Excellent guitar fretting technique from Botswana

[Video Link] I wonder if she is using open tuning. It sounds like it. In any case, I love the sound and the technique! UPDATE: (Meara O'Reilly posted this video in 2010!)

Mark Frauenfelder is the founder of Boing Boing and the editor-in-chief of MAKE and Cool Tools. Twitter: @frauenfelder. Come and hear Mark speak at the ALA conference in Chicago on July 1.

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xian

My two year old son and I really enjoyed that!
snagglepuss

Vampire Weekend SHOULD learn something from this, but they probably won’t.
http://profiles.google.com/joshuabardwell Joshua Bardwell

From the wear marks on the neck, it appears that she plays this song a lot!
Rod Crossland

That’s actually a man playing. I think Boing Boing covered this a few years back. http://boingboing.net/2010/03/18/happy-new-year-luie.html
- Paul Renault
  
  Agreed, look at that prefrontal ridge!
  
  While the fretting is whimsical, the strumming is what gives it that characteristic sound.
  
  Is this the same guy?
  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMsA_1YA82w
  
  We now have a name!
xzzy

That seems a lot easier on the wrists than the standard way of playing a guitar.
http://www.favabank.co.uk/ Favabank

That was great, nice piece of music. Jeff Healey plays over the top of the neck lick that too… Has anyone worked out the tuning?
merreborn

There’s at least one tuner completely missing, and possibly as few as 3 strings on that guitar.
- jtegnell
  
  When he leans back you can see a fourth string — it looks to me as if the 2nd and 6th strings are missing.
scottunder

Ack! The idea that won’t die. Ronnie Moipolai is a Botswanan man — there are even videos of him playing shirtless, as if he knew this error was occurring. Also, he is not the only person to use the overhand technique in Botswana, where it appears to be a local specialty.
Chandler Lewis

She must’ve studied with Jad Fair.
evanismyname

actually it’s a man his name is Ronnie
- Chandler Lewis
  
  Yeah, just followed the historilink. I have to admit, I really thought he was a she. I wonder if there is not something in translation messing with (a) my understanding of gender cues or (2) pronouns. Am confused.
  
  But still totally jazzed on the music!
alrom

Notice that his guitar has only 4 strings: one bass string and three more that I guess are in an open tuning. Really cool. I’m loving the whole Bokete7 youtube channel!!!
Hm on second thought there might be 5 strings there.
Matthew Stalbaum

I love how unfazed he looks while playing so awesomely.
Guest

This is a thing that white people like.
- Mark_Frauenfelder
  
  Yes, and…?
Angryjim

Oh yeah? Check out this dude: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRJANJk5JjI&feature=share
- millie fink
  
  Hmph. That’s some pretty hokey pokin.
Rusty Evolution

I’ll be hanging with Ronnie in Botswana next April. If I can, I’ll see about slicing off some more vidtunes to post. Also, learn to gender ID.
randyman

Freakin’ extraordinary.

We humans can be pretty hot stuff, when we’re not making guns or bombs.
Charlie B

Bassekou Kouyate plays ngoni ba standing up.
Bob Knetzger

The hand tricks of knuckle, palm and finger fretting, etc. reminds me of Chico Marx’s piano playing: seeing it done is the main appeal!
- Marktech
  
  The hand tricks of knuckle, palm and finger fretting, etc. reminds me of Chico Marx’s piano playing: seeing it done is the main appeal!
  
  Reminds me also of Slim Gaillard, who used to do tricks like that. As seen at the start of my all-time favourite dance clip.
unklstuart

The lowest string is tuned to F, next string is missing, The normally D string would then be tuned to C, the next string down (normally G) is tuned to A with the 5th string tuned to a C also. The bottom string is missing too giving you an F Major chord. My best guess.
- BijouxBoy
  
  Yes 5. The 5th string is missing. What was going on with the bass notes? I couldn’t see how that was being fretted, sounded like another player somewhere but I am sure it was one guitar. but it was out of sync a little so it’s hard to catch nuance….
journey46

sweet ! thanks for turning me on to this particular sound.
love the hand rolling technique.
alternate tunings are a lot of fun !
ask richie havens, leo kottke, stephen stills, david crosby and joni mitchell.
kartwaffles

I love it! Just last night I happened to find something uncannily similar – an old woman in Belarus playing slide guitar using a light bulb, with the same over-the-top technique. Dig it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dAobIpnkCNw

In 2012, unorthodox-fretting guitar people will be the new ukulele girls. It is a prediction, I tell you.
http://noctilucent-studios.blogspot.com/ Noctilucent Studios

I hope Paul Simon hasn’t seen this yet…
matt1shortsez

Sounds like on bass string and two strings for the melody. I wish a moderator would correct the mistake about Ronnie’s gender in the caption under the clip.
http://borborygmist.influxofdust.com/ Wayne Dyer

Thumbs Carllile has used as similar but less dramatic technique since the 40′s.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRt87_Wxzn4
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenneth_Carllile
- http://borborygmist.influxofdust.com/ Wayne Dyer
  
  Oops. Tense problem. Thumbs isn’t with us anymore.
http://twitter.com/snarf Snarf

Another option is to use a spoon : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCKTeRW3OhQ

Although I will admit the holding of the guitar i different here.
Howard Wright

Tuning sounds like an open-E style tuning (with some strings missing), but in the key of F. From lowest to highest you have F, A, C and F. Slightly confusing in that the top 3 strings being played (A C F) are “one string down” in position, i.e. they look like what are normally D G and B strings, but in terms of pitch correspond to open-F tuned versions of the G B and E strings.
http://cardboardcats.blogspot.com/ Goner Doug

Reminds me of square-neck resonator & lap steel styles usually done in that over the top of the neck style with a slide and open tuning like this random YouTube vid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2vl6JWDf_c
JimmerSD

Sounds like DADGAD