Acoustic guitar practice and acousticity :establishing modalities of creative practice

Abstract

The contemporary acoustic guitar has developed from its origins in the 'Spanish' guitar to become a global instrument and the musical voice of a wide range of styles. The very 'acousticity' of the instrument positions it as a binary opposite to the electric guitar and as a signifier for the organic and the natural world, artistry and maturity, eclecticism and the esoteric. In this concept-rooted submission the acoustic and guitaristic nature of the instrument is considered in relation to a range of social, cultural and artistic concerns, and composition is used primarily to test a thesis, wherein a portfolio of original compositions, presented as recordings and understood as phonograms comment upon and reflect upon modes of performativity: instrument specific performance, introspection, virtuosity, mediation by technology and performance subjectivities.