Thou Art Free by Saturnus

Acoustic cover of Thou Art Free by Danish death-doom band Saturnus. I remember hearing this for the first time 20 years ago and it’s deep poetic melancholy stuck in my mind. Simple piece but problematic, the transitions are harsh even after months of practising. I felt like I had to record it in order to move on with other things but I would like to return in a year or two.

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What a beautiful piece Radek and you played it really skilfully and with feeling. Your months of practise have paid off. The birdsong in the background also lent to the atmosphere of the music.
That was a lovely start to my day. Well done.

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Hi Radek,
That was already a very nice spheric song :sunglasses: :clap:, and I can see the difficulty in it, it already sounds great, o but it would be great if it came out 100% right…nice prospect…I’m eagerly looking forward to it :smiley:

Greetings

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A lovely piece played very nicely, Radek. Not sure how much your guitar had to do with the sound or what was used to record it but I found it very “bright”. It sounded good but I’m wondering what it would be like played on a classical guitar.
Edit: actually my phone is part of what I heard. I’ll listen later on headphones.

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I love it Radek well done so nice to listen to cheers Hec

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Beautiful music, Radek! Thank you for sharing.

Hello Radek, it sounded really lovely to me :blush:

having the fingers dance gracefully on the fretboard is no easy thing, but you’re well on your way to it; I struggle with this aspect myself.

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I’d never heard this song before. I don’t know what it’s supposed to sound like, but your rendition has got to be close. If you improve on this, I don’t know if I can listen without crying. Beautiful, just beautiful. :clap:

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Thank you Gordon. There are pieces of music, even obscure as this one, that carry a personal meaning. I’m happy that you noticed birds in the background, if I remember correctly there were birds in the original song too.

Thanks Roger. Yes, I agree, it would be great if it was 100%. I just need to be faster, or slower on the whole piece. Anyway, something to continue working on.

Thank you John. Phone speakers tend to render the music more metallic than it actually is but of course recording this piece on classical guitar would give it a more mellow and softer tone. Unfortunately I don’t have a classical instrument just yet.

Thanks Hec!

Thank you kindly Tosh!

Thanks Silvia. This particular transition to barre chord at this speed proved problematic but I’ll keep working on it.

Thank you Donna. The original has a bit different tuning and this is only an acoustic rendition, the whole song is written for a band so there are compromises.

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Hi Radek!
Really appreciate this moving piece & enjoyed listening to your rendition! My only critique would be to keep your picking hand moving & force your fretting hand to keep up… easier said than done, I know, but the pauses disrupt the “flow” & the feeling that this beautiful song deserves! You are very close, I think… maybe a slower tempo & just keeping with it…
Very lovely & emotion filled though as you played it! Thank you for sharing!!!

Tod

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Thank you kindly Tod. You are absolutely right, either play it slower or smooth the transition at the current speed. Or it could be something in between. I already improved the hiccup so at some point I will return to this piece and re-record it.