The talented Jon Gomm visited Guitar-X this week for a masterclass in his unique style of acoustic guitar playing.

Jon has been in the music business for a while and has played many different styles as a session guitarist. Nnow he has created his own style of solo acoustic guitar.

Jon uses the body of the guitar to create percussion whilst playing a melody, bass line and singing, not easy.......... Jon’s influences in this style are guys like Michael Hedges and Don Ross. Jon has also played support to acoustic guitarists including Tommy Emmanuel, Nick Harper and many more.

Jon played us songs from his own albums and also an amazing cover of 'High and Dry' by Radiohead. Jon put his own touch to the song which the band would have been proud of

Jon creates his amazing melodies using harmonics, tapping and even detunes the strings while playing. While doing this he starts singing, (if I hadn’t see this I would believe there were a few guitar players there). He uses a delay pedal with a percussion sound and also a scratching technique giving the music a unique touch.

Jon was asked if he has any specific song writing techniques. He replied that he uses different tunings to give different sound and tone. He also writes his music down in tab because of the different tunings he uses.

Jon gave us an insight on how he has made a living in the industry. He stresses that you have to be prepared to travel and spread your name around different venues to get gigs. He self publishes which he believes is very important (he even put flyers on our chairs for an upcoming gig). He says that his CD and T-Shirt sales bring in a lot of money and that the rise in popularity of his style has helped.

Jon’s masterclass was amazing and I would advise anyone interested in acoustic guitar playing to check him out.

Declan Gaughan. Marshall Scholarship winner 2007