Tag Archives: taylor grand concert

LIVE 190 • Slack Key Bach (Bourrée in Open A Taro Patch)

Classic Rock, Slack Keyacoustic guitar, Bach Bouree, Bach cello suites, blue sky guitar, classical music, fingerstyle guitar, guitar instrumental, Hawaii, hawaiian guitar, Kapiolani Park, ki ho’alu, Monkeypod trees, nahenahe, Neumann TLM 102, nick borho, open G, open tunings, Pablo Casals, Paki Ave, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, Slack Key, Taro Patch, Taylor 912ce, taylor grand concert, yoga

I went through a phase a few years back where I was regularly listening to the Pablo Casals recordings of the Bach cello suites. They were on the USB stick with music I had in my car, and for some reason the memory of listening to them that stands out is that of making my way home from Kapiolani Park after yoga class. Driving along Paki Avenue, listening to the mellow cello suites as the moon was coming out, looking up through the sunroof of my Honda at the moonlight filtering through the intricate silhouettes created by the canopy of Monkeypod trees lining the avenue, an amazing textured design.

Recently, I decided to arrange part II of the Bourrée from Bach’s Cello Suite 4 (BWV 1010) in Taro Patch tuning. Rather than the usual Open G, I used a capo on the 2nd fret to play the piece in Open A which helped make some of the stretches a little easier. This arrangement is based on Stanley Yates’s excellent arrangements of the cello suites for guitar (Mel Bay). In further adapting it for Taro Patch, I decided to use various fingerings and add some harmonics in place of fretted notes – things that one wouldn’t normally do, but which were part of the fun of playing this piece in an open tuning. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 912ce (Rosewood/Spruce, with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD Light strings) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

LIVE 189 • Greensleeves

Fingerstyle, Liveacoustic guitar, blue sky guitar, Christmas Guitar instrumental, fingerstyle guitar, Greensleeves, guitar instrumental, Neumann TLM 102, nick borho, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, Taylor 912ce, taylor grand concert, What Child Is This

Here is an arrangement of Greensleeves I did back when I was teaching guitar full time. The arrangement was meant for intermediate to advanced students, and is both a little challenging and fun to play. Greensleeves (a/k/a What Child is This?) is often thought of as a Christmas classic, but the song actually originated as a love ballad in late 1500’s England. The tune quickly became a staple of popular culture, even to the point of Shakespeare seeming to have a bit of fun with the song’s widespread prevalence in The Merry Wives of Windsor. And the tune remains well known, even to this day. Hope you enjoy.

“Let the sky rain potatoes, let it thunder to the tune of ‘Greensleeves’…”
— William Shakespeare, via Falstaff, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Act V, Scene 5)

LIVE 183 • Spooner Slack Key (First Take)

Live, Slack Keyacoustic guitar, blue sky guitar, fingerstyle guitar, guitar instrumental, Hawaii, hawaiian guitar, Hawaiian koa, kailua kona, ki ho’alu, koa taylor, Neumann TLM 103, nick borho, open tunings open G, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, Slack Key, Taro Patch, taylor grand concert, Taylor k22ce

Spooner Slack Key was born out of an idea improvised between recording takes of another song. I decided to record an improvised version of the song as a demo to remember the idea – resulting in this ‘first & only’ take (so far) – then resumed working on the other song I was recording at the time. When listening back to the original recording recently, I like the energy and decided to post it. Hope you enjoy.

LIVE 178 • Here Comes the Sun (912ce)

Classic Rock, LiveAbbey Road, acoustic guitar, beatles fingerstyle, blue sky guitar, fingerstyle guitar, George Harrison, Here Comes the Sun, Neumann TLM 103, nick borho, open tunings, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, rosewood taylor guitar, Taylor 912ce, taylor grand concert

Here’s a snappy take of my arrangement of the Harrison classic Here Comes the Sun. It’s a bright, happy tune that sounds great on acoustic guitar. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 912ce (Rosewood/Spruce, with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD Light strings) and a Neumann TLM 103 microphone.

LIVE 177 • Irish Well Wishes

Fingerstyle, Liveacoustic guitar tone, blue sky guitar, celtic guitar, fingerstyle guitar, guitar instrumental, Hawaiian koa, koa taylor, Neumann TLM 102, nick borho, Open D, open tunings, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, taylor grand concert, Taylor k22ce

Irish Well Wishes is an improvisation inspired by my love of Ireland and the Irish people. When I recorded this, I had recently been reflecting on my visit to Ireland years ago; the beauty of the land and the warmth of the Irish people is often talked about and portrayed in various films, etc., but actually traveling there I found it really did meet and exceed expectations (and yes, it really was ‘that green’). Also, at the time of recording this, I had been listening to a fair amount of Tony McManus and Martin Simpson – all of this gave rise to the improvisation here around some pieces of melody from Danny Boy and various other Celtic guitar ideas. Hope you enjoy.

LIVE 159 • Punahele – Ray Kane Slack Key Cover (Longer Version)

Live, Slack Keyacoustic guitar, blue sky guitar, Elixir HD Light, Fred Kelly thumbpicks, g wahine tuning, Hawaii, hawaiian guitar, ki ho’alu, nahenahe, nanakuli, Neumann TLM 102, nick borho, old style slack key, open tunings, peaceful guitar music, punahele, Ray Kane, Raymond Kane, real old style, relaxing guitar, relaxing music, Slack Key, Taylor 412ce-R, taylor grand concert, tranquil song

Here is another, slightly longer version I recorded of the classic Ray Kane slack key song “Punahele.” According to the Dancing Cat liner notes, Punahele (“favorite” or “pet”) came to Ray “one night in 1938 at Zablan’s Beach in Nanakuli. ‘Back in those days there were no cars, it was pitch black. So I sit there in the dark in the nice cool breeze and I hear the waves bouncing on the sand and see the moonlight flicker on the water. It inspired me, something so nice. So mellow. That’s what gave me my inspiration.’” Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 412ce LTD (Rosewood/Spruce, Gotoh 510 tuners, strings are Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

LIVE 169 • Welsh Dragonfly (312ce)

Live, Open Tuningsacoustic guitar, blue sky guitar, dragonfly, Elixir HD Light, fingerstyle guitar, Jimmy Page, Led Zeppelin, Line Audio CM4, nick borho, open C6, open tunings, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, sapele tone, Taylor 312ce, taylor grand concert, wales, welsh, Welsh Countryside, welsh dragonfly

Welsh Dragonfly was born one day from ideas improvised after listing to some of Led Zeppelin’s ‘acoustic’ songs. I’ve long liked the story of Page and Plant retreating to a tranquil cottage in the Welsh countryside with acoustic guitars in tow to find inspiration in the bucolic atmosphere and write some new music. As for the ‘dragonfly’ part of the title, I’ve often been inspired by seeing dragonflies hovering around various places over the years, and indeed they’re striking creatures… I’m also a fan of Art Nouveau and reminded of the Tiffany dragonfly lamp design, a touchstone representation that stands out in my mind at the moment. Anyway, this is a song that makes me feel relaxed and peaceful when I play it. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 312ce (Sapele/Spruce, with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) and a Line Audio CM4 small diaphragm condenser microphone.

LIVE 164 • The Bantry Girl’s Lament (alt take)

Fingerstyle, Liveacoustic guitar, bantry girls lament, blue sky guitar, celtic guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Neumann TLM 102, nick borho, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, Taylor 912ce, taylor grand concert

Here is an alternate take of The Bantry Girl’s Lament, a traditional Celtic song which dates back to the early 1800’s. The arrangement is based on Martin Simpson’s version from his fine album “Leaves of Life.” While Martin used a Drop D tuning for the song (or rather its equivalent on Baritone guitar), I play it here in open G6: (D-G-D-G-B-E). To me, this is a peaceful, meditative song that gives pause. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor 912ce (Rosewood/Spruce, with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD Light strings) and a Neumann TLM 102 microphone.

LIVE 163 • Acacia Improv (K22ce)

Liveacoustic guitar, blue sky guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaii, hawaiian guitar, Hawaiian koa, ki ho’alu, koa taylor, nahenahe, Neumann TLM 103, nick borho, open G, open tunings, original fingerstyle, peaceful guitar, relaxing guitar, Slack Key, Taro Patch, taylor grand concert, Taylor k22ce

Acacia Improv is an outtake of some improvisation done one day while I was recording “Acacia Just Noticed.” That song as well as this short little improv were meant to highlight the koa guitar’s warm low-mid tone with a touch of sparkle in the treble register, to bring out the characteristic warmth and sweetness of the wood. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor K22ce (solid koa grand concert with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) and a Neumann TLM 103 microphone.

LIVE 162 • Acacia Just Noticed (K22ce)

Fingerstyle, Liveacoustic guitar, blue sky guitar, fingerstyle guitar, Hawaiian koa, koa taylor, Line Audio CM4, nick borho, open G, open tunings, original fingerstyle, taylor grand concert, Taylor k22ce

Acacia Just Noticed came to me one day while improvising on my koa guitar. Once aged a little, koa (part of the Acacia family, thus the titular play on words) imparts a warm low-mid tone with a touch of sparkle. Sometimes, depending on how you’re playing, koa can be a little thin and bright, but here I’m playing without a pick and using part of the pads of my fingers to soften things up – especially useful with some of the snappy parts here. Along with that, I feel like the the two sections of this song are played in registers that particularly lend themselves to bringing out warmth and sweetness of koa. The overall combination of these elements melds together in a way that I felt made the wood shine through, thus the nod in the title. Hope you enjoy.

Recorded with a Taylor K22ce (solid koa grand concert with Elixir Nanoweb Phosphor Bronze HD gauge set) and a Line Audio CM4 small diaphragm condenser microphone.

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Slack Key and Fingerstyle Guitar