Erik Mongrain: Performing Acoustic Artist, Self-Taught Composer and Musician

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Erik Mongrain was born in Montreal on April 12, 1980. When he was young, he was more into sports than music.

Growing up to the sounds of Metallica, Jimi Hendrix and mostly Kurt Cobain from Nirvana, Erik discovered an interest in guitar. At 14, he received a classical guitar as a gift and learnt by ear his favorite songs. A year later, he bought his very first electric guitar which allowed him to learn and play Nirvana songs to his delight.

Over the following four years, he learned guitar on his own, composed his own music and discovered Jean-Sebastian Bach’s classical guitar melodies, which he learned by heart. Around the age of 18, he discovered a Canadian guitar giant who goes by the name of Don Ross.

It was during this period in his life that Erik chose acoustic guitar as his favorite musical instrument through which he wished to share his passion with others around him. He made another major discovery with the contemporary music of a Californian named Michael Hedges. "It was a true revelation tome, I had finally found my niche" stated Erik. He is still a great fan of Michael Hedges to this day. During that time, he discovered and experimented a technique, which was unknown to him until then, "lap tapping" – "I immediately adopted that technique." With the guitar on his lap, he tapped the chords as if it were a piano. The effect was spectacular! People passing by on the streets were his first "fans". Over those years, Erik played in streets and subway stations in Montreal, in the U.S. as well as in Europe. In Granada, Spain, a journalist came across this young Montrealer, who was then 21, sitting on the sidewalk and playing his guitar. Impressed by his talent, he wrote an article in the "Granada" newspaper and made the following prediction:

As another great guitar tapping player, Stanley Jordan, Mongrain started out in the streets of Granada, he will continue on in the Barcelona subway and will probably end up recording on world class major labels

Jesus Arias, Granada, May 18, 2001

Erik is a musician who is constantly researching and exploring the world of music. For almost two years now, Erik has resumed standard guitar posture and has been writing at tremendous speed songs in which the harmonies and melodies are profoundly inspired.

It is often said that one cannot fight fate. From streets to T.V. sets, this young self-taught guitar player has not betrayed the old saying. 2007, Erik Mongrain launches his first CD entitled "Fates" …and now "Equilibrium" to the delight of music lovers..

In this company, there are often times when you feel profoundly fortunate, and lucky to have a job such as JamPlay.com. The
week of 4/28/09 was certainly one of those times. A week
when you constantly have to refocus to do your job,
and often get caught watching in awe instead of
panning a camera. I'll shut up and continue later...
watch the video and we will pick back up further
down the page.

When I first heard of Erik, and viewed the infamous "Air Tap!" video that put his name on the map, I knew he'd be a prime candidate for our staff. Seeing (and imagining) a style such as lap-tapping, I felt, would be a great refresher for the site and ourselves, and dive into an acoustic world we hadn't touched yet. So needless to say, I was excited to first meet up with him and his manager, Benoit (good guy!), in February at the House of Blues in Cleveland, OH, where he was performing an opening set with The Derek Trucks Band. Lots of conversation and 3 hours later, we were in for filming in April. Fast forward.

The first time we have a new teacher in for a filming session, we usually allow a full day of brainstorming and amalgamating lesson ideas. But after the first few hours of plotting lessons and mocking up the studio, Aaron and I began to realize that few techniques he uses are conventional, and he really didn't have the technical theory to fully articulate everything he was doing. I quickly realized that nothing about these lessons was going to be standard, from the logistical aspect of camera angles or mic placements, to the lesson format and material.

But so be it; this is the "Artist Series" where anything goes. On the first day of filming, he said he wanted to do lessons on all of his "moves". Being the naive, electric guitar slinging idiot that I am, I thought what on earth, this isn't ballroom dancing, who has moves? But it's true, the guy has freaking moves. Pats, taps, slaps, wipes, flicks, pops; he uses small fragments and motions that have been crafted to perfection, and sometimes only appear for a blink during a composition. I jokingly asked if he was going to install a 4-inch snare drum on the body of his next guitar; and he certainly didn't laugh it off. A day later, I distinctly remember a lesson to which Erik affirmed, "This move, 1,000 hours of practice". So while some people may call him a "talent" or "gifted", that didn't come from a flash in the sky or without ingenuity filled, tireless commitment.

Along with his "moves", we also filmed a lot of open-dialogue style lessons about composition, performing, and instrumentation. Erik has an unmistakable sound, and a spacious tone that he has tailored for the past 10 years. Accordingly, every millimeter of his instrument is mission-critical, from the body size, nut, bridge pins, to pegs. He has tried just about every material on the planet, and even needs a certain amount of dirt on the instrument to get things sounding correctly. On the final day of the trip, we used the high speed camera to capture some of Erik's more intricate techniques, which should allow everyone to analyze his playing a bit more thoroughly.

The instant Erik left for his flight back to Canada, Aaron and I felt both inspired and worried. Worried because we just filmed 20 "lessons" that will probably be entertainment for most of us, that will have no supplemental content, and that teach "moves" that only a handful of people will take the hundreds of hours needed to properly master. And inspired... because surely enough, his visit had me grabbing my instrument with renewed spirits, unafraid to tune to A, A, A, B, B, A and see what happens. Here's a shot at a pretty feeble parallel: I've always shunned the expression "think outside the box". Maybe I'm unlucky with the phrase, but it always seems to come from the mouths of people who reeked of colorless efforts to inspire where inspiration didn't exist. But while I can reject "the box", it seems like Erik didn't even know it existed. And as I sat around dumping footage from his trip, I couldn't help but be a little encouraged by this resolved, almost blind approach to music and guitar.

Erik is self-taught, and mostly theory-less... which defies the book-worm-to-success ideology we sometimes rely on. As he talked about in the video above, he knows he notes... but mainly relies on his ear. Aaron and I often talk about theory as the necessary evil when your ear fails you, (e.g., a good ear will tell you the note is out of tune or not in the scale, and you won't need a textbook to show you (yes, I still need the book, shh)). I'm not sure if Erik proves our theory or not, but the guy certainly has the ears. He retunes during song performances, gets visibly pissed when a note won't stay in, and even gets annoyed with birds chirp too sharp or flat. Seriously.

Along with being a gifted composer, I think Erik is a master of exploiting some of the nuances involved in guitar playing. Most especially: dynamics. His audio peaks are a composition within themselves, and if you are squinting to hear something in his score, that isn't by mistake. In a world slowly being dominated by loudness wars and compression, there's no mistaking his approach to dynamic range. Quite frankly, it has me nervous to adjust thresholds and ratios.

All guitar playing aside and after talking with Erik, you begin to realize that your life has been pretty small in comparison. You start to consider that you may have lived in 3 homes in your life, but he's busked in numerous countries. Some of us are middle class, some rich, some poor... he is on his way to doing all 3 before being 30 years old. And to round out my poorly-drafted conclusion; we may give up some time for a passion, but he gave up his lifestyle.

I won't pretend like I know Erik's life story, or can recite his full progression as a musician, but after 5 days of filming and conversation, I can say with certainty that he is an artist. Not a professor, nor a savant (maybe to us commoners, but that is a big word to throw around), but a true artist. And not the nose-in-air "ahhhrtist", he's just a guy desperately trying to compose the music in his head... and he's doesn't seem to mind if you are paying attention or not. There's something to be admired in that; maybe it's the courage needed to expose yourself, or the willingness to give up everything just to express yourself. Either way, I never had the feeling like he picked up the instrument to become some famous musician. I also never caught wind of him being 110% content with one of his compositions. He still seems to be despondently digging for more of his music. Speaking only for myself, that detached, self-imposed struggle, is most certainly a requisite for artistry...and I'm on board.

And finally, as I look back and clumsily write this long-winded blog, I keep finding myself considering what could be (at least in my opinion) the key mannerism Erik has finely tuned in his wild journey; Perception. I always thought that was the key ingredient that makes JamPlay... JamPlay. It's is why we have 26 teachers, why we don't mind overlapping lesson material, and why people like Erik can walk in and turn the tide on what you thought you knew about learning this instrument. It's what he has mastered by performing in both subways and concert halls, living in both the streets and finely remodeled apartments, and accepting musical direction by both Michael Hedges and James Hetfield. I can't help but to be intrigued by his inspirational foundation, but thankfully, his music allows us to make our own connections.

Cheers.

Take the time to purchase your favorite songs by Erik. Both albums are listed below, with direct links to purchase from Amazon or iTunes.

Erik Mongrain on the Web Artist Website | Myspace

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• EquilibriumReleased in 2008Purchase from AmazonPurchase from iTunes

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• FatesReleased in 2007Purchase from AmazonPurchase from iTunes