Canadian Guitar Festival 2010: Finalist 1, Song 2 - 1st Place (Calum Graham)

[tremoloheart]

From the angle that this video was recorded, note that you never see his thumb on the fretting hand, attesting to proper hand position. It allows for more fluidity. Also, I'd bet he has fewer injuries and aches and pains, in general, that many guitarists experience. Anyway, he's a very good musician.

[rdn123ify]

I love his hair ^.^

[bobbinman123]

Anyone have the tuning?

[NotOrdinaryInGames]

The only finalist who held the guitar properly.

[tremoloheart]

@NotOrdinaryInGames ..exactly. you never see his thumb on the left hand because he has it on the back of the neck where it's supposed to be.

[rollerking360]

what is with him making faces and moving his hand slowly when u strums it sorry its too much he just looks like hes trying to show off way to much just play the song dude

[TheBleedingFace]

@rollerking360 Shut up. This is amazing.

[ALightForTheLost]

@rollerking360 If you had any musical sense, you would know that's passion. When someone puts their heart into music like this kid here, they lose themselves in the moment. It's not about "showing off". I can pretty much guarantee that he forgot that there was anyone else other than himself and his guitar. In the future, just appreciate the beauty of music before you complain about aesthetics. It makes you look ignorant.

[PipersGrip]

@rollerking360 As a musician, I make some weird faces, and I don't even realize it. People always tell me they enjoy watching my face, and I didn't know it until I saw a video of myself. Same with our guitarist, he makes the best faces, and he doesn't even realize he does.

[mlands100]

This guy is awesome! But i have to say... Justin st. pierre should have gotten first! His first song was amazing!!! Although Calum is a great musician!

[ohioguitarguy27]

this is amazing!!!!

[AmundLauritzen]

Winning first place with DON ROSS in the jury! I can't think of a better acknowledgement for a guitarist in that style. This piece is beautiful, and played with great sensibility. This boy will go far with music!

[NFLDColin]

just goes to show its not all abut how crazy fast u can play its about that u put into what u play well done!

[Samuelfodao]

BRASIL IN COMMENTS

LINDA DEMAIS ESSA MUSICA

[PaarungsaktAktiv]

there are some top comments i am not able to read.. :D

[mayukhmisra99]

Best Guitar piece ever

[grapht06]

someone know the real models of this guitar plz??

[TexasFIshingMike]

One of the best guitarist I have heard. So much control and finesse. Awesome just awesome.... Love the harmonics.....

[Xylophunk]

worst hairstyle ever.

[MissTastyxo]

I went to high school with this kid. :)

[tanyank7]

justin king brought me here<3 

[jmaltube]

SICK!

[Fr3derick]

Excellent

Grandma Mary

[sreyat]

A beautiful composition that is simply lovely to listen to. Full of emotion and soul-stirring! Well done, Calum.

[69whomyself]

great

[kellydymond]

wow!! that was amazing, thank you!

[Fr3derick]

Awesome. Thanks for sharing:)

Grandma Mary

[CoolHistoireBro]

quite a moving pieces, great choice to play this. nice

[jalenguita]

muy bueno che!!!!

[luizcbc]

this awesome! this is perfect! this is one of the best things i've ever heard!

[Flemzo]

StumbleUpon brought me here two days ago, and I can't stop listening to it.

[FlyStyleFree]

は非常によくプレーした。 好青年だ。



[Luckzzz]

I came here because Ben Lapps.. :)

[luizcbc]

really, really good. i'm usually really demanding; i've been studing music for a long time and i learned to notice whether a person is really playing or just using some lame effects to "pretend". this is real music. congratulations. very creative.

[yummpyummp]

you have to be a negative mfucker to dislike

[dzingari]

I was thinking to start playing guitar, but this guy really gets me discouraged. Awesome time control and technique.

[americanFS]

passion brought me here

[SxYang12]

You shall be my guitar teacher and i shall call you my guitar teacher XD your beast bro keep it up.

[EpicDJTime]

Does ANYONE know the title of this song? If any?

[kbui97]

@EpicDJTime In the description - "The Channel" :)

[EpicDJTime]

@kbui97 Thanks:) i knew i heard it sometime awhile ago, i for the life of me couldn't remember where lol.

[NozomixSmile]

LOVE this<3<3 this makes my day shine! thank you!

[48203Angel]

i really like this :-)

[juliettedevette]

OMG! it's the real august rush!!

[MEFuckin]

damn those harmonics.. fuckin killin! well done! *clap clap clap.. :))

[a0a0aful]

なかなかの好青年だ。

[motoronna]

@a0a0aful はい、彼は非常によくプレーした。

[a0a0aful]

@motoronna

If he is professional guitarist, has he made his debut in Japan? He not only has almost perfect guitar technique, but also he is handsome :)　The good-looking is the important factor to succeed in Japan as show business, even if he is not flippant entertainer.

He should come to Japan to give his excellent performance. He may be able to win popularity there.

I would like to appreciate his guitar play live, too.

[motoronna]

@a0a0aful He's on his way to becoming professional and has a new CD coming out soon. You can contact him directly via his web site: w w w -dot- calumgraham -dot- com. Cheers!

[pinkykinky34567]

absolutely amazing. Your an inspiration:)

[beardlessjoebae]

i love 4:08 and that blues sounding part

[EricDenney]

the worst part is at 6:02

[MrBubble213]

beutiful song , wonderfully played !, i'm having alot of trouble finding the knee rest that i see alot of fingerstyle guitarists use, it would help me alot moving around the kneck especailly on this song but i cant find anywhere here in the uk , can anybody help me out with info whats there actually called/ suppliers etc ??, any help much appreciated

[rinnionjast]

@MrBubble213 they tend to be used by classical guitarists, but a lot of fingerstyle guitarists are starting to use them too! they're called guitar supports. Your best bet is probably an Ergoplay, just the original model - you can buy them online, but there are probably suppliers in the UK. try a music shop that sells classical guitars. Good Luck with your playing and hope this helps!

[MrBubble213]

@rinnionjast Thanks a lot for taking the time to reply rinnionjast , brillliant recomendation thanks dont know how i didnt find the Ergoplay website before but thats just what i was looking for, ive got my order in for it already!, thanks again helped alot ! best of luck to you

[TheDJNaylor]

I have listened to Calum's other music and it does nothing for me. I love him for this song lol. I would have had to give him a hug or some shit after seeing this.

[TheOptioneerJM]

Definitely a talent to watch for. Amazing!

[Glx789]

Very good o/

[manee1982com]

really NICE

[eglovesjazz]

Awesome..

[cptspoofy]

Wow this is incredible. This kid has some extreme talent. I'd love to jam with him sometime.

[roffy89]

and the crowd didnt give him a standing ovation??? well i would of looked like a DICK if i was there!!!!!!!! amazing

[motoronna]

@roffy89 The crowd was actually fairly small. Remember that it's a competition where each of the twenty-two contestants plays two songs each, followed by each of the five semi-finalists playing another two each. It's really cool, but it's hard to get worked up about any particular contestant - and you wouldn't want to throw any of them off by getting too boisterous.

[RumbleGuts2112]

@motoronna I disagree - this guy was nervous and far too clynical - a rousing audience would have helped him to say fuck it win or loose im here to play

Peace

[thiagobpinheiroo2007]

Nice song and nice playing too.

[thebigLamuzki]

uh, i should just sell all my guitars and amps... cuz whatever it is i'm doing can't even be called playing compared to this guy!

[Stefanie822002]

wow great song.... i must absolutely work on my skills :)

[ibanezplayer91]

this is absolutey true composition, its wonderfull for so many different reasons, great music

[akuhdeemeeuh]

*speechless* :)

[CptCrunchie]

@intomuse I was first introduced to open G and D tuning listening to Leo Kottke's Bruised Orange album when it first came out, ...and have been playing around with it since. If given credit to anyone for Open Tuning, I would give it directly to Leo Kottke.

Tell me this isn't open tuning: youtube.com/watch?v=lnQTC5ICGi­k

[CptCrunchie]

Pure Canadian talent and genius!

[intomuse]

I'll add that it's probably not fair to compare Graham to the world class talents of Kottke and Vidovic. Maybe he'll be a world class talent some day too. I just prefer the standard tuning over the open tuning works.

[CptCrunchie]

@intomuse Kettke NEVER uses standard tuning, and I'm sure Kottke would be the first to sing this 19yo praises!

[intomuse]

the poundy guitar style. these open tuning compositions that are becoming so popular all sound alike.  i vastly prefer the works of a Leo Kottke or Ana Vidovic any day of the week. do a search on either or both names and you'll hear what i'm talking about. very nice technique employed by Mr. Graham here, but these open tuning compositions simply don't compare to what the standard tuning allows. this is pretty music, but what Leo & Ana do is beautiful music.

[basoon91]

Bend at 4:00 is simply orgasmic

[gahobby]

is there somewhere i can get the audio version? that was beautiful..

[motoronna]

@gahobby It should be on his next album, which is due out towards the end of this year. Cheers!

[NEXutTORUSramenMETAL]

I'm trying to think of something to say that would do this song justice, but I just can't

[Fuckyourmomupthebum]

2:25 blew my mind. This is just beautiful in ever aspect of the word.

[annas20087]

i wish that i was there....

[Marshudo]

I am absolutely inspired, this is incredible. Wow. 

[reconwolf307]

the first chorus gave me goosebumps

[blatcher18]

( ಠ ›ಠ) Wise owl accepts this performance. You may pass.

[Derekmexican]

well thank you StumbleUpon, my ears just came

[ElectricS45]

Those harmonics are awesome.

[dificil2112]

O M G

[thfernan]

aux 9 connards qui n'aiment pas; allez vous acheter des oreilles ...

[mwebful]

9 people are bitter about their lack of guitar skills

[SWORD678912]

Hum...Wonderful ? I don't got any orther words to this. Congrat Calum :)

[huntrosofsparta]

Ellen DeGeneres can play the shit out of a guitar. Who knew?

[huntrosofsparta]

Ellen DeGeneres can play the shit out of a guitar. Who knew?

[huntrosofsparta]

Ellen DeGeneres can play the shit out of a guitar. Who knew?

[marimint]

9 people are deaf...

[Patismint94]

he's a bit good on that guitar

[CarrionAngell]

is this song written in DADGAD? im inspired. im so inspired. i wanna work on something similar.

[motoronna]

@CarrionAngell It might be D-A-D-E-A-E, low to high, according to an earlier commenter (MrJoshPC). Calum might have tabs on his web site. cheers

[13mdark]

@motoronna that's not true. hearing the high string seems that the G and E strings are not the same tune

[trapjak]

@CarrionAngell D A D E A E

you can buy the tab/sheet music on his site, I'm learning it now for an audition for a music diploma

[piehead55]

@trapjak Hey, i just bought a tab of his website too. Any chance you can tell me how to actually download it after purchase?? Coz i cant find it anywhere :(

Thanks!

[squashpot]

@piehead55 i bought one, and he emailed me to ask what it was i ordered and then sent it to me over email!

[killmypain]

i know him from backstreet boys.

[SimonLoveridge]

Really beautiful man, your control over dynamics is insane! What tuning are you playing in?

[kiwihogan13]

8 dislikes? really? im guessing they are 8 of the other contestants.... lol

[motoronna]

@kiwihogan13 The tiny number of negative comments seem to come from people that don't even like fingerstyle guitar, so I don't know why they bother watching the video in the first place. The contestants themselves are pretty supportive of each other from what I've seen. cheers!

[DonPaps]

@kiwihogan13 hehe true, how can one not like this =)

[DeGas1001]

is there any chance that i can get the tabs for this? where can i find them?

[motoronna]

@DeGas1001 Check his website - they might be available there.

[giorgio1943]

impressive



[alreadytaken08]

What is this song?

[dankhanks]

@alreadytaken08 "The Channel." It's in the description.

[1337mofo]

its so much better if you dont actually watch him play it

[ZeppelinMan212]

This is phenomenal. That was truly beautiful.

[lookitsagrape1]

i think i jizzed my pants at 0:26

[theejock]

amazing... damn... i feel shitty now

[solidpython]

This guy is the best when you are extrememly high or tripping balls!

[Swax6302]

i like that vain on his right forearm. it's boss.

[250sxfguy]

what kind of guitar is that?

[motoronna]

@250sxfguy Stonebridge. He has three or four. He bought his first one at the festival in 2007, then Air Canada smashed one when he flew to the festival in 2009. He used another one in the 2010 competition, winning yet another as first prize (a cutaway model). I guess he likes them... :-)

[250sxfguy]

@motoronna Not only do they have an amazing tone to them, but they look great. For a moment I thought it was a Crafter, it kind of looks like one haha. I'm going to have to look into a Stonebridge :)

[SEwalksX]

what kind of mic is that?

[motoronna]

@SEwalksX It could be a Rode K2 - it's the PA mic, not mine. I was using a camera-mounted AT822, recording the sound from the PA speakers. I wasn't close enough to pick him up directly.

[bullham]

I bet he gets laid every night

[danhoff15]

4:07 makes me drool

[LeahDino]

I'm pretty sure I'm in LOVE. Who needs Justin Bieber? If this guys single... ! <3

[InfestedChris]

1:21 a fly lands on his guitar

[jiovani17]

how did this lose to trevor gordon hall

[QuadroGaming]

This song is frustrating to play... I tried playing it... I need a new guitar...

[JellyrollHorton]

Very nice...

[bballslasher]

Cant believe hes playing just for 5 years. Man i'm playing longer than him and i suck so bad compared to him.. True talent.

[BadCoverMan]

The little interlude at 2:52 .... Pulls at the heart strings

[jbvalo]

Sheer passion and emotion in this song. Just beautiful.

[lynx155]

The Like button just isnt good enough for this video. Absolutly Amazing

[blackvalor66]

i am jealous of this guy. I wish I was half as good as he.

[alimca87]

7 dislikes? 7 d**kheads

[psykoral]

What is this, amature hour? This is why Canada doesn't have 'real' rock stars. He's decent but, frankly put, mediocre at best. If this is first place than that's pretty sad. Call me up when you have some "Animals as Leaders" type material going on. Youtube THEM and then compare.

[moeron051]

@psykoral I love Animals as Leaders, one of my favorite bands EVER, but you have NO idea what you're talking about. They are two completely different types of music. Be a little more open minded. Not everything's about speed and dexterity.

[psykoral]

@moeron051 well you're right, they are two completely different kinds of music and it's NOT all about speed and dexterity. Yet still, this guy is playskools 'my first song ever' compared to even other guitarists in many different genres. Check out Andy McKee for example.

My point isn't "this song sucks", cause it doesn't really... it's got soul. My point is THIS song took first in a guitar-off?

[moeron051]

@psykoral I mean, truly it's all a matter of opinion, but I think this totally deserves it. It exhibits some beautiful songwriting, technique, and a very patient performance. Not only that, but he's rhythmically flawless! I definitely enjoy it.

Maybe some of the other Candy Rat guys are more advanced (my personal favorite being Antoine Dufour), but I guess what I'm driving at is, I respectfully disagree. :)

[mrchucknorris]

@psykoral

"Real rock stars"...?

First of all, this is an acoustic guitar festival. People are, naturally, going to look to composition before technique. Secondly, Canada has several excellent progressive metal bands- Augury, Martyr and Quo Vadis, to name a few.

[121phoenix121]

6 mins and 2 secs, and i dont want them to end :)

[msi435]

Reminds me of Tsuneo Imahori

[E4rlGrey]

7 people wish they could play guitar like this guy.

[bluntside420]

crowd sucked

[evelynjens]

how is that crowd not fucking raging after he mutes that last note?

[knorrecheck123]

This sounds very similar to Andy Mckee. If you like this, you will probably wanna check his stuff out to.

[generatorium]

What sassy staff is this. I fell asleep

[uremeshi23939]

that was beautiful

[maysixteen34]

I believe he just made love to that guitar...

[gahobby]

@maysixteen34

oh yes.. he most definately did.

[JM12sl]

Man...I wish I had this kind of songwriting creativity....great song

[markiniho]

you are so f good

[franquito1980]

es una de las cosas mas bonitas q he escuchado hasta ahora

[kateyotcha]

wow

wow wow

[GRrocker132]

what tuning is this in?

[motoronna]

@GRrocker132 MrJoshPC says it's D-A-D-E-A-E, low to high.

[killerhobo97]

@motoronna DADDY!

[TreThesk]

Absolutely inspiring.

[Partysauce14]

Can't stop listening to this song!

[DRUMyourgoals]

what tuning?

[BlackBile13]

Technical skill with nothing to say.

Boring and meandering like the bulk of Canadian art.

[FredPhelpsLovesMen]

@BlackBile13 Couldn't have said that better. Really.

[Rodes27]

3 people have a guitar pic stuck in their colon. This is awesome.

[MrFo3hawk]

HOLY SHIT.

[TrailMix360]

guitar should be considered a fucking language!

[XpectThat]

DAMN!

[ashypoox2]

I loved it, I wish I could play guitar half as decent as him.

[flclalchemist156]

I like his hair.

[AlexFreconHD]

This is one very very talented guitar player.

[Drimbz]

4:06 made me so happy dear lord that was good vibes

[EpicShkun]

Very complicated and deep. Therefore, I would prefer listening to "we no speak americano"