#erik mongrain

Erik Mongrain is a world renowned finger-style guitarist. When listening to his compositions it is as if there is no delay between his mind and his finger movements. He makes it look easy. His compositions are fluid, but that does not mean by any stretch that they lack passion. Erik's music is perfect for those moments in everyday life when we should all take at least a few minutes to just soak up the life around us. 

Q: What first sparked your interest in guitar playing? Did you take any formal instruction or have you always been a self-taught guitarist?

A: Nirvana and grunge music from the 90s is what got me into guitar playing. I wanted to emulate all of it! I never took any lessons, learned everything on my own and/or by watching and listening to other guys that were better than me play when I met them. 100% self-taught!

Q: Once you discovered guitar was it your goal from the beginning to try your best to make a living from it?

A: Not really. All I knew is that it looked fun and I wanted to get into it. I only knew that music is what I’d be doing with my life a few years after, when I was finishing high school. I began to busk in the streets and did that for a few years and then things just started to happen for me.

Q: Do you actually take the time to notate your compositions on paper, or are they generally all recorded/in your head?

A: I put them on paper after they are recorded. I use Guitar Pro 6. It takes a while to do the job! Prior to being recorded they’re all in my head though and that can be for quite a while.

Q: How do you go about writing your pieces? Is it a lot of open-ended jamming before you arrive at segments that you then stitch together? Do you write melody ideas on paper and then jump to the guitar?

A: It’s a mix of everything. Sometimes the first seed planted is a 2 chords progression from a tune I enjoy, or it can be that I want to do a song in an irregular tempo and go from there. It can be anything from a technical thing I want to exploit to a sudden or new emotion that translates directly onto the fret board. I never write my ideas on paper as I write something new though, I sort it in my mind!

Q: What kind of tunings do you use in your compositions? How do you arrive at these tunings?

A: I’ve used numerous different tunings over the years but nowadays I am trying to go for higher pitched/higher tension tunings because I think it sounds and feel better. Sometimes I just fiddle with the tuners and try to find a new arrangement of opened notes that feel right to the moment, or I can just listen to someone else’s tune, pick the tuning up and experiment with it and/or make a variation out of it. There is more than one way to find new colors!

Q; Where would you say the most inspiration comes from for your pieces?

A: Life in general, my vision of it all and my experiences.

Q: After hearing you play I always wonder this to myself, so how many hours do you actually practice guitar in a given week? Is it regimented practice or is it more just playing what you feel?

A: That varies quite a bit. There are periods of time in which I can play 3-4 hours a day and other periods in which I don’t even practice everyday! When I began playing guitar 20 years ago, I was playing 10 hours a day but hey, things change with time! Lately, I have been trying for at least 1-2 hours a day but then again I am not practicing as much as I am composing. All in all, if I was to make an average over 20 years I’d say that it’s probably around 3 hours a day.

Q: Is it difficult for you to try to convey emotion solely through the guitar without the aid of lyrics?

A: No. Prior to being able to transpose my emotions into music (24 years old and below), I would write ‘’poetry’’ instead. When it started to come out on the guitar adequately, I really never wrote again!

Q: What inspired you to try lap tapping? Did it feel like a natural move for you to experiment with this unique play style?

A: I saw a street musician playing like that here in Montreal when I was around 18-19 years old and I figured I’d try the technique on my own. Developed my way to do it and there you have it! No technique feels natural to anyone when you start though, had to get used to it. That technique is just one of the many that I use though and it is the one I use the least actually.

Q: What is the hardest part for you about making a living through your guitar playing?

A: The business side of things and how zealous you need to be on social medias to succeed. That being said, I am far from a business man and/or really zealous! I try to be natural at it and be happy today. Not everyone feels at ease with those things. Being happy today/everyday is what matters in the only life we have, not living it for success and capital.

Q: From what I have read it seems like you have done quite a bit of traveling the world. What parts of the world have left the greatest impression on you and why?

A: Scotland was the most beautiful, Reunion Island the hottest and funniest and Japan the strangest.

Q: Who are your top three favorite finger style guitarists? 

A: 1- Michael Hedges 2- Stefano Barone 3- Pino Forastière

Q: Who are some bands that you love that might seem surprising to fans of your music?

A: I don’t think there are any bands that I listen to that would be surprising to my fans, I think you can hear a little bit of them in my music.

Q: When I listen to your music I always seem to be put into a relaxed state. Does this reflect your personality and lifestyle? Do you practice meditation or follow any particular spiritual pursuits?

A: Sort of, I guess. I can be a pretty stressful person at times, although it rarely shows. All in all I think I have a pretty relaxed lifestyle, which is how I like it. I don’t practice meditation or things like that though!

Q: It seems to me that when you travel the world playing guitar you must meet some pretty interesting people along the way. Who are some of the people that have left the biggest impact on you along your travels?

A: I don’t travel much at all anymore but you do meet interesting and/or weird persons along the way. I met many other acoustic guitar players over the years and I think that’s what had the biggest impact for me, listening to other guy’s visions and experiences of the way they were living the same kind of thing that I did.

Q: What has been your most surreal musical experience?

A: Probably playing live with Michael Manring at the Canadian Guitar Festival. He just came on stage and I did not know he was going to hop on and play with me!

Q: What has been your most surreal life experience?

A: There are many but one that comes to mind is when I was 19 and was refused entry to the UK and then sent back to Canada. Long story but that was my first bureaucracy wall.

Q: Do you have any passions in your life besides playing guitar? If so, how did you get involved with these passions?

A: My wife, my friends, cinema and gaming. I think you just get involved naturally with things that you love, just has to be natural otherwise it’s not really a passion now is it!

Erik Mongrain - Air Tap