Tracy Moore

Tracy is considered by many as a master of the 12-string guitar. By utilizing the upper octave pairs of strings into the melody lines of his compositions and arrangements, Tracy has expanded the rich melodic tones and the dynamic possibilities of the 12-string guitar to a higher level.  Tracy has lifted the 12-string guitar above its former role as an accompaniment or power guitar instrument to what Tracy calls “Melodic 12-String Guitar”.

Tracy Moore brings his 12-string guitar to life with his complex, original compositions and his unique arrangements of traditional pieces.  Appearing to flow effortlessly from his fingers and his guitar, his music is sometimes whimsical, and sometimes deeply emotional.  He catches his audiences at a very personal level.

Tracy’s love affair with music and the guitar began at the age of ten when his Grandmother introduced him to fingerstyle guitar technique.  His mom bought him his first guitar right away and he began to learn to play.  In high school, he and a few friends put together a successful rock and roll band called Celebration and kept busy doing gigs at high schools and colleges.  Leo Kottke’s album “Six and Twelve String Guitar” later turned his head and his heart to the rich melodic tones and the dynamic possibilities of the 12-string guitar.

During college, Tracy majored in music, studying Classical Guitar and Renaissance Lute.  Following his studies he became the musical director of a one ring circus, where he learned to juggle, clown and eat fire.  Tracy’s captivating and often humorous rapport with his audience, his relaxed and engaging stage presence come, in part, from his experience with the circus.  With a twinkle in his eye, and his wonderfully relaxed, anecdotal introductions to his compositions, Tracy enchants and delights an audience with his music and his personality.

While many guitarists use the 12-string as a sideline, Tracy has given it a strong identity and voice of its own.  “My goal has always been to write music using the tonal and textural characteristics of the 12-string guitar”, says Tracy.  “Rather than plucking the strings in pairs in the traditional fashion I have developed a technique where I can choose to pluck any of the twelve strings individually, creating a much wider range of textures and melodic possibilities.”

Originally from Seattle, Tracy moved to Boston in 1987, where he fell in love with New England’s history and scenery.  The abundance of folk music venues and appreciative concert goers yielded many new fans for his musical talent.  But on a concert tour to Seattle in 1989, he fell in love again, only this time with the woman he planned to marry.  In 1991, he packed his bags and returned to the Northwest, to settle on Camano Island, just north of Seattle.  Tracy still considers Boston a second home and holds it in a special place in his heart.

Tracy travels and performs extensively throughout the United States, playing for an ever growing number of 12-string enthusiasts at festivals, coffeehouses and concerts.  “I enjoy playing for an audience,” concludes Tracy.  “Through the special language of the 12-string guitar, I create stories and images for my listeners.  Although my music is entirely instrumental, each listener is free to add their own words to the story.”

My ear was first drawn to the 12-string guitar when, as a young teenager, I was given a Pete Seeger 12-string guitar instruction LP and booklet by one of my newspaper route customers. I was already learning guitar at that point, with the dream of playing in rock’n’roll bands. And then, in high school, my guitar teacher turned me on to Leo Kottke’s “Armadillo” LP. Soon I was leading a dual life as lead guitarist in a rock’n’roll band, and as a serious student of the acoustic guitar. By the time I reached college, I had decided to major in classical guitar. The beautiful, melodic music of the Renaissance lute caught by ear and I began to also study the music written for this incredible instrument. In the course of my studies I acquired a lute. I also purchased a Guild 12-string guitar and began learning and performing the music of the “American Fingerstyle Guitar” movement, for lack of a better term.

The lute and the 12-string guitar both have double courses – strings in pairs – some tuned in unison, others to octaves. The lute’s highest string is actually a single string, called a chanterelle. The next two courses are tuned in unison and the remaining courses in octaves, with the lower octave first, as you strike the string with your right hand thumb. On the 12-string guitar, the upper two courses are in unison, and the remaining four courses are tuned in octaves, but opposite those of the lute, the 12-string’s higher octave string is struck first with the thumb.

A college roommate played melodic banjo, a banjo style where you incorporate the high G string of the banjo into the melodic lines of music. This intrigued me, and looking at the 12-string guitar, I realized I had four of these upper octave strings that could be incorporated into the melody lines. That did it… I was hooked!

Working with this style of 12-string playing, your right hand gets quite busy, plucking the melody with your right hand fingers and alternating melody notes with the upper octaves of the courses you choose with your thumb. The thumb also has its usual bass duties, so you develop the technique of plucking only the upper octave of a course when needed with your thumb or, both pairs as normal or, just plucking the lower octave when you want extra clarity in your bass line.

The melodic and textural possibilities of the 12-string guitar just explode when you think of the instrument in these terms.

To varying degrees, the compositions and arrangements included in my recordings make use of these techniques on the 12-string guitar. Tunes such as “Tom Bombadil” and “Clam Chowder” scratch the surface of these techniques, while compositions such as “Highland Drive”, “Peculiar Point of Balance”, and “McSharry’s Jig” really get into it.

Hopefully these words have given you a little insight into this wonderful instrument.

All the best,
Tracy Moore