Getting into Kevin Morrissey’s Sound
Alright, so I spent some time recently digging into Kevin Morrissey’s stuff. Heard a track somewhere, and it just stuck with me, you know? Had this particular vibe I wanted to get my hands around, figure out how it worked.
First thing I did was just listen. A whole lot. Put the specific song I liked on repeat. Didn’t even pick up an instrument yet, just tried to absorb the feel of it, the rhythm, the way the different parts meshed together. You gotta understand the whole picture before you start fiddling with the pieces, I reckon.
Then came the tricky part. Trying to figure out the guitar line that caught my ear. It wasn’t super complicated, but it had this unique phrasing. I searched around, looked for people talking about his playing style, trying to find some clues. Not much luck finding exact instructions, which is usually the case with these less mainstream artists.
So, I just sat down with my old guitar. Had to do it the old-fashioned way.
- Listen, pause, rewind. Played a few seconds, tried to mimic it by ear.
- Slowed it down. Used some software to reduce the speed without changing the pitch too much. That helped break down the faster bits.
- Trial and error. A lot of it. My fingers fumbled quite a bit initially. Hit plenty of wrong notes. Sounded pretty rough for a while there.
- Focused on small chunks. Didn’t try to learn the whole thing at once. Mastered one little phrase, then the next, then tried stitching them together.
Honestly, it took a few evenings. Just chipping away at it. Sometimes you hit a wall, feel like you’re not getting anywhere. Put the guitar down, made a coffee, came back later. You can’t force it.
Eventually, I started getting it. The fingers found the right spots more often. The rhythm started to click into place. It wasn’t a perfect copy, mind you. Never is. But it felt like I captured the essence of that part I liked. You could recognize it, you know?
The Payoff
Felt pretty good, actually. It’s satisfying to deconstruct something you appreciate and then build it back up yourself, even in a small way. It’s not about becoming Kevin Morrissey, obviously. It’s about the process. The listening, the fumbling, the slow progress. That’s the real practice. Getting that little piece under my fingers felt like a decent accomplishment for the week.
