On November 16, Yuba College hosted a trio of acoustic guitarists to perform at the theater that evening, as part of the college’s acoustic series of the semester. These three performers aren’t your typical guitarists, however, as they are called the Trio 7 for a reason. The trio consists of Matthew Grasso, Harry Stoddard, and Matthew Foley. Each of them performed using a 7-string guitar, giving them a wider range of sound to the guitar.
The Trio 7 performed their own transcriptions of popular symphonic compositions from famous composers ranging from Stravinsky, to Bach, and to Debussy. The trio even performed songs from movies while involving the audience in a game to guess the song titles, as well as what film it was featured in. That just made the night even more fun.
The acoustic sounds were simply stunning and beautiful. Playing with an acoustic instrument meant that there were no cords, no plugs, and no analog signal. Performance is strictly through the sounds of the instrument’s chambers and the acoustic of the ballroom. Despite having written transcriptions in front of them, the trio really played off one another much like an improv session. This created mood and atmosphere, and most of all, variation. More reason to watch live performances.
The trio also did a lot of string tuning in between songs, and although some people may call it tedious or a drawback to acoustic guitars, I prefer to see it as an extra layer of skills. Being able to tune your guitar accordingly for the next song by ear and on the spot is definitely skillful.
The turnout for the Trio 7 performance was sadly a lowly result. I didn’t see many Yuba College students attending an event that’s held in their own campus theater, their own backyard. But fortunately, the community in Marysville and Yuba City did come to support these talented musicians.
If you’re interested to hear more, visit www.trioseven.com and check them out.
Capa is the mild-mannered, culturally-confused English major of The Prospector. As an aspiring novelist he thrives to write simply for the sake of writing. Other than writing he spends most of his free time on music and video games, sometimes even combining the two. Also likes to think he’s up in the-know with technology. No, not really. Reach him at prospector.clo@gmail.com for comments and/or suggestions.
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