"Ojo" by Leo Kottke
Added 2023-08-01 13:03:42 +0000 UTCFriends:
I'm excited to share this classic composition from what I view as the most important/influential solo acoustic guitar record, 6- and 12-String Guitar. "Ojo" has remained in Kottke's concert repertoire through the decades, and while it has undergone some development with some refinement to the lines and the addition of new sections, I present it here in its original form as it was recorded in December of 1969.
Those of you who are already familiar with the composition as it was presented in the Eight Songs book may enjoy a refreshed look at this in its more primitive form. More bass notes are present, the form is simpler, and the middle section is pure early Kottke.
I perform it on a 63' B45 with the lighter bracing. I am using a set of LaBella medium silk and steel strings. Fingerpicks are made by ProPik and the thumbpick is a Dunlop.
The lesson video is a little longer than normal at just shy of an hour. I expect this to be a popular post so I wanted to present a full slow play-through on the 12-string in addition to broken down instruction on the 6-string, as I figured not all of us will have a 12 handy. Access it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLzCNv9K6PE
I mention in the lesson video that I spent at least a week on just the first few measures of the main theme over 20 years ago. If this is your first look at a Kottke tune, or his style is newer to you, please give yourself some time to absorb and understand the right-hand fingerings, notated with p,i, and m (thumb, index, and middle) in the tablature. Your effort will be rewarded down the line. This is especially important on 12-string guitars as the attack direction of the right hand will either emphasize the high octave or the low octave of the individual string courses.
One of the key points that some of us may have trouble with is the collapse of the joints to fret a note on a higher string (notated with an f3, or flop 3 in the editing). The good news is these can all be played as a hammer-on with the pinky.
One last note, the fingerings are all taken from the Rockpalast footage or based on my knowledge of his technique. The only place where there is some inconsistency in his fingering is the short introduction. There appears to be some variation in when he uses his middle and when he uses the index for some of the melody notes.
Regarding the title, Ojo means eye in Spanish, pronounced oh-hoh. It appears the title was inspired by the story of the death of Esteban the Moor near present-day Ojo Caliente, New Mexico. I've attached a brief excerpt of Kottke introducing Ojo in 1972 with the story.
I think this covers most of what I wanted to say. There has been less discussion on the pieces in the comments in the past, but I suppose this is because I just do a perfect job of explaining everything in the lesson videos, right? ; )
The score is attached below. I'll see everyone with another classic tune in a month.
YouTube performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVTaBRqAI-4
YouTube Patron private lesson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLzCNv9K6PE
**Updated 8-17-23**
All: When reviewing the passage that begins on measure 25 and ends on measure 29 I noticed there were additional bass notes present and I have updated the score to reflect this. Please take note of the change and be mindful of the fact that this will differ slightly from how it is taught in the lesson video. This now brings it in line with how he plays it when the phrase switches to the minor mode in mm. 79-84.
Comments
Thanks for this Gregory!
Andrew Lardner
2024-04-02 16:03:39 +0000 UTCHi Andrew,I just started on Ojo. The thing that drew me to your lessons at first was Thoth Song. I was looking for some help figuring it out, and I heard you play it sounding almost just like Peter Lang. I see a lot of people offering to teach you how to play songs, but they don't really sound the same. You always sound like the originals. I consider it an awesome investment being a patron. Thank you for another authentic lesson that teaches how to play a great song correctly!
Gregory Greer
2024-04-02 05:51:57 +0000 UTCStephen, I’ve been using the same pair of Rode NT-5 mics for around 12 years. I wish I had a drawer full of different sdc’s to try but can’t reasonably afford some of the nicer stuff. I don’t do anything special with placement, I like the mic bar I use because it is quite wide, it’s made by manfrotto. Mics are typically placed around 2ft apart, and usually within 1ft of the guitar. I usually point the left at the neck joint and the right at the bridge. I pan them hard left and right, I don’t know why but I like the extreme difference in sound of the two. They both will sound not too great if listening to them independently, but it always sounds right to me in stereo, my feeling is it kind of simulates what our ears hear, a different take on ORTF. Nothing special in post, just bringing levels up, usually through compression but not in a way that removes dynamics, removing frequencies below 60, rarely any eq unless there seems to be an annoying frequency jumping out, I only use eq to remove never to add. I feel eq can be managed with mic placement. I wish I had more time to dedicate to special techniques in post but I have to keep it utilitarian.
Andrew Lardner
2023-08-13 17:59:57 +0000 UTCHi Andrew, thanks again for this great lesson. The YT recording is so lovely, I'm wondering if you can share a little of your recording technique/gear? I can see a couple of small condensers? It's hard to see how far away they are from the guitar and the direction they're pointed - what's your normal set up? Anything special in the post? I'd love to be able to emulate that tone (and the beautiful playing, of course).
Stephen Wigney
2023-08-13 03:57:39 +0000 UTC
