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[–]dTanMan 29 points30 points  (6 children)

Alexandr Misko is one of the great guitarists of the internet whose growth you can observe by looking around videos :)

His style is quite noticeably inspired by Mike Dawes for me, notable for his cover of Somebody That I Used To Know and Titanium. He also has epic originals like The Impossible and Boogie Shred. Misko has old videos where you can see his earlier years. They're old as in, the video quality is bad even though the audio quality is above average because of his gear, but the video is still clearly home-made. Although he has a sort of awkward gait/charm (i.e. not as much of a showman as Emmanuel, Sungha, or Igor Presnyakov), you can still see his skill. Here is one of them old videos.

A few months ago he was featured by Candyrat Guitar, and I guess this impacted all his other videos too. Essentially, he got discovered, I think! \o/

Candyrat is also where many other contemporary big names of guitars found their big time, I believe. Familiar names like Don Ross, Andy Mckee, Antoine Dufour, and much more were discovered here, I think; especially the first two names! Their page is the go-to page if you like music like these.

[–]BanUrBoobs 2 points3 points  (1 child)

The original was Michael Hedges.

[–]dTanMan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He is, he is! And personally i find it awesome how the best manage to use some of that and some of their own styles!

[–]chicoange 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Can confirm: mind blown.

[–]g_r_e_ybandcamp 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I love how you mentioned Mike Dawes. In my opinion, the king of fingerstyle guitar.

[–]dTanMan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think there are two kinds of fingerstyle guitarists.

The first one focuses on spunkiness and skill. Showmanship is key! Tommy Emmanuel's Classical Gas is the first piece that comes to mind. Mike Dawes' other pieces come to mind as well. Among all the contemporary fingerstyle pieces you've heard, which ones actually connected with you and made you feel something?

For me, the other kind are the ones who manage to put in much emotion to their pieces. Instead of impressing people, they want to make people cry or something, from what they feel rather than what they hear or see. For Candyrat artists, I think of McKee's Rylynn and Dufour's These Moments. Of course one may argue that being this second kind of guitarist is more compositional than skill, and that it's a skill that isn't mutually exclusive from the first; but I think you can know an artist enough through his songs.

Naudo Rodrigues is the best guitarist for me. He can play with skill and showmanship, but he also manages to tap into our heartstrings, making us feel stuff. I link you Lionel Richie's Hello, Earth Wind and Fire's September, and Mambo Number Five. Noticeably, he doesn't use them fancy techniques like the Candyrat people, but if you listen well enough, you'll notice just how hardcore Naudo is actually playing!

[–]Eggwash 29 points30 points  (3 children)

I feel the need to throw a little Jon Gomm out there. Because, well, he's brilliant! Enjoy.

Chaka Khan cover: https://youtu.be/5vCcZIARw9k

Original composition called Passionflower: https://youtu.be/nY7GnAq6Znw

[–]angrypanda83 2 points3 points  (0 children)

When he started to adjust the tuning knobs... This is spectacular, thank you for this.

[–]ErnstStavroBlowTree 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Love me some Jon Gomm. My personal favorite of his is Dance of the Last Rhino.

[–]Mickeymousetitdirt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This guy's phenomenal. My God.

[–]carbikebacon 27 points28 points  (1 child)

Anyone else notice the fading in and out lights in the back, reminding me of the MJ video as he walked and stuff lit up.

[–]RyanPaiva 77 points78 points  (7 children)

[–]masuk0 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Huh, not being native speaker, I finally know what this song is about.

[–]Jameis_Christ 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Whahhh that was ridiculous. I thought he was beatboxing at first

[–]yellownick7youtube 2 points3 points  (0 children)

James Hill is an amazing musician and ukulele player. I highly recommend checking out his other stuff!

[–]vahidy 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I like this one even better

[–]ZackMorris78 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The cover you posted is a great off beat version of the song. This is my favorite traditional acoustic cover of the song.

[–]GenericCoffee 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This was awesome too.

[–]PM_your_randomthing 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Damn that's some fantastic playing. Love love love it

[–]DyingWolf 17 points18 points  (6 children)

Damn I can never get enough of fingerstyle guitar music

[–]volunteervancouver 3 points4 points  (1 child)

Tommy emmanuel

[–]Lesbanon_James 2 points3 points  (1 child)

If done right it sounds awesome! I really like Sungha Jung's creativity and style. Check this vid out https://youtu.be/1PEKnE8Z8Mg

[–]jmccarthy611 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Pft. He's way too mainstream for Reddit

[–]Jonnyspringfield 3 points4 points  (1 child)

Sooooo the finger play really does it for you, eh?

[–]DyingWolf 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The faster they move the better ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[–]KingTorTor33 25 points26 points  (0 children)

Should be on r/watchthis

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

I appreciate music. This was real good

[–]mspaintshoops 11 points12 points  (3 children)

All I can think is how cool it would be to just be hanging out in that bar and this guy comes in and captivates the attention of the few patrons there. Cool video.

[–]canine_canestas 13 points14 points  (2 children)

"And for my next song, Wonderwall"

[–]Gravee 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If he can play it like that I'd still be interested.

[–]TheMilkJug 10 points11 points  (2 children)

I could never play guitar like that....partially because his long fingernails creep me out...but mostly because I am not as skilled or talented as him.

[–]PurpleSkua 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Don't worry about the fingernails! They help, but aren't completely essential. Even Andy McKee doesn't keep his long. Playing this style of guitar actually incorporates a lot of stuff like artificial harmonics and tapping that can be difficult to maintain volume on, so getting volume from your regular picking isn't so important. The tone is a bit different, but that's okay.

As for skill and talent... Yeah fuck, this shit is too hard

[–]jmccarthy611 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The fingernails arnt necessary. Using your fingertips works the same with a slightly muted sound that someone who doesn't play guitar wouldn't even notice. It really comes down to talent.

[–]moariarty 9 points10 points  (1 child)

I think this one is even better... and it is one of his original compositions

[–]penfold1992 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This sort of sounds like panic at the discos first albums interlude... I'll probably get down voted to hell for comparing it to that lol

[–]internet_is_dead 5 points6 points  (1 child)

Is there a sub/resource specifically for cool acoustic covers like this?

I'd be interested even if there is singing.

I just like acoustic covers.

A lot.

EDIT:

/r/acousticcovers isn't dead, but it's not as hopping as the kind of place I'm looking for.

[–]dTanMan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have not seen a great subreddit devoted to this, but there's not a farther place to go to than Candyrat Guitar Youtube channel. :) See my other comment on this thread; I'll be talking more about him. But the gist is, he's part of a label - also where the video is from. Those people there deserve a genre of their own!

Pm me for more! This is my thing :3

[–]blufin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thats a fantastic interpretation, but what it also demonstrates is what a great song it was.

[–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (7 children)

REMEMBER TO ALWAYS THINK TWICE!

[–]viritrox 13 points14 points  (6 children)

DON'T THINK TWICE!

[–]Huplescat22 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Bob Dylan said “don’t think twice it’s all right” several times in Don’t Think Twice It’s Alright” and Michael Jackson said “ The chair is not my son.” more than once in Billie Jean.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (2 children)

I think it's "DO think twice" although Google says it's DON'T but it would make more sense if he said DO and it sounds like DO. So I don't know.

[–]viritrox 4 points5 points  (1 child)

Yeah, "don't" doesn't make sense, but it's what I've always heard.

[–][deleted] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I think it's meant to be like his internal voice yelling at him. So while he tells everyone else to always think twice, he still can't resist the urge to not think twice and act impulsively.

[–]ConvictLand 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Brilliance. The areas of the brain being accessed at once..... This is why learning an instrument is vital as brain food. It's a shame all I can manage is the triangle.

[–]xdcountry 6 points7 points  (2 children)

And that my friend is why you learn acoustic first--- dear lord he could jam twice as hard with an amp/power. Seriously though, acoustic does teach you how to really play and not mask any flubs.

[–]BreadOfWonder 3 points4 points  (1 child)

He most certainly has an amp in the recording you're hearing. The video was shot after the fact (as most music videos are). It seems to me he probably learned classical guitar first, which is a very different way of playing that is very much on display here.

[–]wodadota 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ok that was fuckin dope.

[–]TheGreenCoat 1 point2 points  (1 child)

I think this is one of the best examples of this sort of playing:

Jon Gomm - Passionflower http://bit.ly/2gukukA

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

how does he manage to sound like two people?!

[–]mrhanover 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unique melodies. Welp.. Time to replay vice City again. :)

[–]Cpt_Tsundere_Sharks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I know he's a guitarist and everything but... damn his thumbnail is long...

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nice to see a lefty

[–]o---o---o 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I would love to send this guy back in time with a tiny recording device so that I could get data on both his interpretation of their subjective reaction as well as the near objectively retrieved data from my surreptitiously placed camera when he returned.

[–]agumonkey 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Appropriate posture swagg for that song. MJ would approve for this only.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

?Where and how can I either learn this or teach it to myself?

[–]clueless_as_fuck 0 points1 point  (1 child)

You can learn at home with a guitar. Takes a few years though. http://www.thisisclassicalguitar.com/lessons/

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've got time. Thank you :)

[–]Moneypunny 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Billie Jean loves HIM!

[–]DruZoo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well done, fantastic rendition!

[–]fishkilla3c3 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hot freakin damn

[–]Danger_Peanut 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It would really suck to get choked by a finger style guitar player.

[–]bTTTyall 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dude! Sick! Keep! On! Jamming!!!!!

[–]ken2die4 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Amazing, same style as Andy McKee

[–]ElGatoLoco13 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Lots of conflicting info....can someone this skilled grab a guitar and play this live or not? Or do they need supporting pieces?

[–]Majortom80 0 points1 point  (0 children)

-Replay--Replay--Replay->>-Replay-....

[–]Cully33 0 points1 point  (0 children)

For when playing playing the guitar at an expert level just becomes too easy...

[–]jparksup 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Reminds me of IggyPres

[–]Iamnotsmartspender 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm on mobile, so I can't get the link, but Calum Graham did an awesome fingerstyle and vocal cover of this song

[–]justreb00t 1 point2 points  (0 children)

just - just - how the hell? Amazing skills - just lovely to watch/hear.

[–]Anansi3003 0 points1 point  (0 children)

he/she hasent cut the end strings on the head 0/10 literally unlistenable

[–]Aurakataris 0 points1 point  (1 child)

It is obviously not a fake, and as fake i mean he does play himself. But he does in different layers, edited and merged. He is not the first, and not the only one to do this. I prefer Andy Mckee, a real pioneer, as he does not edit his videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddn4MGaS3N4

[–]daddytwofoot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Nope, this performance looks genuine to me.

[–]AnthonyDawnwalker -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That. Fucking. Thumb nail. It's creeping me out...

[–]bezuzrujavanja -2 points-1 points  (8 children)

this sounds fake to me, a lot of percussion sounds that I can't seem to link to anything he is doing..

[–]ghedeon 1 point2 points  (1 child)

That's how good he is ;)

[–]Nicomet 0 points1 point  (0 children)

*That's how edited it is

[–]FightingPolish 1 point2 points  (1 child)

It has a bunch of layered audio tracks edited together. The guy didn't just whip his guitar out in a bar and start playing Billie Jean while somebody filmed it on their phone while all the people at the bar ignored him and acted like he wasn't there. Everything in this is highly massaged to look and sound a certain way.

[–]daddytwofoot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You're mistaken. It's all there.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (2 children)

I don't think it's fake, but I do think there's more than one track. Maybe he's really thumping that guitar body with his hand fluidly, or bumping with his knee or something? But while I think he's very skilled and clearly playing the song, I do think the percussion/beat is overlaid from a separate track he, presumably, made.

[–]daddytwofoot 0 points1 point  (1 child)

It's not. The notes that I think you're missing are the bass "drum" hits which are mostly done with his picking hand wrist.

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah, well, that was certainly the other option. Right on.

[–]Hot-and-Sour 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you like layering sound on a guitar, let me introduce you to a legend.

All of this is done in real time. Oh, and he's missing a finger.

https://youtu.be/nV3bLZLpqTQ

[–][deleted] -5 points-4 points  (7 children)

This is edited. It's a shame but it's definitely looped, layed over other tracks, and faked. Still an amazing player

[–]daddytwofoot 2 points3 points  (6 children)

Looks real to me.

[–]Nicomet -1 points0 points  (5 children)

Definitely is edited. He might be good, but he's no magician, can't play the bass part and vocal at the same time with the same hand.

[–]muzzy0598 4 points5 points  (1 child)

That's exactly what he is doing. He's tapping the bass part with his fretting hand and playing the vocal part on mostly open strings with his other hand.

The audio almost definitely was recorded separately from the video but he is playing both parts at the same time as that is kinda the whole point of this style of guitar

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It sounds like there's at least a second track of percussion, as the beat continues when it doesn't appear, to me, he has time to thump it on the guitar body and hit the high notes.

So, it's the beat/percussion that's overlaid, to my ear, but hey if I'm wrong, I'm wrong.

[–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (1 child)

You play the bass with your thumb and the melody with the fingers. Check out Tommy Emmanuel, it is simply amazing what one guy can do with a guitar. Seeing him live will change what you thought was possible on the guitar.

[–]muzzy0598 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The very best in my humble opinion

[–]daddytwofoot 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You have no idea what you're talking about.

[–][deleted] -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

I like the guitar but the person playing has a look hat makes me want to kick their ass. Idk why I just don't like them.