Trajectory of splendid activity
"A true explorer who created an epoch in the history of the guitar, pursuing his own music with a unique style！"
Mr. Stanley Jordan appeared on the scene after a spectacular debut in 1985 from the prestigious Bruno Trail. He started playing the piano at the age of 6 and the guitar at the age of 11. After that, he started working in a band that played rock and funk (his representative Led Zeppelin/Stairway to Heaven covers were greatly influenced by this period) after being influenced by Jimi Hendrix, George Benson, BB King, etc.
After majoring in music theory and computer music at the prestigious Princeton University, he started performing on the streets of New York. It might be called busking now, but his strategy got him a lot of people’s attention in an instant. Fun fact: the startup sound of Apple’s Power Macintosh 6100 was recorded by Mr. Stanley Jordan.
In addition to a wide range of performances such as rock, jazz, and classical music, and sometimes collaborating with other bands, he does not fit into the category of a so-called orthodox jazz guitarist. He also has a master’s degree in music therapy from Arizona State University, and is not only a composer and performer, but also a music therapist. he thinks that the attitude that overlooks the “power of music” from a high position, combined with the ultimate two-handed tapping technique, has established a solitary existence.
One and only two-handed tapping technique "Touch technique"
“Touch Technique”, perfected by Mr. Stanley Jordan, in which the left and right hands are completely independent in both-hand tapping. In fact, in the 1950s, long before Mr. Jordan made full use of his eight fingers to play, Mr. Jimmy Webster had already taken a similar approach in the same country. And technique/composition is far from Stanley Jordan’s feet).
According to Stanley Jordan, there are roughly three types of tapping styles.
The first is Jimmy Webster/Stanley Jordan mode “With independent left and right hand movements, you can hear different melodies, rhythms, basslines, counterpoints, etc. as if you were playing two guitars.” Polyphonic/ Keyboard approach school.
The second is the melodic style that is most familiar to general listeners who basically play single notes for each string, including Mr. Eddie Van Halen who revolutionized rock guitar in the late 70’s.
The third is the rhythmic percussive/sequence style used by Michael Hedges and Kotaro Oshio.
Stanley Jordan’s touch technique is an approach that uses all three of the above.
One important point to remember here is that perfect fourth tuning (P4th) is recommended for touch technique. The tuning of a normal guitar is EBGDAE rather than the first string, but in this case, the 1st and 2nd strings are FCGDAE, one note higher. The advantage of this tuning for the guitar is that the fingering does not change visually in any position, and it can be played rationally without confusion in tapping technique.
In addition to Mr. Stanley Jordan, Mr. Tom Quayle, who is famous in the field of rock fusion, and Mr. Alex Hutchings seem to prefer perfect fourth tuning in recent years.
