惊人的吉他才华助西班牙少年步入名校

    The Headbanger Rare Guitar shop in Madrid, Spain, is a second home to Pedro Gonzalez, 17, who is attracting attention in the Spanish capital for his talent playing jazz guitar.

    “(His technique) seems influenced by Django Reinhardt,” said Madrid-based guitarist and professor Joaquin Chacon, comparing Gonzalez to the late Belgian-born musician considered one of the greatest guitarists of all time.

    This summer, Headbanger’s owners organized a concert with a group of Spanish indie rock musicians to raise 2,000 euros (US$2,138) for Gonzalez to study at the private Escuela de Musica Creativa in central Madrid under Chacon.

    Gonzalez had been accepted at the school with a partial scholarship but his parents, struggling on low incomes and a stubbornly high jobless rate in Spain, could not cover the remaining fees — hence the fundraizing event.

    Gonzalez started playing the piano at age 7 but by 13 was increasingly drawn to the guitar, an instrument to which he feels a magnetic attraction.

    When he plays at Headbanger, clients listen in awe and gather around to take pictures. His technique is based on Internet videos of guitarists like Wes Montgomery, one of his idols. He has never seen a live jazz concert.

    “They’re too expensive. I’ve only been to the ones where I play myself,” Gonzalez said.

    After completing the Madrid course, Gonzalez has his sights set on Berklee College of Music in Boston or Conservatorium van Amsterdam, defying some fans’ views that he already is a master.

    “I’ve still got a lot to go. You can never stop learning,” he said.

    Chacon said that for students like Gonzalez, with natural talent and plenty of motivation, formal training is like “a high-speed highway that takes you to your destination much faster than if you tried to find the road on your own.”(SD-Agencies)