TEDGlobal 2012
Usman Riaz + Preston Reed: A young guitarist meets his hero
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Usman Riaz is a 21-year-old whiz at the percussive guitar, a style he learned to play by watching his heroes on YouTube. The TED Fellow plays onstage at TEDGlobal 2012 -- followed by a jawdropping solo from the master of percussive guitar, Preston Reed. And watch these two guitarists take on a very spur-of-the-moment improv.
Preston Reed - Revolutionary Guitarist
Preston Reed’s hands have an otherworldly coordination. The fingers, nails, thumbs, and palms of both left and right dance, pluck, strum, and slap his guitar, which bursts with a full sound. Full bioUsman Riaz - Artist, composer
TED Senior Fellow Usman Riaz is an artist and composer. Full bio
Preston Reed’s hands have an otherworldly coordination. The fingers, nails, thumbs, and palms of both left and right dance, pluck, strum, and slap his guitar, which bursts with a full sound. Full bioUsman Riaz - Artist, composer
TED Senior Fellow Usman Riaz is an artist and composer. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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Chris Anderson: You guys were amazing.
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That's amazing.
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You just don't hear that every day.
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(Laughter)
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Usman, the official story is that
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you learned to play the guitar
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by watching Jimmy Page on YouTube.
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Usman Riaz: Yes, that was the first one. And then I --
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That was the first thing I learned,
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and then I started progressing to other things.
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And I started watching Kaki King a lot,
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and she would always cite Preston Reed as a big influence,
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so then I started watching his videos,
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and it's very surreal right now to be --
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(Laughter)
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CA: Was that piece just now,
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that was one of his songs that you learned, or how did that happen?
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UR: I'd never learned it before,
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but he told me that we would be playing that on stage,
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so I was familiar with it, so that's why I had so much more fun learning it.
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And it finally happened, so ...
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(Laughter)
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CA: Preston, from your point of view,
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I mean, you invented this like 20 years ago, right?
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How does it feel to see someone like this
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come along taking your art and doing so much with it?
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Preston Reed: It's mind-blowing,
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and I feel really proud, really honored.
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And he's a wonderful musician, so it's cool.
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(Laughter)
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CA: I guess, I don't think there is like a one-minute other piece you guys can do?
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Can you? Do you jam? Do you have anything else?
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PR: We haven't prepared anything.
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CA: There isn't. I'll tell you what.
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If you have another 30 or 40 seconds,
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and you have another 30 or 40 seconds,
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and we just see that, I just think --
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I can feel it. We want to hear a little more.
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And if it goes horribly wrong, no worries.
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ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Preston Reed - Revolutionary GuitaristPreston Reed’s hands have an otherworldly coordination. The fingers, nails, thumbs, and palms of both left and right dance, pluck, strum, and slap his guitar, which bursts with a full sound.
Why you should listen
Most guitarists the world over play their instruments in essentially the same way: the left hand holds the neck and applies pressure to each string to change notes, while the right hand plays the melody. Not so with Preston Reed.
In the 1980s, Reed began playing his instrument in new ways, sometimes twisting his left hand to pick out a melody while the right hand strummed accompaniment or tapping the guitar’s body like a drum. A new playing style was born, with deep chords, complex percussion, and weightless melodies. And he's inspired new generations of guitarists to further innovate on the genre he pioneered.
Preston Reed | Speaker | TED.com
Usman Riaz - Artist, composer
TED Senior Fellow Usman Riaz is an artist and composer.
Why you should listen
Usman Riaz is the founder of Mano Animation Studios -- Pakistans first hand-drawn animation studio. Their first project, The Glassworker (شیشہ گر), was created by a team of creatives from Pakistan, Malaysia, Canada, South Africa, the US and the UK.
Usman Riaz | Speaker | TED.com