Chris Woods: A Tone Poet

By Bob Harris:

Way back before this Acoustic Guitar Video website, I watched a Chris Woods Video that was recommended by a friend. He said “Check out this guy, you won’t believe it.” Well, my friend was right, and I though… wow, this guy uses the whole guitar in a very powerful way.

In this video, this soothing composition of “Union” has it all, the technical skills, the melody, the “Groove”, and full of  emotion.  I simply had to watch this more than once.

Also want to mention that the tone of the guitar is simply spectacular. A lot of people will say that the recording is responsible for that… yes, true but, if you put someone else behind the mics, would it sound the same?

Here’s some bio material for Chris Woods…

I want to point out that he has a lot of instructional material on his site so, if you want to learn how to do some of what he’s doing, his learning material is first rate:

“A UK based instrumental phenomenon – guitarist Chris Woods blends ear bending dropped tuned grooves with endearing stories to create his performances. There is an eerie feel to his music; a dark jazz texture driven by explosive guitar percussion…

He began his career in the guitar world; endorsed by the most acclaimed brands he honed his skills performing at prestigious guitar festivals across the globe. Approached by Hal Leonard to write a comprehensive guide on the percussive style, which quickly became the standard ‘how to play’ percussive guitar publication, Chris’ reputation became international and highly regarded.

With a loyal following behind him Chris set about writing the debut album. Determined to create an emotional work, that showed percussive guitar playing as a serious creative storytelling tool, Chris toured his new compositions relentlessly. Traveling to the US, Europe and what seemed like every corner of Britain and Ireland, refining the pieces to reach out to audiences as effectively as possible. After two years of touring, Chris went into the studio and recorded something very special indeed, the product of two years hard work; ‘Stories for Solo Guitar’…

Over the next 12 months the Chris Woods Groove will be appearing across Europe in Art Centres, Acoustic Clubs, Theatres, Guitar Festivals and Arts Festivals promoting the sounds and stories from ‘Stories for Solo Guitar’…”  more Chris Woods here