Guitar Garden
Encyclopedia
Guitar Garden is an instrumental
progressive rock
band led by American guitar
ist and music journalist Pete Prown
(b.1963).
Guitar Garden's latest album is Secret Space (2006), inspired by the many progressive rock and jazz-rock bands of the 1970s, such as Yes
, ELP
, and Mahavishnu Orchestra, as well as contemporary acts like The Flower Kings
. It featured Prown on lead guitar, keyboards, guitar synthesizer, and samples, plus former editor-in-chief of Guitar Magazine Rich Maloof (b. 1966) on acoustic-fingerstyle and electric guitars. Guitar Garden's music has also been featured on NPR's Morning Edition
radio program.
Guitar Garden's 2005 album, CHINA ROSE, featured a World-pop Progressive rock style. The CD contained a combination of guitars and inventive keyboard parts, with hip-hop grooves and Asian motifs. Prown also released a surf-rock guitar album in 2009 called "Guitar Safari" by Sir Clive & the Raging Cartographers.
In addition to his musical work, Prown was also the editor-in-chief of the international music magazine, Guitar Shop, and still writes for Vintage Guitar magazine. He is also the author of several rock-music reference and guitar-instructional books, such as:
Of his guitar approach, Prown notes, "Besides the traditional acoustic and electric guitars that Rich Maloof and I play on the album, I sometimes use guitar synthesizers at times to create unique sounds," he adds. "Listen to 'Cloudburst,' where the main solo features acoustic guitar and acoustic piano in perfect unison. That's because I used the guitar synth to double my guitar lines - in real time - with a piano patch."
"There's also a clear distinction between my guitar style and Rich's, which helps broaden our scope. I come from a rock, fusion and blues guitar background, where Rich is fabulous acoustic fingerstyle player--you can hear that in the solos to 'Erhu' and 'China Rose.'"
Instrumental
An instrumental is a musical composition or recording without lyrics or singing, although it might include some non-articulate vocal input; the music is primarily or exclusively produced by musical instruments....
progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band led by American guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
ist and music journalist Pete Prown
Pete Prown
Pete Prown is a noted American guitarist and music journalist. He leads the progressive rock band Guitar Garden and also writes extensively about guitar music and its history...
(b.1963).
Guitar Garden's latest album is Secret Space (2006), inspired by the many progressive rock and jazz-rock bands of the 1970s, such as Yes
Yes (band)
Yes are an English rock band who achieved worldwide success with their progressive, art, and symphonic style of rock music. Regarded as one of the pioneers of the progressive genre, Yes are known for their lengthy songs, mystical lyrics, elaborate album art, and live stage sets...
, ELP
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer, also known as ELP, are an English progressive rock supergroup. They found success in the 1970s and sold over forty million albums and headlined large stadium concerts. The band consists of Keith Emerson , Greg Lake and Carl Palmer...
, and Mahavishnu Orchestra, as well as contemporary acts like The Flower Kings
The Flower Kings
The Flower Kings are a Swedish progressive rock group. Formed in August 1994 by veteran guitarist Roine Stolt as a touring band to support his solo album The Flower King, the band stayed together after the tour and have gone on to become one of the most prolific studio recording units in rock music...
. It featured Prown on lead guitar, keyboards, guitar synthesizer, and samples, plus former editor-in-chief of Guitar Magazine Rich Maloof (b. 1966) on acoustic-fingerstyle and electric guitars. Guitar Garden's music has also been featured on NPR's Morning Edition
Morning Edition
Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
radio program.
Guitar Garden's 2005 album, CHINA ROSE, featured a World-pop Progressive rock style. The CD contained a combination of guitars and inventive keyboard parts, with hip-hop grooves and Asian motifs. Prown also released a surf-rock guitar album in 2009 called "Guitar Safari" by Sir Clive & the Raging Cartographers.
In addition to his musical work, Prown was also the editor-in-chief of the international music magazine, Guitar Shop, and still writes for Vintage Guitar magazine. He is also the author of several rock-music reference and guitar-instructional books, such as:
- --ShredShred guitarShred guitar or shredding is lead electric guitar playing that relies heavily on fast guitar solos. While some critics argue that shred guitar is associated with "... sweep-picked arpeggios, diminished and harmonic minor scales, finger-tapping and ... whammy-bar abuse", several guitar...
: The Ultimate Guide to Warp-Speed Guitar (co-written with Rich Maloof, 2006)
- --Gear Secrets of the Guitar Legends (co-written with Lisa Sharken, 2003)
- --Legends of Rock Guitar (co-written with HP Newquist, 1997)
- --Modal Riffs for Rock Guitar (1995)
Of his guitar approach, Prown notes, "Besides the traditional acoustic and electric guitars that Rich Maloof and I play on the album, I sometimes use guitar synthesizers at times to create unique sounds," he adds. "Listen to 'Cloudburst,' where the main solo features acoustic guitar and acoustic piano in perfect unison. That's because I used the guitar synth to double my guitar lines - in real time - with a piano patch."
"There's also a clear distinction between my guitar style and Rich's, which helps broaden our scope. I come from a rock, fusion and blues guitar background, where Rich is fabulous acoustic fingerstyle player--you can hear that in the solos to 'Erhu' and 'China Rose.'"