guitar in his hands. What sounds like a massive pain in the backside for most of us actually frees Clive from his own technical limitations (not that he has many!).
Write on paper first and figure out how to play it on
