Examination of the Evolution of Finger-Style Guitar from 1967-1992

Over the past 50 years, finger-style guitar has emerged not only as a significant music but also as a legitimate focus for study and for scholarship. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee offers the only Bachelor of Fine Arts and Master of Music programs in the world in which a student may choose to specialize in finger-style guitar performance. Our program has attracted students from throughout the United States and from many other countries. In the past year, a remarkable cache of material has surfaced that provides new perspective for our research: Michael J. Lamb, an avid collector, has contributed more than 200 rare audio recordings of concerts from 1967-1992 including performances by Son House, Bert Jansch, John Fahey, Leo Kottke, Leon Redbone, John Hammond, and Michael Hedges. These materials have been digitized in the Conversion and Archiving Lab at UWM. They document a pivotal period in which finger-style guitar was recombining elements of vernacular music and art music. They present us with the opportunity to reconfigure concepts, substantive foci, and methodologies of ethnomusicology and to develop new pedagogical approaches. The analysis of these recordings illuminates the genesis and evolution of these compositions. Accurate written music for “Vaseline Machine Gun” by Leo Kottke has been developed and now provides substantial pedagogical foundation for the performance of this song. This research provides content for classes and studio lessons and material for further research and the continuing development of a unique component of the guitar program at UWM