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Mike D.
Aloha
18 Posts |
 Posted - 05/19/2003 : 2:17:02 PM
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Question: Does anyone know about Ozzie Kotani’s guitar preferences? I saw him a couple of years back in Minneapolis, and he was playing a Taylor. This last weekend, I just picked up his latest CD, and it mentions (in the description for track #1, I think) that he is playing on an old Martin. Any ideas?
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Pauline Leland
`Olu`olu
USA
783 Posts |
Posted - 05/19/2003 : 3:09:53 PM
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| He also plays nylon string guitars, maker unknown. |
Pauline |
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Reid
Ha`aha`a
Andorra
1526 Posts |
Posted - 05/20/2003 : 12:26:38 PM
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Every time I have seen him up close and personal, including performing, he played a rosewood Santa Cruz OM.
...Reid |
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 05/20/2003 : 4:47:37 PM
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Just for the sake of mentioning it -- Ozzie "sound" is not a result of which guitar he's playing. I heard him play on a very inexpensive student grade guitar and he was every bit as good.
Raymond
San Jose |
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Lawrence
Ha`aha`a
USA
1597 Posts |
Posted - 05/20/2003 : 5:00:51 PM
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| In all of the classes and jams I have been with him in, he has played an OM-style Taylor. The stage concerts were mostly the same mid-sized Taylor, but I don' remember all of them. |
Mahope Kākou...
...El Lorenzo de Ondas Sonoras |
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Peter Medeiros
`Olu`olu
546 Posts |
Posted - 05/20/2003 : 5:49:07 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by RJS
Just for the sake of mentioning it -- Ozzie "sound" is not a result of which guitar he's playing. I heard him play on a very inexpensive student grade guitar and he was every bit as good.
Raymond
San Jose
Aloha,
Raymond hit it right on the nose. Oz's sound is not dependent on the guitar he is playing. Remember he is about thirty years down the road from his introduction to slack key. His sound is the result of approaching slack key as a serious study and with the absolute dedication and commitment to practice that one would expect of a conservatory student. Which is an uncommon characteristic of the average slack key artist who knows how to play. That means several hours a day would be set aside just for serious playing and he still does this. I'm lucky to get my university students to give 4 hours a week. When he was studying with me he would give me at least four hours a day. As a rule, if one wants to be a concert level performer you have to put in a lot of time in order to develop a mastery of the instrument as well as the mastery of the repertoire. And that amount of time actually spent in serious study or practice is measured in years for those at concert performance level,
As far as his guitars, to my knowledge he has one concert grade guitar -- the Taylor cutaway. If I'm not mistaken he still has his first guitar which was a Takamine dreadnaught (circa 1973); a Martin blackface 00-17; two cheap classicals -- either an Aria, Takamine or Matsuoka ( on which we recorded "Classical Slack"); I'm not sure about the Santa Cruz that may have been a loaner. I don't know if he still has a 12 string, I can ask him next time we talk.
Peter Medeiros |
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ongchua
Akahai
USA
92 Posts |
Posted - 05/20/2003 : 10:50:51 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by Peter Medeiros
As a rule, if one wants to be a concert level performer you have to put in a lot of time in order to develop a mastery of the instrument as well as the mastery of the repertoire.
At 30 minutes a day, I probably won't make it to concert level.
Still, it's the journey and not the destination.  |
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Mainkaukau
Lokahi
USA
245 Posts |
Posted - 05/20/2003 : 11:18:43 PM
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| Peter is right. The commitment to study and practice separates the hobbiest from the professional. Da commitment to study and practice increases confidence and decreases the anxiety when performing. Da commitment to study and practice to maintain a high level of proficiency can also have curse like effects. Bringing harm to those who don't understand the love for the art. I'd like to take this moment and thank my loved ones for having to listening to me practice throughout all these years. Have a great practice session everyone :o) |
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RJS
Ha`aha`a
1635 Posts |
Posted - 05/21/2003 : 10:24:55 PM
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Peter,
I hear your frustration about people not practicing. I've supervised over 120 intern psychologists and counselors - and only one really put the effort needed to become a great therapist. The interesting thing is that she was not a "natural" but she really wanted it and worked at it, and is now a very well respected therapist in the SF Bay Area. The hardest thing for me was that I had a dozen of so "naturals" who could have become great, but just settled for average. It took me a long long time, not even sure I'm completely there, to offer what I have and not stay "attached" to the results.
As to slack key -- Ozzie is, of course, an exception. In fact, in most areas there never are a lot of people who get to their equivalent level of "concert level performance." But I gotta say, I myself am a very mediocre talent who is a painfully slow learner - and 1.5 - 2 hours a day, 5 or 6 days a week, most weeks, for a couple of years got me to where I can play decent, not virtuoso, slack key. And the truth is that most of the time once I sat down with the guitar, the time flew by. Do you love this stuff or not? And if you love it, why stay away from it? The only good reasons I can find are taking care of family and needing to put food on the table - But even there you can make some time available - it just has to be used more wisely and efficiently. (Do I wish I spent more time so I could play better, yes, but I guess I made a "decision" that at my age I would never be able to get "that good." Maybe it is just an excuse.)
Thanks for bringing up the point
Raymond
San Jose |
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