Michael Hedges: Aerial Boundaries

I was always impressed with the music of the late Michael Hedges since I first heard his music on a mid 1980s Windham Hill sampler album. He may have been one of the driving forces to bring back the popularity of the harp guitar.

His approach to the six string acoustic guitar is unorthodox at best. The tuning is a modal tuning of C2 C3 D3 G3 A3 D4 – the low C gives the guitar that bass like quality. He uses tapping, hammer ons, pull offs, harmonics, and a two handed technique that mimics someone playing the Chapman Stick.

The title cut from his second album “Aerial Boundaries” is the first song I heard him perform. In was released in 1984 and the album was nominated for the Grammy for the Best Engineered Album. Sadly it didn’t win.

This is a later live re-recording of the same song. How do I know – his hair is much shorter in this video and probably was recorded in the mid to late 90s. I am not sure of the guitar, but I believe it is a Martin 000-28. What a great song and a perfect addition to our Tasty Licks Tuesday collection.

The world lost an incredible talent when he died in a car accident in 1997.