A Look Into How Mk.gee Plays Guitar (And Who He Learned It From)

[@wyatt_dt]

been listening to mk.gee for about a year and a half and i finally got to see him live in september it was one of the best experiences i’ve had in a while

[@stillwaitingforblackmetalr2503]

Pretty much all of Two Star was played on Bb standard tuning. He uses very thick flatwound strings, and a GK2 midi pickup connected to a VG-8, for the more synth-y sounds and to downtune the low E to even lower than Bb for some songs. But How Many Miles is just Bb standard I'm pretty sure... *And what you call "extra" playing is just playing "lead rhythm". So both lead, melodies etc, and rhythm, chords (mostly triads but yeah) all at the same time. I would argue what makes Mk.gee special is not really that... It's his asynchronous style. The hypnagogic feeling he invokes not just with the songwriting and production, but with the actual playing itself. It's jazzy, it's old, but it's so impossibly now. It feels like a dream version of guitar playing, or an alternate future.

[@_conchobhar_]

exactly man, i remember one time on a long drive i decided to try and count how many times something wouldn't land exactly on the downbeat but like so deliciously close. mk.gee doesn't do anything different than anybody else but he really knows groove and space so well.

[@brileystewart]

Man I gotta argue that I think the reason people think his playing is so revolutionary is entirely based on the sonics of it. The delivery. Mk.gee would sound like alot of players if he played in standard on a six. But with all the crazy processing it makes his guitar sound like a whole other instrument. That not to take anything away from him at all, I just think most of the magic for once lies in his approach rather than his actual play style.

[@stillwaitingforblackmetalr2503]

@@brileystewart I mean as someone who plays the guitar, playing his songs feels very different ngl. I don't play jazz at all, or even western fusion (I play a bit of city pop sometimes). So that may be it. But still, I love a lot of 80s guitar players, and I feel that's where Mk.gee pulls the most from, and he still feels very different. Like a homeopathic version of 80s guitar. Only the essence is there.

[@jacobbritt8193]

Enjoyed the nonchalantness of your vid, felt like I was just chopping it up with the homies. Keep it up dog, need more artists guitar style breakdowns🙏

[@saanshi]

Wow this video is so good and so well researched and produced and so nicely worded, everything about it made my day better and I feel like I learned a lot about Mk.gee after watching this video. Keep up the good work, henrylovesmusic!

[@remsen]

Saw his live show last month. Eye opening experience how his playing sounds on concert speakers. Fire Video

[@EricPersson-so6hx]

John Mayer is actually playing the guitar solo on pyramids by frank ocean and is featured in the music video aswell :) He also played live with him which is rly cool

[@elijahclevenger10]

Found Mk.gee's music on Soundcloud in 2018 and been obsessed ever since!!

[@coconuts1483]

Love mk.gee, dope vid

[@dougbuckleymusic999]

this video articulates a feeling i’ve felt for so long but unable to put to words

[@theraven1232]

Hey! I'm a long time musician and found this while trying to dive a little bit deeper in Mk.gee's finger style technique. I'm probably not your target audience as this seems to be a more "music appreciation" channel than a "music instruction" channel, but I had some more detail you didn't cover here that I think you and your audience might think is cool. First, the dynamic of playing a lot vs not playing a lot (overplaying vs underplaying) is a phenomenon that happens in cycles in popular music. Towards the end of the 50s things got very simple, and 60s blues rock emerged. We're seeing a little bit of a reemergence of complex music, which Mk.gee is actually a part of, after being in a pretty long simple period. You're absolutely right that he underplays when compared to Mayer, but when compared to most music he's doing way more. Second, here is some stuff you missed about his playing. He actually uses a baritone guitar, which is a guitar tuned very low between the range of a standard guitar and bass, and uses a few different tunings on it depending on the song. His right hand technique is also extremely unique, somewhere between classical flamenco finger picking, traditional finger style bass, and that fingernail picking everyone does when they don't have a pick. These things combined allows him to act as both the bass and guitar at the same time, and is something basically no one else is doing. Finally, his tone is wildly different. So much so that he caused a price surge on a few guitar effects pedals that he uses as people try to pick them up to copy his sound. Anyway, liked the video, dig your stuff. Looking forward to more :)

[@yungstreichholz]

The thing with mk.gee is he serves the song with his guitar. It doesnt have to be there. His songs can be covered on piano, on strings on whatever it still works. There are amazing songs at the core. The guitar and the aesthetic serve the depth and uniqueness to dig in. But if you strip it all away there are still amazing songs you sing along and get obsessed with.

[@benholtzman9414]

Been trying to learn Candy and my lord is mk.gee complicated, his recording setup is wild... from the pedals to the tascam to the midi pickup he added to his guitar to the flatwound strings.... would love to see your take on his tone and how to achieve that! Great vid, keep it up!

[@MrGeltz]

Amazing connection w Adrianne and mk gee those are my two favorite albums this year. Another interesting to think ab is how John Mayer literally said he wanted sob rock to make you feel nostalgic for things that never happened. Thats exactly the same thing that Mk.gee set out to do with two star and I think he pulled it off way better. It would be interesting to see a video about where John went wrong and where mk. Gee went right with that same objective

[@ars133zy]

So so so necessary, great video, mate!

[@djbromley8971]

was not expecting to hear you talk about adrienne over the hg/ss national park theme. very cool

[@yhizz1809]

dang bro your edits are clean

[@nbeutler1134]

Pretty cool video, but John Mayer is probably not even in the top 5 when it comes to Mk.gees influences, so kind of a misleading title. He’s much more inspired by people like Andy Summers, David Gilmour, Prince, Pat Metheny, Eric Johnson, even Tame Impala. So, I know this is a boomer take, but for any youngins out there trying to figure out how to play like this guy, do yourself a favor and go listen to some Jazz fusion greats like John McLaughlin, Santana, Wayne Krantz, Pat Metheny as I already stated (Mike literally referred to himself as a “Pat Metheny kid” when talking about growing up playing in jazz band and such).

[@Colaj3ro445]

Video was really well put together for a small channel, hopefully a vid on john mayer next?

[@blakedoingthings]

Polyphia was a surprise reference, I've always heard hints of Blake Mills, Ariel Posen, Joey Landreth, Mason Stoops in Mk.Gees playing...

[@DannyHood-j]

Polyphia brought a whole new approach playing guitar. Adapting skill rock guitarist were unfamiliar taking everything up skills. Above the 80s elite shredders is MODERN GUITARIST. Even if a guitarist can play Gun n roses entire discography, by today’s standards ‘Slosh’ is an INTERMEDIATE guitarist.

[@naturestonesmusic592]

Nice vid! I think you could also say Jaco Pastorius, Blake Mills, Pat Metheny, and (the obvious one) Andrew Aged from "INC. No World”. Maybe Charlie Hunter too idk

[@henrylovesmusic]

Those are great pulls! Definitely see the influence

[@charliestinnett9760]

i'm glad i'm not the only one who has been hearing a jaco influence. i feel like his tone emulates that double-tracked fretless sound.

[@predaconpredacon5961]

​@charliestinnett9760 he mentioned that when he started playing, he wanted to be jaco

[@overundah]

Look into the saturation provided by tascam tape recorders and gated reverb. My mind naturally draws comparisons to Andy Summers of The Police.

[@CadenYoung]

I love Mk.gee lets gooooo

[@owenmccurdy1361]

Awesome Video!

[@owenmccurdy1361]

also, didn't know you could play how many miles with standard and low F. Which tabs did you follow if you don't mind me asking?

[@henrylovesmusic]

I actually ended up figuring it out myself, there’s a few comments about him playing a baritone guitar which is why the tuning was different for him. I’ll probably post a quick tutorial on how I played it on TikTok soon

[@Hrishikeshbaruah14]

Great video

[@paulinaletayf]

Mk.gee is sooooo inspiring! Listen to Jean Dawson if you haven’t already, guitar and production is similar to mk.gee

[@henrylovesmusic]

I love Jean Dawson you’re so right! His new album was really good

[@Kemilc]

Hey @henrylovesmusic great video, keep it up men!

[@phantomshadowfax5431]

Cool video. I'm old i guess and I don't really care for earlier Polyphia stuff but New Levels New Devils and Remember that you will die show a lot of growth away from the sheer number of notes style into almost more of a groove/R&B rhythm and sometimes very genre bending vocals with it.. I prefer John Mayer but Tim and Scott are both cool and humble people when they talk about playing. The rich and the richer comparison may be a little harsh, thats the whole reason for my comment lol

[@toprakaygun3765]

Man i feel so close to you . Your ideas ar ringing the bell i think we could be good friends if we could

[@Even151]

How many miles is played with the lowest string a full step down

[@aureliakida6041]

Thought you were gonna connect him with The Police or Genesis 👀. But your energy mate, love it.

[@henrylovesmusic]

Thank you! I had those on my list but the video was getting a little long so I never mention them 😔

[@jonathanchristen2235]

Great vid! Just bought myself a ring light, it would probably solve your lighting problem! I honestly think it looks great already tho

[@henrylovesmusic]

A ring light is in my future 🧙‍♂️ but thank you I appreciate that

[@Whydosomanyvegtablesstartwithc]

Mathrock is definitely an acquired taste. The masses can’t handle such intense musicianship and I forgive them.

[@paxxous]

I think that bon iver played a role in the downtuning of mk.gee's guitar, hes toured with bon iver with dijon before and cited him as an influence. Bon iver is rlly good with his alternate tunings and otehrworldy composition.

[@alexEMP1]

The polyphia comparison is spot on

[@ground.jordan]

W vid

[@Crzybinet]

Seriously I saw him on SNL fk can’t understand him 🤣🤣

[@_conchobhar_]

the video production is very well done, but your comparisons are pretty far fetched boss. it seems you are only mentioning other contemporary guitarists who break new molds in some type of way, but have nothing to do with mcgee's actual thought process behind the instrument. i think there is a lack of research here man. he has talked alot about his influences, citing daft punk and bon iver (which you can hear especially in his first couple of eps). mike has even stated before that he really doesn't like the sound of the guitar, he grew up playing piano and jazz, and i think more than anything thats the best part about his playing. he approaches the guitar as a musician not a guitarist. not to say that lanker and mayer don't do that, they are beasts in there own right. but like go listen to him talk about this sttuff or read an intereview.

[@henrylovesmusic]

I see where you’re coming from! The vid was more relating his skill set rather than his production style bc like you said his production is very similar to the artists you mentioned. The way he builds the chords he uses and travels around the guitar is the comparisons I was trying to make, but I do agree with you!

[@pablohorn6648]

sussie