Nocturne
I’ve been quite inspired by the playing of jazz guitarist Julian Lage of late. His playing is to me beautiful: a gentle mastery of the fretboard, courteous of his fellow musicians, and still quite raw in tone - he’s not hiding anywhere when he’s out with just a OG fifties telecaster and a small Fender amplifier, as seen in this live performance from a few years ago:
The clip above is me trying to learn the intro to Nocturne, of which he also has a live performance. Learning this piece has been a fun mix, being simple enough I can contemplate trying it, but enough complexity to push me into trying new shapes, and things like mixing finger and plectrum work. I’m a long way off Mr Lage’s style, but it made me very happy just being able to get something recognisable out of my usual ham-fisted playing.
I got the transcription of the song (and some others by Lage) from Play Like The Greats, which isn’t the usual source of material, but rather transcripts by an enthusiastic player that me makes available for a modest fee. I’d not come agross this site before, but I’m very pleased with his interpretation of Nocturne.