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THE AZTEC TWO-STEP

GW guitar headshot 2019.JPG

"The Aztec Two-Step" is an all-acoustic venture.  It is a collection of my acoustic instrumentals, primarily those I play on the 12-string.

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The 12-string guitar is an unlikely solo instrument.  It's hard to play and hard to keep in tune.  The string tension on a 12-string is over 200 pounds, compared to about 60 for a 6-string guitar.  It's hard, physical work to play the thing.  Nevertheless, it is a huge, visceral sound.  

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The paired octaves on this instrument create musical possibilities that simply don't exist on a 6-string.  Over the years, I've learned to play the individual strings as well as the pairs.  This allows rolling chordal crescendos and unusual chord voicings.  The power of the 12-string is piano-like.

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The quirky nature of the 12-string leads to some interesting stories, reflected by the titles of the songs.

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